In the TV series 'Covert Affairs' Annie Walker as played by Piper Perabo is a 28-year-old CIA trainee who is suddenly promoted to field operative. Little does Walker know the promotion wasn't because of her full pouting BJ lips and sex me up eyes, it is an attempt by her superiors to lure out her former boyfriend who unknown to Walker is a top spy............. duh duh duh.
Pretty realistic huh? The key role of the CIA is intelligence gathering, failing that a lethal injection between the toes will do. If the series is based on real life events it isn't a surprise that the CIA are so incompetent, a trainee half-way through her training put out into the field and a blind guy back in the office monitoring operations.
These shows are a bit of fluff just some fun but what gets Old Knudsen is people believing what they say.
American bloke: "Did you know that the CIA aren't allowed to carry weapons on US soil?"
Yes someone did get this info from Covert Affairs and did pass it on thinking it was true because the show says so . While it is true that most CIA employees do not carry side arms since they are mostly pen pushers the CIA does have a Security Protective Service division or SPS which deals in the security of buildings and employees etc.
Considering the whole American gun courage ideal that is held so dear and that city officials do under the table deals with the police to be able to carry guns when they don't have to I'm sure that many CIA who have not learned to kill with a Bic pen or rolled up magazine like Jason Bourne do indeed carry a weapon. Also in the field it depends on what the agents are doing at the time.
The CIA do not operate on US soil but in the series they do ......... a little bit like how the FBI are used in movies and TV, they have a generic gun and badge so they can go anywhere and investigate anything I call forth the series X- files and the newer one Haven as examples of sanctioned rogue agents. No jurisdiction or state laws because a 45 minute TV show doesn't have time for agents who fear for their jobs by not following the protocol of bureaucracy.
Ms Walker in Covert Affairs should be given a gun because when the bad guy is beating her up she has been saved by Mossad agent, MI-5 double agent and her ex boyfriend who all had guns but who cares since she is nice to look at.
Try to remember people its only television.
