Howling:Torchwood 4 to have US CIA Agents?

I read that Torchwood season 4 will be partially filmed in the USA and feature two CIA agents.

Well, this will make for alot of fanboy pickings because... CIA Agents do not operate within the borders of the US.

Quick overview of the byzantine organization of the US Gov and the various agencies... they are usually split between internal and external. The CIA operates EXTERNALLY to US Borders. CIA Agents do not operate or have jurisdiction WITHIN the borders of the USA. The FBI does. That's why Mulder and Scully were FBI agents. CIA Operatives mostly operate out of embassies and other undercover covers outside the USA. Its the same with the military organizations. The US Military can only be used and deployed outside the borders of the US. The National Guard are exceptions because they are _technically_ state level formations and so can be deployed in emergencies or riots. The Coast Guard is under the control of the Department of Transportation unless put under the Department of the Navy in wartime, so they too can operate in US Territory.

Now I know this is all just arguing about how many Leelas can dance on the head of a pin, but I can guarantee that if Russel Davies keeps his "American" cast being CIA Agents, his attempts to break into the US Market will get alot of giggles and sniggers from fanboys like me who have nothing better to do then fill Torchwood boards with "CIA Agents can't run around with weapons on US Soil like that! The FBI has jurisdiction... yadda yadda yadda"

Someone tell Davies if they happen to send him an email or something!

From what the teasers and spoilers say, it looks like it will start off with a CIA agent investigating a foreign (remember, Torchwood is from the UK) agency or conspiracy, which is perfectly within their purview.

Of course at some point, he and presumably another agent will end up involved as part of the Torchwood team, which will presumably operate within America. But keep in mind:


 * Well, since the season won't take place entirely in the U.S., the CIA agents may not appear in America. Don't complain about possible inconsistincies until the season's out, because there might not be any.Icecreamdif 18:28, August 12, 2010 (UTC)


 * We don't know that they'll still be active CIA agents. For all we know, they might be rogue agents on the run at that point. If not, they might be officially "on unpaid leave" (like E. Howard Hunt in the mid 60s), or "retired" but working for a CIA front company (like Hunt again in the early 70s).


 * The CIA has broken the law before, many times. Look up Operation Mockingbird and Operation Chaos for the most blatant and best-documented cases.


 * The CIA has argued repeatedly that the law actually only says that they have no domestic police powers, not that they can't operate at all domestically. Each time they make this argument it fails, but Congress has never passed a law confirming the intention of the law.


 * CIA agents have just as much right to wave guns around as any other non-police citizens (which varies from state to state, of course). Technically, there's no law against them shouting "CIA" and waving badges around as they do so. Of course that doesn't actually give them any extra authority any more than shouting "XYZ" and waving your gas bill does, but is it their fault if someone gets the wrong idea?


 * We don't know that they'll be waving guns around and shouting "CIA" at any point anyway. That's not a typical thing for CIA agents to do, even when they are legally allowed to (like at Gitmo or in US embassies abroad). --99.35.132.17 10:58, May 22, 2011 (UTC)