CIA and Blackwater: The Revolving Door

More details have come out about the cozy relations between the CIA and contractors from Blackwater USA, now known as Xe Services. The Los Angeles Times reports that after a 2004 contract between the CIA and Blackwater, top CIA officials began to resign in order to take high-level positions within the company. These resignations fueled a backlash inside the agency and on Capitol Hill against the use of outside contractors. Although it may not be illegal to use contractors to kill or torture terrorism suspects, or guard CIA lockups, the relationship underscored the extent to which the CIA was outsourcing jobs to carry out what Sen. Dianne Feinstein called "activities that are inherently governmental."