Here's a letter to the editor of the S.F. Chronicle. This time I'm not trying to skewer the writer. If the story he tells is true (and it sounds believable) then we should be worried.
DON'T COUNT ON FBIUpdate: Glenn Reynolds agrees that this episode is noteworthy, and has some harsh words for the FBI
Editor -- Al Qaeda has the upper hand in the war against terror because the security agencies responsible for protecting us act like a bunch of sissies.Case in point: I was recently hired for an FBI counter-terrorism position based on my ability to speak several foreign languages, my thorough knowledge of Middle Eastern culture and my extensive travel abroad. Each FBI employee who interviewed me told me, "We're desperately in need of language skills."
I'm a blue-blooded American, 44 years old, who has taught college several years for the Department of Defense, and I was excited my skills would be helpful in the war against terror. Then came the FBI's lie detector test.
I admitted I'd smoked marijuana about 20 times when I was 18. I've never used drugs since. But within five minutes I was put out on the street.
I told the FBI agent who kicked me out that "I doubt very seriously that Bin Laden screened any of the hijackers for drug experimentation when they were kids." The FBI agent confided, "You wouldn't believe the number of super- qualified individuals we've turned away. Just last week we let go a highly qualified psychologist for the same reason. It's very frustrating."
Moral of the story: Don't hold your breath for the FBI to save you.
JOSEPH ROSS
Sonoma
Update (7/25): Although the FBI doesn't like to hire former pot smokers, it does like to hire people with mental disabilities. I kid you not
Posted by Stefan Sharkansky at July 24, 2002 10:24 AMIt seems that the old "war on drugs" still takes precedence over the new "war on terror."
Talk about needing to get our priorities straight....
Posted by: Lynn-B on July 24, 2002 10:50 AMIf you check the FBI website, it says specifically that you can not have smoked pot more than seven times in your life - or used harder drugs more than three times. If you have - don't bother applying.
I can understand saying if you hit the crack pipe on Thursday don't bother showing up for an interview on Monday - even giving allowances for years gone past (last ten or whatever) - but this is just hurting our ability to staff our intelligence services with the best.
Posted by: Jim Durbin on July 24, 2002 11:23 AMAnd then we wonder have to wonder what drugs the FBI is on when they can't figure out that an Egyptian shooting up an El Al counter at LAX on Independence Day is a terrorist!
Posted by: BarCodeKing on July 24, 2002 11:40 AMIf you want to be really depressed, read Robert Baer's "See no evil : the true story of a ground soldier in the CIA's war on terrorism," an account of how politically correct inanities such as this have wrecked the CIA.
Posted by: Dara P on July 24, 2002 02:12 PMThe so-called 'War on Drugs' is simply a war on American citizens. It is a criminal action, which history will one day judge to be on par with witch trials and the Inquisition. The notion that our government would one day trample our liberties this way would have been all but incomprehensible to the founders of this country. By the same token, we have become a nation of sheep, and have the government that we deserve.
Many of us are apalled by egregious repudiations of personal responsibility such as the current lawsuit against fast food manufacturers. But the flip side of willingness to accept responsibility is allowing the other guy to live his life in peace. As a nation we seem unwilling to do this. And so we have hundreds of thousands, perhaps millions, in prison on drug related charges.
Mr. Ross that the FBI refused to hire him because he admitted having used marijuana. Look at it this way Mr. Ross: you confessed to acrime for which many, many of your fellow citizens are serving time. Implicit in your desire to work for the FBI is your willingness to enforce the laws of this land. Presumably you would be willing to imprison others over drug use or possesion, but seem to think the FBI should cut you some slack. Why is that?
Posted by: drc on July 25, 2002 11:07 AMI applied for an FBI computer specialist job in October or November. In January I was told that I had made their short list of candidates. When I asked how long it would be before I could start a job, if it got that far, they said it'd probably take until August, background checks and all. I said thanks, but no thanks.
If it takes almost 10 months to hire someone to work in the computer room, they're not only stupid, but slow. Slow and stupid.
Posted by: Craig Schamp on July 25, 2002 05:49 PMAnd I suppose I can take comfort in believing that no one currently employed at J Edgar's trystopia lied in order to be hired...yeh
Posted by: J S Allison on August 2, 2002 10:19 AM