CSIS has been allowed without any public debate or much clear thinking to become a hybrid service with eyes on both domestic threats and overseas targets, Wark says. These are two very different fields of operation requiring very different skill sets and oversight. Its also a trend most of our Western allies would see as a huge mistake, indeed even intelligence heresy. Thats why the landmark McDonald inquiry into the RCMP, whose 1981 report led to the setting up of CSIS, warned that such a union can bring contagion in our democracy, for without a real distinction between these two types of intelligence gathering the often shady aspects of foreign spying can infect security operations at home. This is a key reason our allies keep such a firewall by clearly differentiating the skills, tactics and even legal powers of their respective home and foreign operations. Hence Britain has its famous MI5 (domestic) and MI6 (foreign), the U.S. has an FBI and CIA divide, and France its home (DCRI) and external (DGSE) services.
Posted on: Tue, 28 Oct 2014 10:38:16 +0000