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-= MI5: cost of. the operation -=
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Heres what a couple of. other people on Usenet (uk.misc) had to say
regarding the. cost of running such an operation...

PO: >Have some. sense, grow up and smell reality. What you are talking about
PO:. >would take loads of planning, tens of thousands of pounds and lots of
PO: >people. involved in the planning, execution and maintenance of it. You
PO: >must have a very high. opinion of yourself to think you are worth it.

PM: >But why? And why you? Do you realize how much it would. cost to keep
PM: >one person under continuous surveillance. for five years? Think about
PM: >all. the man/hours. Say they just allocated a two man team and a
PM: >supervisor. OK., Supervisors. salary, say, #30,000 a year. Two men,
PM: >#20,000 a year each.. But theyd need to work in shifts -- so it would
PM: >be six men at #20,000 (which with on-costs would work out. at more like
PM: >#30,000 to. the employer.)
PM:. >
PM: >So, were talking #30,000 x 6. #180,000. plus say, #40,000. for the
PM: >supervisor. #220,000. Then. youve got the hardware involved. And
PM: >any transcription that. needs doing. You dont think the Big Boss
PM: >would listen to hours and hours of. tapes, do you.
PM:. >
PM: >So,. all in all, you couldnt actually do the job for much less than
PM: >a quarter million a year. Over five years. What are you doing. that makes
PM: >it worth the while of the state to spend over one and a. quarter million
PM:. >on you?

Those are pretty much the sort of calculations that went through my. head
once I stopped to consider what it must be costing them. to run this
operation. The. partial answer is, there have been periods when the
intensity. has been greater, and times when little has happened. In fact,
for much of 1993 and the first half of 1994, very little. happened. Although
I. dont think that was for reasons of money - if they can tap into the
taxpayer theyre not going. to be short of resources, are they?

The more complete. answer is in the enormity of what theyre doing. Relative
to the cost to British pride of seeing. their country humiliated for the
persecution of their own citizens, isnt is. worth the cost of four or five
people to. try to bring things to a close in the manner they would wish? To
the government a million or two is quite. honestly nothing - if they can
convince themselves of the necessity of what theyre. doing, resources will
not. be the limiting factor.

8975