Media Credit: Chris Soliz Author R.J. Hillhouse speaks about the growing outsourcing of intelligence and military operations in the LBJ Library Thursday evening.

Prominent corporations and contractors are pushing control of the CIA out of the government's hands and into their own, acclaimed novelist R.J. Hillhouse said at a lecture Thursday.

Hillhouse, author of the new book "Outsourced," and creator of the Web site www.thespywhobilledme.com, led the lecture in the Brown Room of the LBJ Library. The lecture was part of a series sponsored by the Robert S. Strauss Center for International Security and Law. Hillhouse discussed the implications of increased outsourcing within the government and its impact on national security.

"It is no question that the CIA is dysfunctional and the CIA is in danger," she said.

Public affairs assistant professor Alan Kuperman said he has a major concern with intelligence and military operations. A person working for the government, including the U.S. Army and the CIA, can pursue a lifelong career keeping any classified information obtained within the same entity, he said. In contrast, a common citizen can be contracted to work by a company in intelligence or military operations and obtain knowledge of classified information. Once the contract expires, he or she can move on to the next job while retaining that information.

"The fact that they are willing to work for a contractor shows that they are in it for the money," Kuperman said.

Presently, more than half of all CIA employees have five years or less of field experience, Hillhouse said. The government has lost its expertise due to outsourcing and does not necessarily understand what is occurring within its own operations, which is increasing the loss of control over its actions, she said.

The limited amount of experience means "kids are running the show now," Hillhouse said.

Corporations are running entire branches of the CIA in some cases, she said. Contractors from one corporation are overseeing contractors from another corporation in some instances. Outsourcing is occurring in fielding and recruiting offices, rendition flights and some military operations. The Pentagon limits its outsourcing to less central areas, such as contractor monitoring. Core functions of the CIA, however, have been handed over to contractors, she said.

"What we really see is the CIA losing itself," Hillhouse said.

Hillhouse also discussed private security contractor Blackwater USA, which is providing service to the embassy in Baghdad and has been under heavy scrutiny since a September shootout involving Blackwater resulted in 11 Iraqi deaths. Blackwater receives a good portion of its supplies from U.S. corporations.

Public affairs associate professor Eugene Gholz said outsourcing allows departments to quickly increase their capabilities.

Hillhouse said she believes the overwhelming majority of the CIA has been lost to contractors.

"I believe this is going to be a major issue in public policy for the 21st century," she said.

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