It's still distressing to see those intelligence agencies further entrench themselves into fields perfectly suited for a surveillance state. Their reputation makes trusting that they won't abuse it difficult.

It may suit national interest, but it bodes poorly for the public interest.

They help the companies, who help the Government in return. And the whole conspiracy is carried on via the revolving doors of influence and networks of who knows who.

Where the public suffers is that it's their tax money that funds this rather than going towards education, health, essential services, better wages, social and economic mobility - the list goes on.

>They help the companies, who help the Government in return. And the whole conspiracy is carried on via the revolving doors of influence and networks of who knows who.

Except now one of the ways the companies can help the government is with readymade worldwide surveillance. That is much scarier than anything Dole could offer.

>All these 3-letter acronyms exists to further American interests

That's a strangely Aristotelian view of organizations. It is as if you are suggesting that the 3-letter agencies have a fundamental essence outside of the intentions of the people who work there.

I think their point was that these organizations are supposed to be filled with public servants, civil servants, and military/former military whose aims are the furthering of American interests. That's why they were started, and for at least some period of time (not necessarily through recent history, but maybe?) that's what they were. Honestly that's part of the argument for public servants making less money than their private sector counter-parts, that a big part of their "compensation" is being part of these huge organizations "saving America" or whatever patriotic spin you want to put on it.

Compartmentalization allows for that. You operate with orders to accomplish X, and it is more than possible to hide why you are accomplishing X.

Typically it goes like this: lobbyist meets with policy maker, policy maker decides objectives for [a-z]{3}, [a-z]{3} undertakes missions in support of lobbyist's objectives.

United Fruit.

East India Company - been the case for a long time.