Annual US Intelligence Bill Tops $80 Billion

Ponca City writes "The LA Times reports that the US government has disclosed its annual intel budget for the first time in more than a decade: $80.1 billion on intelligence gathering, representing about 12% of the nation's $664-billion defense budget. The government revealed the total intelligence budget twice before, in 1997 and 1998, in response to a lawsuit. It was $26.6 billion and $26.7 billion, respectively, meaning the budget has tripled in 12 years. 'It is clear that the overall spending on intelligence has blossomed to an unacceptable level in the past decade,' says Dianne Feinstein, who chairs the Senate Intelligence Committee. Dana Priest reported that more than 1,200 government agencies or offices and almost 2,000 outside contractors are involved in counter-terrorism activities, producing about 50,000 intelligence reports each year, far more than the government can effectively digest. The US is running so many secret programs that James R. Clapper Jr., director of national intelligence, said during his confirmation hearings that 'only one entity in the entire universe' knows what they're all doing, and 'that's God.'"

Comments

Coicidentally, in the news today

[GodfatherofSoul]

An obviously meant-to-be-discovered "bomb" was discovered in a flight heading for the US that was uncovered by US intelligence. I know this because the reporters have been making sure to mention over and over again that it was US intelligence that discovered this "bomb" and not a sharp-eyed baggage handler. They also reported that this "bomb" had all sorts of wires hanging out of the packaging suggesting it was meant to be discovered.

no god

[knappe duivel]

all that intelligence, and still they don't know god doesn't excist

More than half of this is NOT HUMNIT or tech

[WillAffleckUW]

More than half of this is what we would call under the table payments to "operatives" in Pakistan and Saudi Arabia and Yemen and Somalia who then turn around and use the US cash to finance attacks against the US.

Time to kill the Black Budget (which is "off the book") and daylight everything.

France does it - and they're busy attacking al-Qaeda in Somalia where they actually are, whereas the US is in Iraq and Afghanistan where al-Qaeda HAS NOT BEEN for FIVE years.

You don't have to itemize the people involved, just the dollars involved in large groups.

Re:Why not just scarp US Intelligence

[clarkkent09]

You might be onto something there. Maybe the progressive agenda is to destroy cities' economies and cause all businesses to move elsewhere, with high taxes, building up unions and other anti-business policies and then once they are conveniently emptied of people, there will be no more pollution and the nature can take over again. Next on the list, New Jersey and Cleveland.