| President George W Bush has ordered the Central Intelligence Agency to launch the largest expansion in its history, increasing its spies and analysts by 50 per cent. The White House released a memorandum from Mr Bush to Porter Goss, the new CIA chief, stressing the importance of an ethnically diverse corps of spies, with proficiency in "mission critical" languages, and the ability to "blend in more easily in foreign cities". Increases would involve recruiting thousands of new analysts and spies in its Directorate of Intelligence - the analytical arm of the agency and the clandestine Directorate of Operations, which runs spies overseas. Exact staff numbers are secret but the CIA is thought to have more than 17,000 employees, with 4,500 in the clandestine service. |