<p>Does the CIA still operate with many field operators who actually make contacts and get agents, or is it a lot different than it was in the cold war days? I actually used to be really interested in joining intelligence, i have almost every single Tom Clancy book and such, but this was pre-9/11, and me being Muslim, i didnt know how much of a problem it would be.</p>
<p>The trend in recent decades has been towards more technology-oriented means of gathering information (satellites and communication intercepts). But recent screw-ups (9-11, Weapons of Mass Destruction in Iraq) pointed out the need for more human intelligence (HUMINT). But the shift in the languages needed from the Cold War (Spanish, Russian, German, and Mandarin) to Arabic, Farsi, and whatever they're speaking in Afghanistan has not been a smooth one. I'm not sure how your being a Muslim would affect things. I will ask my friends who would know and get back to you.</p>
<p>o alrighty thanx</p>
<p>In answer to tourguide:</p>
<p>Any cyberspace information could/is likely to be fair game. </p>
<p>Were I an applicant, I would be extremely circumspect about anything on the web that could come back to haunt me. Even years after the fact, if it (the questionable stuff that can be tied to you) places your trustworthiness in doubt or could be questioned at a criminal trial, wherein you're a government witness, for example, you just don't need the hassle. It could ruin your career. Never, ever, lie in an official statement, document or whatever. No matter how trivial you may think it is at the time. </p>
<p>Better to look like a fool and admit you're a fool, than to be a fool and lie about it. </p>
<p>As an example, say you're in a government car and see a woman with kids stranded by the road in the winter when it's 5 degrees and windy. You take pity on them and give them a lift to a gas station. On the way your car slips on ice and you dent your fender. You report the dent as required, but say in the report you file that you were alone at the time. Your supervisor asks you about the dent two weeks later and you confirm the report you filed. Had you told the supervisor you picked up the woman and kids, you have been scolded, gently, for violating policy and that would have been forgiven because you did a good deed that all can see. In this case, however, someone saw and recognized the government car and casually told someone else and it gets back to your agency a year later. You then admit the lie, a year later when confronted, to your boss. You then get fired because you lied. That's how it works.</p>
<p>This includes your federal and state tax obligations, too. </p>
<p>Welcome to the integrity business.</p>
<p>Yeah, so delete all those links to donkeylove.com</p>
<p>Thank god i'm not going into intelligence!</p>
<p>(That was purely a facetious comment, I couldn't stop myself haha.)</p>
<p>ridetheburro?</p>
<p>Or chicken-in-the-basket.</p>
<p>Did someone mention polygraph tests?</p>