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Obama Administration Proposes Intelligence-Officer Training Program at Colleges
By admin | June 20, 2009
Obama Administration Proposes Intelligence-Officer Training Program at Colleges
The Washington Post is reporting that the Obama administration wants to advance the nation’s intelligence capacity by training a cadre of spies through a ROTC-like corps at the nation’s colleges.
The students, who would presumably remain anonymous to protect them in their future careers in national security, would apply as sophomores and juniors; those selected would receive financial assistance much as Reserve Officers Training Corps students do. They would be required to work in intelligence for a time equal to the period for which their studies were subsidized.
The students, whom the Post says reflect an effort to “educate a new generation of career intelligence officers from ethnically and culturally diverse backgrounds,” would learn foreign languages and receive other specialized training.
The program builds on previous pilot projects, including the Pat Roberts Intelligence Scholars Program, which since 2004 has trained some 800 students and current national-security employees. Under the proposal, the Pat Roberts scholars program would become permanent. That program has been questioned by anthropologists, who worry that the cultural information scholars are trained to extract could be used to torture or kill people.—Heidi Landecker
Topics: Education |