Accused Russian spies lived perfect Boston lives(blog.washingtonpost.com)
blog.washingtonpost.com
Accused Russian spies lived perfect Boston lives
http://blog.washingtonpost.com/spy-talk/2010/06/accused_russian_spies_lived_pe.html?hpid=topnews
6 comments
I would have thought that the FBI would've had a harder time setting up meetings using their undercover guys...
I always thought each spy dealt with very few handlers / I wouldn't have showed to a 'phone call' ~ but I also see they edited the document a lot; I guess the FBI was able to uncover some of their "signals of authenticity" and use them against them;
~ I think the main charge is the fake passport (which the FBI set her up with) ~ of course that charge leads to being a SPY which leads to? life or death in prison
I always thought each spy dealt with very few handlers / I wouldn't have showed to a 'phone call' ~ but I also see they edited the document a lot; I guess the FBI was able to uncover some of their "signals of authenticity" and use them against them;
~ I think the main charge is the fake passport (which the FBI set her up with) ~ of course that charge leads to being a SPY which leads to? life or death in prison
Taking the US/Russia relationship at face value, I doubt they'll have to serve prison time. But it does make me wonder: why the sting now? A good strategy for this game is that when you know who the spies are, you play along and let them "spy." Then when the game gets serious you're one step ahead as you already know who to watch and can possibly even feed them tainted information.
Why did the US "fire all of its guns at once" here? Methinks there's more to this.
Why did the US "fire all of its guns at once" here? Methinks there's more to this.
>Methinks there's more to this.
I was thinking the same thing. I just watched a RT interview with a "military analyst" here http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H9kwPr9PqG8&feature=playe.... I transcribed parts that stood out to me:
"...but basically it just demonstrates it's not Obama who controls the foreign policy regarding the..., that somebody within the inards of the body politicking ... so the beltway bandits, I believe, has regained the initiative from the White House, and with their moles it is not the Russian moles or spies, it is the neo-conservative's moles in the White House who are trying to hijack the agenda and who are actively against resetting the Russian, American strategic partnership to deal with the common threat like counter-terrorism strategy, and counter drug strategy in Afghanistan and Paskistan."
"...let me tell you something ... it's ludicrous from professional intelligence perspective, because in open society as America is definitely, it's open source intelligence data mining which becomes the main priority for all intelligence officers working openly in the United States, and in Russia, and everywhere else. The problem is why America is missing the analytical minds who can absorb and analyze the incoming threats ... real threats, not imaginary threats. "
I was thinking the same thing. I just watched a RT interview with a "military analyst" here http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H9kwPr9PqG8&feature=playe.... I transcribed parts that stood out to me:
"...but basically it just demonstrates it's not Obama who controls the foreign policy regarding the..., that somebody within the inards of the body politicking ... so the beltway bandits, I believe, has regained the initiative from the White House, and with their moles it is not the Russian moles or spies, it is the neo-conservative's moles in the White House who are trying to hijack the agenda and who are actively against resetting the Russian, American strategic partnership to deal with the common threat like counter-terrorism strategy, and counter drug strategy in Afghanistan and Paskistan."
"...let me tell you something ... it's ludicrous from professional intelligence perspective, because in open society as America is definitely, it's open source intelligence data mining which becomes the main priority for all intelligence officers working openly in the United States, and in Russia, and everywhere else. The problem is why America is missing the analytical minds who can absorb and analyze the incoming threats ... real threats, not imaginary threats. "
You are probably right. There is more to this.
The 'passport' story was probably created to conceal the original source -- someone who just defected and dumped this info all at once. Perhaps someone in FBI was coming up for promotion so the decided to expose some spies to get some bonuses in return.
Often these stories are stirred up for some political goal. Perhaps Russian are closing in on some CIA/FBI moles and US govt. decided to create a situation where exchanges could take place.
Or maybe some elements in the US govt. decided that the relationship between US and Russia has gotten too cozy lately and want to stir up come conflict and milk that for some political gain...
The 'passport' story was probably created to conceal the original source -- someone who just defected and dumped this info all at once. Perhaps someone in FBI was coming up for promotion so the decided to expose some spies to get some bonuses in return.
Often these stories are stirred up for some political goal. Perhaps Russian are closing in on some CIA/FBI moles and US govt. decided to create a situation where exchanges could take place.
Or maybe some elements in the US govt. decided that the relationship between US and Russia has gotten too cozy lately and want to stir up come conflict and milk that for some political gain...
According to the NYT, the FBI was worried some or one of the suspects was about to flee the country.
I wonder if any American agents were recently captured in Russia. Even with a hostile power, most spies end up in prisoner exchanges.
> ~ I think the main charge is the fake passport (which the FBI set her up with) ~ of course that charge leads to being a SPY which leads to? life or death in prison
Nobody's been charged with espionage, so neither of those sentences apply. Instead, they've been charged with far more minor things like failing to register as an agent of a foreign government.
Nobody's been charged with espionage, so neither of those sentences apply. Instead, they've been charged with far more minor things like failing to register as an agent of a foreign government.
> I always thought each spy dealt with very few handlers / I wouldn't have showed to a 'phone call'
Usually in these cases FBI and CIA would plant various stories in the media, and produce evidence during the trial that conceals real sources of information (often defectors and moles).
Otherwise, it seems like the alleged spies and their handlers were just very sloppy.
Usually in these cases FBI and CIA would plant various stories in the media, and produce evidence during the trial that conceals real sources of information (often defectors and moles).
Otherwise, it seems like the alleged spies and their handlers were just very sloppy.
hahah..nice one
Just a warning to anybody using Linked-In or Facebook - journalists are already calling all the "friends" they can find online for details. FBI will be calling soon too. This information is just too easy to find for anybody who has time to type in the name into a search box.
Just for the hell of it, I searched for both Heathfield and Foley on LinkedIn, and I’m a third-degree connection to both of them. (I wonder if this is a sign of how incestuous the Boston high-tech community is.)
> how incestuous the Boston high-tech community is.
Or how well the alleged spies have been planted...
Or how well the alleged spies have been planted...
Or how well the sleeper cells have had the programming subsumed into their consciousness...
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spies_Reminiscent_of_Us#Plot
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spies_Reminiscent_of_Us#Plot
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Suddenly the 1977 movie Telefon sounds a lot more plausible: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Qg0w8qbBQo
Growing up in Boston, all my russian friends would joke of such things as this, or other connections. And here I was thinking it was but schoolyard bluster!
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http://www.justice.gov/opa/documents/062810complaint1.pdf