Wanted: Spies
2005-03-15 21:35
Copenhagen - Danish intelligence services said on Tuesday they had launched a full-blown advertising campaign to recruit spies capable of digging up information on international terrorism and weapons of mass destruction.
Accused at home of relying too heavily on intelligence from foreign services on the situation in Iraq, where Denmark has deployed 500 troops, the Scandinavian country is looking for ways to expand its own ability to gather sensitive information, said the Danish defence intelligence service (DDIS).
Without clearly stating that it was on the look-out for potential spies, the DDIS ads posted in papers across Denmark last weekend revealed that the agency was keen to find people with "extraordinary talents", who were willing to work under "risky conditions" and who preferably spoke Arabic, Farsi or Pashto.
Candidates, who did not need to have a military background, should also be able to "write and speak English at a high level" and "it would be an advantage if they have knowledge of the cultures in the Middle East, North Africa and/or Central Asia".
DDIS spokesperson Ole Toft said his agency had received a 45m kroner (about R49m) budget for the project, and according to the wanted ads, qualified applicants stood to make 280nbsp;000 kroner (about R308 000) a year, plus bonuses.
The Danish spy search comes a year after a DDIS agent, who has since left the agency, publicly criticised it for relying too heavily on information from foreign intelligence services and for even getting some of its information off the internet.
Danish defence minister Soeren Gade told the Politiken paper on Tuesday that he was pleased the "DDIS is attempting to expand its recruitment base".