John Kiriakou says there are no longer any secret US intelligence agencies, a status he dates to the NSA “finally” going public, and estimates there are around 19 publicly known agencies today. [1] He says some, like DARPA, remain so secretive in practice that little is publicly known about what they actually do beyond developing futuristic weapons systems. [2]
Kiriakou says the proliferation of agencies — including separate intelligence branches for the Army, Navy, Marine Corps, and Air Force alongside the DIA and NSA — is unnecessary empire-building, mostly by the Pentagon, since the agencies are duplicative and largely do the same work. [3] He says that, from firsthand experience, these agencies have missed nearly every major international development since the CIA’s founding in 1947, from the building of the Berlin Wall to its fall, the collapse of the Soviet Union, and the collapse of the Shah’s regime in Iran. [4] Asked to describe U.S. intelligence in one word, Kiriakou answered: “Overrated.”[5]
Kiriakou also notes that, unlike most congressional committee chairs, members of the House and Senate intelligence committees are not elected by party vote — they are appointed directly by House and Senate leadership, who in turn consult the CIA on whom to pick.[6]