Why Amazon’s Collaboration with the CIA Is So Ominous — and Vulnerable
http://smirkingchimp.com/thread/norman-solomon/54336/why-amazon-s-collaboration-with-the-cia-is-so-ominous-and-vulnerable
Why Amazons Collaboration with the CIA Is So Ominous and Vulnerable
Corporate America
by Norman Solomon | February 20, 2014 - 10:48am
As the worlds biggest online retailer, Amazon wants a benevolent image to encourage trust from customers. Obtaining vast quantities of their personal information has been central to the firms business model. But Amazon is diversifying --
and a few months ago the company signed a $600 million contract with the Central Intelligence Agency to provide cloud computing services.
Amazon now has the means, motive and opportunity to provide huge amounts of customer information to its new business partner. An official statement from Amazon headquarters last fall declared: We look forward to a successful relationship with the CIA.
The Central Intelligence Agency has plenty of money to throw around. Thanks to documents provided by NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden, we know that the CIAs annual budget is $14.7 billion; the NSAs is $10.8 billion.
The founder and CEO of Amazon, Jeff Bezos, is bullish on the companys prospects for building on its initial contract with the CIA. As you might expect from a gung-ho capitalist with about $25 billion in personal wealth, Bezos figures hes just getting started.