Tsk, tsk-- Macs involved in an espionage scandal. Whodathunkit? It just goes to show you there's a seamy underbelly to everything in this world. Faithful viewer Brian Jacobs Meyer was first to tell us about John Deutch, a former CIA director now under fire for having kept sensitive and classified information on his home computer. In intelligence circles, that's technically known as a "no-no." According to the New York Times, not only was Deutch accused of "[mishandling] large volumes of secret material," but the resulting internal investigation was also "impeded" by "top officials" looking to protect their old crony. Misdeeds and coverups in the CIA? Say it ain't so! Is nothing sacred anymore?

The interesting bit, though, is that when Deutch took over as director of the CIA, he declined the classified computer the agency offered to install in his house, which would allow him to work on classified documents from home. Instead, he's alleged to have used "unclassified Macintosh computers" at his home to perform the sensitive work. He claims that he was "afraid that other CIA officials would see what he was writing" if he used the classified terminals. We have to say, there's a certain degree of logic to that-- and as Brian points out, an "unclassified" Mac is probably still more secure than whatever the heck the CIA is using for classified PCs. Still, a no-no's a no-no, and scandal's the soy milk in our coffee, so to heck with it.

On a personal note, the AtAT staff is very familiar with John Deutch; he was the provost of MIT for a short time while we attended, and even then his close ties to the CIA and the Defense Department drew harsh criticism. Had we known at the time he was a Mac user, we may have been inclined to cut him a little slack. Hey, good taste can make up for plenty of misdeeds and peccadillos in this world. But that doesn't mean we're inviting Rush Limbaugh over for brunch anytime soon.