In the aftermath of the 2016 election, differing stories about potential Russian hacking have
set the US’s two main intelligence agencies against each other.
The Central Intelligence Agency, or CIA, briefed US officials that Russian hackers had infiltrated
the Democratic National Committee, with the intention to sway the election in favor of
Donald Trump.
On the other hand, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, or FBI has outright denied these reports,
saying there is no clear evidence to support them.
So, what is going on, why are these two agencies at odds, and what exactly is the difference
between them?
Well, in a nutshell, the primary difference between the two is scope.
The FBI’s jurisdiction covers domestic issues, and operates as a law enforcement agency.
The CIA deals primarily with external, foreign intelligence, and is considerably more covert.
Not even its budget is publicly reported, and is only known via leaks.
What this ultimately means is that the two have radically different goals.
The FBI is more likely to arrest domestic offenders, while the CIA is in the business
of collecting global intelligence in order to stave off any potential offenses.
This sort of dichotomy can even lead to the two butting heads.
Various intelligence failures have been blamed on the lack of information sharing between
the two agencies.
One example from 1979 allegedly saw the FBI attempt to arrest a high-profile fugitive
hiding among corrupt officials in the Bahamas.
But the CIA was relying on those same corrupt officials to house a different, high-profile
fugitive out of Iran, the former Shah.
While the two agencies argued about what was more important, protecting the Shah, or arresting
a criminal, the criminal got away.
This example perfectly illustrates the two agencies’ priorities, and why they are at
times reticent to trust each other.
Similarly, the current Russian hacking scandal is a clear example of the difference in standards.
While the FBI has not explicitly said that the CIA’s conclusion is false, it has made
it clear that the amount of evidence available would not be enough to convict anyone in a
court of law, and thus is not worth disclosing.
However, the CIA is not especially interested in demonstrating proof in a court of law,
and is more concerned with addressing the allegations with the evidence they do have.
In the meantime, president-elect Donald Trump has dismissed the CIA’s claims while both
Republicans and Democrats in Congress, are calling for bipartisan support to prevent
any potential future hacking or cyberattacks.
President Obama has launched a full-scale investigation of the claims, to conclude before
he leaves office.
But whether or not anything more is discovered will do little to bring the FBI and CIA together.
With different perspectives, jurisdictions, and standards, each serves an important role
in the intelligence community.
Letting a criminal escape from the Bahamas wasn’t the CIA’s first blunder.
Some of its biggest mistakes have led to mistaken incarceration, failed coup d’etats, and
other embarrassing international situations.
So, what have been the CIA’s biggest failures?
find out in this video.
It was kept as a highly classified secret, mostly because what they were doing was extremely
illegal and medically unethical.
The most famous aspect of the program was drugging American and Canadian citizens with
LSD without their knowledge.
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