In fairness, it's not the fault of CTU's Human Resources Department that private domestic armies attempt to subvert our national defense (Last season), any more than they can stop renegade Chinese, German, Slavic, Russian, Latin American or Islamic terrorists who wish to nuke (or otherwise) harm us (pick your season). But what they could do, folks, is tighten up their hiring practices, so that Jack would be surrounded by colleagues who share his sense of purpose, as opposed to those who secretly thrive in the employ of his (and our) enemies.
One of my jobs, years ago, as a Special Agent for the Air Force Office of Special Investigations, was to conduct background checks on prospective airmen to make sure, among other things, that they had told the truth on their lengthy pre-enlistment questionnaires, loved the old red, white and blue, weren't too cozy with either communism or same-sex partners, didn't associate with subversives, had in fact gone to college and held the jobs they claimed to have had, didn't have criminal records, smoke funny cigarettes or otherwise indulge in illegal mood modifiers. While these checks were hardly foolproof, we were miles ahead of CTU.
Apart from Jack's loyal buddy, the ever-brooding and grimacing Chloe, all too many of his colleagues have--let's face it--not been well-vetted. As watchers of "24," we're prepared to accept disloyalty in government contractors, cops, FBI and Secret Service Agents, daughters of presidents, presidents themselves, and their senior aides. These folks, after all, are among the ones CTU is supposed to smoke out in the process of saving the world. Besides, it makes the show fun. But, the very least CTU (and we) have a right to expect is that, in doing so, they can count on their own. So let's take a trip down 24's memory lane and see just how shoddily the entity charged with protecting our internal security has ignored its own.
Going back to the very first season, one of Jack's closest partners (and former lover), the infamous Nina Meyers, not only worked against him, and killed his wife, but lived to return another day (literally 24-hours worth) to act as a nuclear weapons broker. Were there no trails whatsoever (e.g. unexplained payments, unusual travel, lavish lifestyle expenditures, even a BMW 7-series or Porshe) that a good background check could not have unearthed? Do you, for example, think CTU even knew she was fluent in German? It sure as hell came as a shock to us viewers. While Nina was
(let's face it) about as bad as a person could get, CTU learned little, if anything, from its tragic experience with her
with her. Indeed, there followed a succession of more or less serious breaches of internal security that CTU (or its superiors) were guilty of, amply demonstrating Santayana's old maxim "he that ignores history is doomed to repeat it."
Let's, for example, take Janey Farrel. She was, you may recall, the Judas who sold out CTU to the Drazens (remember the wicked Drazens?) in return for intel on Jack for a few coins of gold (more likely, cash).
And who can forget the lovely Marianne Taylor? She was the foxy black chick who seduced Curtis--one of Jack's better co-workers--and then threatened to blackmail him unless she was hired as a consultant--get this--in the middle of a crisis day! She went on to feed sensitive info to rogue computer consultant, Henry Powell, who was directly working for the bad guys. Now look, I know she was eventually caught, and cut a deal with CTU to pretend she was still working for the terrorists and paid for her indiscretion with her life, but why hire her in the first place without making sure she was whoever she claimed to be. At the very least, don't you think the head of H.R. might have said to Curtis, or Bill (the then head of CTU), "Hey guys, Marianne seems great, but we've got a hiring freeze in effect for the balance of the day while we try to save the world. Let's discuss her creds tomorrow." But no!
How about good old Spenser Wolfe? Even the loyal Chloe fell prey to his charm and engaged in a rare infidelity. What was Spence's problem? All he did was feed info to the people who killed President David Palmer--the man who proceeded President Obama as our first black head of state (albeit on TV, but still). Thank goodness, by the way, that All-State saw fit to give Palmer a post-assassination consolation prize as its spokesman (under the pseudonym "Dennis Haysbert"). Now look, I know that Spence "thought" he was on the side of the angels by leaking info to the White House and believed his actions were legit, and, yes, he later returned to the fold and helped CTU, but if he'd had his loyalties (and priorities) straight in the first place, David Palmer might have lived to transcend his marital problems, serve another term, and spare us that doofus--- no, not Allison Taylor, played by the gifted actress, Cherry Jones-- I'm talking about that cowardly, disloyal creep, Charles Logan (the guy with the decent, but mentally disturbed wife, Martha), who succeeded Palmer, but ultimately needed him to pull his chestnuts out of the fire. To make matters worse, the shameful Logan never even properly thanked him! (By the way, why do all of the presidents on 24 have such difficult spouses? One was certifiable, another a conniving bitch, and the third, a decent enough guy, but a meddling apologist for his traitorous --and murderous-- daughter,who needlessly complicates his Hillary-like wife's task. Must be something about the job.)
How about last season when even Tony Almeda--Jack's best friend and most loyal co-worker--became a turncoat? Say it ain't so, Tony! Perhaps, in fairness, this can't be laid at the feet of CTU H.R., who reasonably assumed (along with the rest of us) that Tony had been killed.
Besides, CTU had been dismantled, and even former chief, Bill Buchanan and Chloe, had apparently gone rogue, but Tony did him one better, and was not only alive, but actually working for the enemy. I know, it turns out he was just "pretending" to do so to get in good with the bad guys, but he nearly took down the country in the process. Wasn't Tony sorely in need of the pych evaluation to which CTU belatedly subjected the lovely, but tormented ex-FBI Agent, Renee Walker? If they had done so after Tony's pregnant wife, Michele, was so unceremoniously killed, the country and Jack might have been spared the agonies that tormented us all last season.
You know, the more I reflect on this, the more upset I'm becoming about the job performance of the CTU Human Resources Department. In fairness, CTU has a difficult mission, but really (for all we can tell), they only have one truly tough day (okay perilously disastrous day) per year. You would think they could use the vast resources of the federal government--including the uniformed services and the rest of the intelligence community--to help them out on their vetting and cross-checks.
Want a case in point? Try this season. Here's Jack, barely recuperated from a nearly fatal virus--and miracle experimental surgery--literally off to the coast with his daughter Kim, grand-daughter and son-in-law, when an old informant warns him of an impending assassination of a mid-eastern head of state (think Iran), who is seeking a moderate course toward peace which his brother, among others, is trying to thwart. Along comes Dana Walsh (or so she calls herself), a fairly senior analyst, engaged to CTU Agent Cole Ortiz (Freddie Prinze, Jr.), who--are you ready--obtained her highly sensitive job at CTU after changing her name and withholding the information that she was an ex-convict. Wouldn't you think that CTU would have been able to smoke out such blatant lies? Don't they fingerprint? Unfortunately she, an attractive, but hard-looking blonde, is all too easily blackmailed by a former thug boyfriend and his (even worse) cohort into being an accomplice to their crimes. As if this isn't bad enough (and God knows, Chloe and admirer Arlo see all the warning signs), she is permitted to not only leave the building to meet her ex (con and boyfriend), but somehow takes off (to borrow a line from "The Pajama Game") on this "once a year day" of all days to go home and meet with said thug who is crashing at her apartment. I've been in crisis mode in and out of government, and when it's "all hands on deck," you don't even get to trade jokes around the water cooler, let alone take personal calls or (gasp!) leave the premises.
Okay, so what am I asking? Obviously, we're not going to replace the head of Personnel (or Human Resources, or Leadership Management & Training or whatever they call it) in the midst of this crisis, but how about tomorrow, or even next week, find someone who knows how to make sure CTU can recruit the kind of people on whom they can rely. They never even get called to account--how about debriefing them for once! What they need is a skilled H.R. director, someone unafraid to make the tough decisions. The phrase "harsh, but fair," comes to mind. (I understand that, although up in years, the experienced spymaster Irma Bunt is actively pursuing opportunities in the job market. She just might be the cure for recruitment laxity.) Let your voice be heard!
