House Committee Denounces U.S. Intelligence

The non-profit organization Freedom House rates countries on political rights and civil liberties from "1" (most free) to "7" (least free). Iran is a "6,6". While more free than, say, North Korea, Iran is still a brutal dictatorship in which paramilitary groups and secret police attack demonstrators, journalists are tortured and Iranian agents are dispatched to assassinate dissidents abroad. Thus, getting people to talk to your intelligence operatives is difficult. As governments have adapted to the information revolution, they've become increasingly savvy regarding satellites and wiretapping. Result: less secret intelligence, more reliance on public documents. At least the report is admitting that some things remain unknown, rather than relying on dubious sources. There's little the United States can do but undertake the slow task of developing its human intelligence resources for Iran -- \nif you're really concerned, go to the Central Eurasian Studies department and enroll in Introductory Persian I.