Mr Clarke's tone is sarcastic. "The Pentagon says 'Oh, good news, we're having a revolution in military affairs and we are going to net-centric warfare where everything will be netted together', and they tout this as progress," he says.

While Mr Clarke admits it's possible the CIA and NSA may seek to infiltrate US software companies and plant back doors of their own into products — without the permission or knowledge of the companies themselves — he doubts the Government is engaged in those types of activities. "That's possible, (but) it probably gives the United States Government more credit for competence than it deserves," he says

Their skills are declared obsolescent, their job is outsourced, their company is taken over or suddenly switches to different products and markets. Constant downsizing and delayering make any promotion provisional. In such a world, only a fool commits either to a particular company or a particular skill.