Why the CIA Needs Me and Other 1st- and 2nd-Generation Immigrants

I keep getting messages from the CIA on LinkedIn because they need first- and second-generation immigrants to fill their huge need for foreign language speakers.

According to this Reuters article, U.S. spy agencies struggle with post-9/11 languages, by Tabassum Zakaria, “intelligence agencies have had to face the reality that the languages they need cannot be taught quickly, the street slang U.S. operatives and analysts require is not easy, and security concerns make the clearance process slow-going.”

It took this long for the CIA to realize that teaching Arabic and Dari to Americans who may or may not have had any foreign language training would be difficult? What kind of intelligence agency is that? Most language teachers know this and it takes little common sense to figure this out.

Now that the “intelligence” agencies have figured out that they need to get smarter, they “are reaching out to first- and second-generation Americans whose heritage would provide the language and cultural understanding quicker than trying to teach someone from scratch,” according to the article.

If you are a US citizen and list your languages on LinkedIn, don’t be surprised to get a message from the CIA recruiting you.