Anonymous writes:
What troubles me is the suggestion that *every* agent *must* hire someone who might answer to a higher authority, as it were. And what troubles me more is watching this paragovernment's transparent efforts to reproduce itself step by step, always trying to elude efforts to make it accountable or subordinate to civil authorities.
Whoa. Time-out. Having a SECRET clearance does not imply that one is answerable to the government. You don't get a clearance independent of a job. You have to be hired for the job, then the investigators look for anything that might disqualify you, then you get the clearance. A key-escrow company could hire anyone they want. Assuming that they're approved for a SECRET billet when they're approved as an escrow agent, the *company* designates the individual the government is to investigate. The only leverage the government really has is the right to take the clearance away. The person (and probably the company) could sue for its return if it was really done as a pressure tactic. The guidelines for approving or denying such clearances are pretty specific.