WASHINGTON: The US Central Intelligence Agency is making a concerted effort to recruit minorities to aid in the American “war on terror,” the agency’s top spy said in an interview published on Monday.

“Somebody with firsthand knowledge of another language and culture — they immediately have a tremendous advantage. We want them very much,” Director of the National Clandestine Service Jose Rodriguez told USA Today newspaper.

But even though one in four secret agents recruited this year has been a minority, the CIA runs into problems attracting qualified candidates due to red tape and competition from the business world, he said.

“We have to work really hard to get minorities,” he said. “There is competition with the corporate world, and our own process of getting people cleared (through background checks) still takes too long.”—AFP