CIA employees or CIA agents?

[proud2BlibKansan]

Casualties in ME bombing are described as "employees". Anyone else find that odd?

[notadmblnd]

1. Not if they're a group contracted to the CIA. you know the Xe type?

[proud2BlibKansan]

2. When I heard about this bombing, that was my first thought

But I have heard "employees" all morning. Seems like they would be called contractors if they are with Xe.

[notadmblnd]

4. it seems like it, but I'm not sure this admin wants to be as open in regards to their

use of mercenaries as the last administration was. After all Blackwater has had some bad press lately.

[timeforpeace]

3. One was the station chief so you can probably assume it's one and the same.

[proud2BlibKansan]

5. The way our MSM play with language

It's so transparent.

[sorcrow]

6. I don't find it odd.

I don't find it odd. Not all CIA employees are "agents". And even the ones who are/were are not likely to be identified as such. (Except for Valerie Plame....)
The casualties may well be agents/operatives, but nobody's going to tell us.

Crow

[malaise]

7. One was head of station

so I'm not sure.

[proud2BlibKansan]

8. And who decided to call them "employees" instead of "agents"?

The MSM or the govt?

[notadmblnd]

12. initial reports was that they were civilians

then it changed to employees a little later.:shrug:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=102x4205943

[malaise]

13. Not sure

Very interesting.

[bridgit]

18. Likely the CIA, they don't want people to think groups of 4-6-8 "agents" are just standing round...

in one location waiting to get bombed - seems they would prefer people think the "agents" are off somewhere else sight unseen and not standing in line at a green zone KBR Burger King for that matter. For the CIA to admit they were agents, is to admit their agents were caught the most flat-footed in the field - and that's not good for budget process

[ChairmanAgnostic]

9. black waters run deep.

[Tailormyst]

10. It could have been a mix of both really

Could be agents, administrators, even office assistants. Not all employees at the CIA are what people would call agents. The majority would be support staff, I would think.

[RaleighNCDUer]

11. 'CIA agents' is a subset of 'CIA employees'.

The Station Chief, the information analyst, are employees but not agents. Actually, many if not most agents would not be claimed by the CIA as employees - such as the State Department official, the import/export businessman who are covert agents while having a distinctly different public face.

[jmowreader]

14. Agents are field operators--think James Bond

Employees are analysts, scientists, technical people,and senior staff.

If you don't know what status they had, it's best to say "employees." All agents are employees, but not all employees are agents.

[LostInAnomie]

15. Not everyone that works for the CIA is an "agent".

It's just like any other company, there are a ton of beurocrats, middle men, and people preforming tasks that aren't directly related to operations.

[phasma ex machina]

16. +1 Anonymous sources claim that 90+% of CIA employees work 9-5 desk jobs in the USA

"spying" from satellites, eating donuts, and waiting to retire. The CIA's core competency is playing Democrats off against Republicans. Entrepreneurial senior managers who master that game often set themselves up as DC Beltway contractors to pull down multi-millions a year. What that money actually buys remains a Top Secret, naturally.

Yet another example of reality totally at odds with M$M's "sexed up" fantasy.

[Iggo]

17. Potato/Potato. (n/t)