Some of this duplicates Tim Shorrock's 2007- 8 investigation and the work of Jeremy Scahill, who now blogs at the Nation. I would have like to have seen the WaPo credit them and contextualize this by framing the issues in it in terms of Clapper’s confirmation hearing tomorrow to be Director of National Security. This is the first of three stories on a two-year investigation on the 1271 government organizations and 1931 private companies working on programs related to counterterrorism, homeland sercurity and intelligence in 10,000 locations across the country. There is also a brief video introduction, an interactive map and a searchable data base. Both the size of this operation and the work it took to report on it are ... More »

First in a series of what I'm sure will prove to be fascinating special reports on the post-9/11 intelligence community. These first findings are eye-opening, showing that even some people at the highest levels of intelligence gathering think this arrangement is too huge and complex to be managed, let alone to enable us to assess whether it has made us safer. I found the breakdown of how intelligence does (and doesn't) get shared across agency lines very informative.

A worthy investigative journalism effort. Disturbing information for taxpayers and civil rights advocates.

Reading the first page of "A hidden world, growing beyond control" is like tripping and falling down the rabbit hole. Dana Priest and William Arkin must've had the same feeling as they lay out their sourcing for the series. Their investigation is based on government documents, contracts, job descriptions, property records, corporate and social networking websites, additional records, and interviews with intelligence, military, corporate officials, and former officials of all stripes most requesting anonymity either because they are prohibited or they fear retaliation for voicing their concerns. As the first article in this series the authors are interested in detailing the government's involvement in expanding the intelligence ... More »

The length and complexity of this article mirrors its subject matter. After devoting considerable time, most readers are likely to leave with the impression that they have little more usable information than when they began. Yet after reading this article, it would be hard to overstate the case that the United States of America has become a budding police state.

Those who think the US squanders tens of billions each year in the supposed cause of intelligence gathering and assessing, will not change their minds by reading this article.

If this story came out, oh, say 5 years ago, then it would have been a great story. However, the press were too cowed to even consider something like this back then. I am sure their sudden attack of intestinal fortitude will evaporate as soon as some politician says "boo".

There is more information in this story than the Feds have on their own Top-Secret Programs. Now , If we just knew how much they cost, but that information is classified. Of special note are the Washington Post's Online Databases and their interactive mapping software. It lets the reader see all the connections and sort the data by topic, issue, or corporation. Really excellent.