Originally Posted by
rooster82
Fourth Echelon is not an official intelligence agency much like how Third Echelon wasn't, except that was funded by the government because it was created by the government. Fourth Echelon was created by one person: President Caldwell. An intelligence agency cannot answer directly to one person because it's too much power for that one personto have. It has to answer to a cabal of government officials. If the US government found out that she created Fourth Echelon herself and that only she knows about it, they would feel that it would be an improper use of her power. What do you think red tape is? Red tape is basically a way of the government, not the President saying ''you can't do this, you can't do that''. Fourth Echelon can cut through all the red tape, it has zero restrictions because for all intents and purposes it doesn't exist. Because it doesn't ''exist'' it has to secure funding itself.
''and what does this NOC business have to do with having to buy the OCP?''
The NOC business is a way of explaining why Fourth Echelon has to acquire the gear itself rather than the government issuing it. That's what a NOC Case Officer does. They acquire their own gear by using their contacts in the criminal underworld. If they need a gun, they'll use one of the safe houses that the CIA provides except the CIA doesn't know they are using it. If they can't use one of those safe houses, they'll find an arms dealer in the criminal underworld and acquire weapons that way.
''Okay so how about the Paladin? Also where does Sam buy state of the art stealth suits that are better than what is given to him. Why and where does Sam have to buy weapons that can't just be issued to him? The Paladin is large enough to house an entire intelligence agency then why doesn't it have a fully stocked armory?''
Use your brain. How does one normally acquire something without it being given to him or without buying it? Stealing. Is it too much of a stretch to believe that Fisher can't actually steal from the remnants of Third Echelon? I'm sure they'll have safe houses dotted about the globe and because he worked for them, he would know where they are. Those safe houses would be stocked with weapons, money, suits. He could just waltz right in and steal whatever he neded. Of course being one of the top spies in the US intelligence community he would know not to do this frequently. He would have to think outside the box and use arms dealers. His best friend owns a security firm who probably has access to a lot of weapons. Coste would be a good friend and help him out like he already has. Fisher will improvise because that what makes him good at his job. It's what makes him a cut above the rest. He could get anything he wanted at any given time at any place in the world.
As for the Paladin... I'm sure Fisher and Grim could've found an old decommissioned AC-130 in an airplane graveyard, fixed it up with their crew and they've got a fully functional mobile headquarters.
''Since when do intelligence agencies have to pay for hotel rooms, vehicles and such out of their own pocket? That doesn't make sense.''
How doesn't it make sense? Every company has a yearly budget to run on. Private companies have investors, intelligence agencies have the government. That budget isn't just for clandestine operations or intelligence gathering, it's also for food, accomodation, vehicles, weapons, training, security. Everything has a budget set by either the government or private investors. However a NOC Case Officer which is effectively a rogue agent would have to pay for accomodation, vehicles and weapons themselves using money they have acquired from contacts or side jobs because they don't officially exist. I mean how can you give money to something that doesn't exist without people asking where that money is going?
''Another thing I have to ask is why can't the president secretly fund 4E if she is supposedly the only one who knows about their existence.''
Because she needs approval. It's not like she can just deposit a hundred million dollars into a bank account somewhere in the Cayman Islands. People will start to wonder what it's for. And where does she get the money from? The government isn't giving it to her. She can't secretly use her own private fund. It would leave a paper trail and people would ask questions as to what that money is being used for.
''Also why didn't the President just make them a subdivision in the NSA like before. She could still be the only who knows about them and its not like any NSA employees are going to be compelled to ask questions and if they do try to find out any info they can be denied that since its presidential level info.''
Because it's not as simple as all that. You can't just create a sub-division inside the NSA and expect to be the only person who knows about it. How does she fund it? She can't fund it using the NSA's budget. Contrary to what you think people would ask questions. They won't just sit there and say ''twenty million dollars just disappeared from the budget again, it seems to have gone into a private account called 4E'' They would go to the Director of the NSA, tell him what they'd found, he'd go to the Director of National Intelligence, he'd go to the President, she'd tell him to stay out of it, he'd go to the Chiefs of Staff or senate, they'd go back to the President, she'd tell them to keep out of it once more and questions will be raised.
Nicky694
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