I don’t know if it’s just me, but it really seems like a day doesn’t go by without seeing some story about torture in Guantanamo Bay or a new revelation into CIA secret prisons. At first I was stunned, then I was disgusted. Now I’m just plain mad.

Mad that hundreds of men and women are being held and tortured without legal recourse;
Mad that such actions only make the rest of the world angrier at America and therefore more likely to attack us in the future;
Mad that a handful of powerful men are destroying our chances to bring about resolution in the Middle East.
And mad that at one point I dreamed of being a part of it all. Seriously.

I was a junior in high school when 9/11 happened. I waved the flags, prayed for our troops, and supported the Patriot Act. I even went a step further—I decided that I wanted to join the CIA. Already fascinated by international affairs and politics, I was enchanted by the thought of accessing/gathering raw data, traveling, and serving my country.

It wasn’t until spring semester of my sophomore year that I changed my mind. I was meeting with a ret. Marine Captain to plan my course into the agency, via military intelligence. Near the end, I told him how excited I was at the prospect of developing my analytical skills in combination with physical ability. He paused.

“Um… actually you probably won’t be analyzing much, per say. Why don’t we focus on getting you physically prepared?” Read More »