Gerrard Kaonga
A former CIA officer has explained the inner workings of the US agency and insisted there is one thing every agent, regardless of role, is thinking on the job.
Now ask yourself... what do you know about the CIA? What do you know about the day-to-day or its bigger operations?
If you are fascinated by the dark and morally gray history of the US, chances are you might know a fair bit, but if you are an everyday civilian-Mcnormal... then everything you know is likely from pop culture.
Unfortunately, if your understanding of what the CIA is and what is does is straight from film and TV, in reality, it's a lot different than you might think.
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Former CIA intelligence officer Andrew Bustamante spoke with UNILAD to give his insights about the agency, speaking of both the highs and lows of working for the federal government.
And while the real life of a CIA agent may not be as thrilling and glamorous as it is portrayed in pop culture, Bustamante did say there was thing that is occasionally adequately portrayed in popular media; the CIA’s determination to keep Americans safe.
Speaking about one thing he wishes everyone knew about the US agency, he pointed to the ultimate goal it is working towards.
He said: “The people that work at the CIA are trying very hard to keep other people safe.
“That is, that's what they do. They may not always make the decision that you agree with. They may not look the way you expect them to look.
“They may not be as smart as you want them to be. They may not be as kind as you want them to be, but every single day, what they are thinking is, ‘how do I keep people safe?’
“And that is the driving force behind CIA. It's what I loved about CIA. It's what I miss about CIA, because life is so much. My life outside of CIA is so much more complicated than life ever was.”
Apart from the priority of American lives, the former agent also highlighted how the agency taught him skills that were indispensable in regular life, that he may not have learnt otherwise.
But there are also ‘lows’ you have to come to terms with, like being expendable for missions if things do go wrong.
And all those ideals of being a super-spy, that the agency simply couldn’t survive without...? Well, according to Bustamante, they're a complete myth.
It would cost precious resources like time and money to create an elite super-spy, but the individual could still die just as easily had they not learnt 30 different combat styles and 25 languages.
But, as Bustamante explained, being one of many can actually be an asset as a spy.
“There's incredible power in your anonymity, in being invisible and being overlooked, in being ignored. And it's, it's completely counter-cultural", he said.
“Because our whole life we are taught that we're supposed to stand out, we're supposed to get attention. You're supposed to get noticed.”