You know its funny, in tons of literature that I’ve had the experience of reading it comes up that field agents love to discover marks with “sexually deviant” behavior because they are instantly targets for use as information gathering sources because of the blackmail potential. I always just thought this was a throw back to cold-war era spy trade, McCarthyism, etc.

However, I have applied for several intelligence and government jobs, including the military, FBI, etc, and I just realized that on all of those applications forms they ask a question that takes this form or similar: “Do you have any felonies or misdemeanors, political affiliations or homosexual relationships in your past that may lead you to be compromised or blackmailed?”

I always answered no to that question, without really thinking about it- because I am none of those things. They are asking precisely what you say they shouldn’t be asking! I guess in the back of my head, I figured a homosexual answering that question who was ‘out’ wouldn’t have relationships that would allow them to be compromised or blackmailed because they wouldn’t be a coercive pivot for them- never once did I consider that it might affect their ability to be hired. (If you are wondering what kind of sexual relationship would be a coercive pivot for me, it would be an adulterous relationship- similar to the majority of senators and governors- but they don’t ask if you’re a cheater!)

The fact is, my impression of the intelligence community is a white boys club without very much diversity. I presume to get in that club would mean that you bind yourself to the goal of the club: gathering information- and therefore the use blackmail of any sort, including blackmailing based on homosexual behavior is valuable if it can get you assets. You don’t have to trust your assets- you don’t have to even like them, but what they give you- information – is the lifeblood of that club, and to stay in that club, you have to use these tools. The problem is that everyone can be blackmailed.

And if everyone can be blackmailed, how can the Intelligence Oversight Committee oversee anyone in that club? How can we prevent them from using tools like torture or illegal activities just to get that lifeblood? Information is a commodity that rots quickly, even on the vine, and because of that it is more powerful and seductive than money, sex, power, or any of the other things we generally think of as reasons to fight or kill. So yeah, if you play in the club, no matter what, you’ll be blackmailed, so who cares what the reason is for that blackmail?