Newspaper details post-9/11 counter-terrorism boom

SINCE the terror attacks of September 11, top-secret intelligence gathering by the US government has grown so unwieldy and expensive that no one really knows what it costs and how many people are involved, The Washington Post reported yesterday.

A two-year investigation by the newspaper uncovered what it termed a “Top Secret America” that’s mostly hidden from public view and largely lacking in oversight.

In its first installment of a series of reports, the Post said there are now more than 1,200 government organisations and more than 1,900 private companies working on counter-terrorism, homeland security and intelligence in some 10,000 locations across the US.