MovieChat Forums > Body of Lies (2008) Discussion > Question about Garland (tech guy)

Question about Garland (tech guy)

posted 14 years ago by BeerDrinkingIdiot
5 replies | jump to latest

What exactly was this guy's job? Was he purely technical/logistical support for field agents? He had a pretty nice gig - getting to stay in that nice house in a pretty forest, drinking coffee and eating fresh fruit while he worked.

Was it ever explained in the movie why he worked where he did? I was kind of confused about that. Do jobs like that really exist in intelligence agencies? I always imagined support guys either in headquarters or working out of dingy field offices. Not houses.

[–] hankmcn 14 years ago

I thought it implied that his work was so secret that he was literally hidden away in the forest, probably somewhere on the Camp David property.

Destined to never come out, fresh fruit and gadgets are his life. I doubt an agent of any priority would ever be allowed to visit his lair. We pay his salary and upkeep...we employ some strange people as American taxpayers.

[–] Pirate-BoB 14 years ago

Hes more of a guy who is probably hired by intel agencies in America to go behind the red tape. This is why Hoffman told Ferries that they could not tell the CIA they are doing this operation so they needed a man with no ties with any agency yet is very much capable as any 100 man team.

[–] BeerDrinkingIdiot 14 years ago

So is he not with the CIA? I think I missed the part where they introduce him or give some background. Was there anything else they say about who he is? I guess he's sort of freelance, then. Pretty interesting guy, I was hoping we'd learn more about him.

[–] Spartan713 14 years ago

Garland didnt officially work for the Agency, he was what one might call an Agency Asset. My understanding is that Garland ran some variation of a PMC (Private Military Corporation) due to the comment he made to Ferris regarding his "ninjas" in waiting. Garland was ideal for this sort of operation because he had the technical capacity to make it happen and since he ran his own operation (not within the Agency) the CIA would have plausible deniability if it ever became public.

For a real life comparison, look into the recently uncovered work that Blackwater was contracted to do for the CIA. Erik Prince (Blackwater Founder/ former CEO) was an agency asset who provided support for classified operations as he was uniquely positioned to do so - due to his vast resources (private army).
Think of Garland as a more cerebral/effeminate version of Erik Prince, operating on a much smaller scale.

[–] hankmcn 14 years ago

There are other gov't. info gathering agencies besides the CIA.