ScientiaPotentia

SA giving money to the CIA poisons the well. This is pure corruption.

odplocki

That's if e don't count the drug money.

Caboose_Calloway

Saudi oil money, Latin American narcotics money, Afghan poppy field money, PKK arms smuggling money, ISIS petrol smuggling money....

Seems like CIA could continue to function even if their whole US budget was cut to zero.

shmegegy

all that afghan opium isn't enough?

Warhymn

Regional covert opps. They have plenty of money for other activity and probably make a nice amount off of US illegal drug trade.

Super_Cooper

I was going to comment about the drug trade as well. The CIA is the largest drug cartel in the world. They import tons and tons of cocaine and heroin into the United States every year.

forgetmyname

these activities are essential to the agency's intelligence gathering operations. "if we didn't do this, the bad guys would"

Hektik

U.S. Relies Heavily on Saudi Money to Support Syrian Rebels

no shit sherlock, the US relies on 3rd party mercenaries to destabilize a region for personal gain for not the US but the politicians.

pray_the_gay_away

destabilize a region for personal gain for not the US but the politicians.

It's not for the politicians either. It's for the bankers. The goal is to maintain dollar denominated oil markets with currency pegs. Because why drill for oil when you can just print it?

Hektik

I get what you are saying but politicians aren't banks. They only receive minimally shitty returns for voting favors. The Petrodollar is another topic but I think tying a currency to a non recoverable outlet is pretty crazy.