There are some who truely believe that working for one's government, is in effect working for those who elected it. That what is done in the name of National Security will be put to wholesome use, for the betterment of the whole. One finds an odd mixture of cynicism and blind commitment among those academics who toil in the back rooms.. well from their homes for the most part.. as they put the various pieces of the puzzle into some semblance of shape for those who make national policy..
There is an unworldliness that can overtake some who spend too much time staring at the macro..
Such overcame David Kelly. The information he gave to the BBC over a casual lunch, was no more to him than that. Simple information available to anyone who cared to seek it out.
The spin was journalism.
Yet, with David Kelly the pressure of being dragged before a Commons Select Committee, the internal questioning of an entirely ethical man as to whether he had actually said the words as they appeared in print, the thought of scandal and loss of not only public but self esteem, was evident.
So it is with many these days. Character assassination can be a very effective weapon, especially in the 'back rooms'
But, taking the man's character itself, the plans he had made, the discussions he left in mid-point, we must wonder what the police investigation will uncover, let alone what the judicial inquiry will find.
'Dark and sinister actors are at work' said Kelly before he died.
One takes an oath of secrecy when one works with Intelligence. When you've made that oath to those who you've come to distrust, and in some cases outright fear, how binding might it become?
We will see.