NYT, June 27, 1998: Getting Back to Basics, C.I.A. Is Hiring More Spies Taking steps to reduce dependence on high-tech spying. By James Risen Washington, June 26--The Central Intelligence Agency is beginning the largest recruitment drive for new spies in its history, in an ambitious effort to rebuild its espionage service, which has been severely damaged by spy scandals, budget cutbacks and high turnover since the end of the cold war, officials said. With Congress already providing increased financing, the Directorate of Operations, the C.I.A.'s clandestine espionage arm, will hire record numbers of case officers --spies-- beginning this year as part of a new strategic plan to repair the decaying espionage capabilities of the United States by 2005, officials said. In addition to expanded hiring, the agency also plans to reopen several overseas stations that were closed in the early 1990's after the demise of the Soviet Union led Congress and the White House to reduce the C.I.A.'s budget sharply. The recruitment plan is a sign that the C.I.A. recognizes that it has become far too dependent on so-called technical intelligence, or eavesdropping devices and spy satellites. Now, the agency wants to get back to espionage basics, by increasing its ability to place a spy behind enemy lines or inside the offices of a rival government. The spread of new technologies like encryption and computer networks has eroded the value of spy satellites and listening devices and has led the C.I.A. to see the need for an expanded cadre of spies. Without having an agent in place, the C.I.A. has found it much harder to gain access to secrets from rival governments, terrorists and international organized crime groups. ... The C.I.A. is recruiting case officers, and people to support them with technical skills that spies have rarely been asked to learn in the past. "As we tried to figure out our requirements for the future, we realized we needed to have greater technical support for agent operations," said one American official. At the top of the list of requirements is computer expertise. The proliferation of global computer data networks, for example, has made it more difficult for the agency to slip into a country using false identifications. Only computer experts can defeat those local computer systems, and even developing countries routinely make sophisticated computer checks on passports and visas. ... ----- Full story: http://jya.com/cia-hires.htm