Does this mean that they’re thinking about hiring translators who do have families in vulnerable areas? “C.I.A. Is Reviewing Its Security Policy for Recruitment,” from the New Duranty Times, with thanks to Alyssa A. Lappen:
WASHINGTON, June 7 – The Central Intelligence Agency is reviewing security procedures that have led the agency to turn away large numbers of Arabic-language linguists and other potential recruits with skills avidly sought by the agency since the attacks of 2001, Congressional and intelligence officials say.
Many of those rejected, the officials say, have been first-generation Americans who bring the linguistic facility and cultural knowledge that the C.I.A. has been trying to develop in seeking to improve its performance in penetrating terrorist organizations and otherwise gathering intelligence in the Middle East and South Asia.
Many of these applicants still have relatives abroad, often in countries that raise alarm among security officers. Former intelligence officials say that besides the problems of conducting thorough background checks in those countries, the agency also worries that recruits could be blackmailed if their families were vulnerable.
Is this no longer true? Is it no longer a problem? Why not?