Russia Captures Alleged American CIA Agent In Moscow 195
wiredmikey tips this AFP report:
"Russia on Tuesday said it had detained an alleged American CIA agent working undercover at the U.S. embassy who was discovered with a large stash of money as he was trying to recruit a Russian intelligence officer. Russia's Federal Security Service (FSB, ex-KGB) identified the man as Ryan C. Fogle — third secretary of the political section of Washington's embassy in Moscow — and said he had been handed back to the embassy after his detention. Photographs published show his alleged espionage equipment including wigs, a compass, torch and even a mundane atlas of Moscow as well as a somewhat old fashioned mobile phone. Russia's Federal Security Service (FSB) said Fogle was carrying 'special technical equipment, written instructions for recruiting a Russian citizen, a large sum of money and means for changing a person's appearance.' The FSB also said the U.S. intelligence service has made repeated attempts to recruit the staff of Russian law enforcement agencies and special services. The incident comes amid a new chill in Russian-U.S. relations sparked by the Syrian crisis and concern in Washington over what it sees as President Vladimir Putin's crackdown on human rights."
Bitcoins (Score:3, Funny)
What if he would have been secretly paid Bitcoins?
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In Soviet Union, you don't come from U.S. embassy to buy large amount of hemp from undercover FSB officer, ..dude.
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What if he would have been secretly paid Bitcoins?
He is the officer. The people he wanted to recruit should have been paid in Bitcoins.
Amateur (Score:5, Interesting)
Either that, or the CIA decided to have some fun with a Rookie and set him up with a couple of wigs and told him to go on a "Top Secret Assignment" and the poor slob got caught.
Re:Amateur (Score:5, Interesting)
Yeah he sounds a bit like Ben Zygier [wikipedia.org] to be honest.
Re:Amateur (Score:5, Funny)
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Beat me to it! He's definitely the decoy GLG-20.
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I watched that again last weekend. It was as painful as I remembered.
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I'm not sure I see the tech angle on this /. story but I find it interesting that he had a plastic bag that says RFID Shielded.
Here's a picture of the blue RFID bag:
http://admin.new.rt.com/files/news/1f/11/50/00/48.jpg [rt.com]
Re:Amateur (Score:5, Informative)
"Russia on Tuesday said it had detained an alleged American CIA agent working undercover at the U.S. embassy
This spy seems to have all the marks of an made-up-Amateur or a set-up.
There are two kinds of CIA employees: "undercover agents" and those who have ever entered a US embassy. This separation is required by US law (after some casualness about this lead to many deaths, IIRC). If you've ever walked into an US embassy, you can never be an undercover agent, simple as that.
A goodly amount of "spying" is simply being in-country and collecting the local media and the local mood and reporting it back. What the government is telling the people and how the people are reacting. Research into local public records. That sort of non-secret intelligence gathering is still the CIAs job, and is probably what most of their employees abroad do.
It's also worth remembering that, unlike what movies might have you believe, the undercover agents don't personally "spy" in the sense of sneaking into government buildings and such. They develop relationships with people who are authorized to be in those buildings, or with "freedom fighters" who are shooting at those people, or whatever. Their job is to convince others to do the stuff you'd make a movie about.
Re:Amateur (Score:5, Insightful)
You're assuming that:
A. Our federal government isn't totally fucking retarded.
B. Our federal government follows any of their own rules/laws/policies.
Both of which have been proven about as false as possible after this past week.
I've always wondered if our government was actually bad... or just inept boobs. You know, never ascribe to malice that which is adequately explained by incompetence... color me surprised to find out they are both malicious AND incompetent.
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Honestly, after the last week of headlines, I'm wondering if there is any other meaningful way that this administration can fuck up, without causing wars or prompt economic disaster.
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Well, "Our federal government" employs about 5 million people, so trying to generalize the action of one individual is totally fucking... well, you said it ;)
What's really going to blow your mind is how many bacteria live in your body. Literally pounds of bacteria colonize a healthy human. If you can't generalize the action of the government based on its aggregate actions, then you can't generalize the action of a single human based on its aggregate actions either.
But, that's bullshit! You can judge a government by its actions. We've got a welfare system just good enough to keep you in poverty, an economic system leading more people to the welfare system, and a
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There are two kinds of CIA employees: "undercover agents" and those who have ever entered a US embassy. This separation is required by US law (after some casualness about this lead to many deaths, IIRC). If you've ever walked into an US embassy, you can never be an undercover agent, simple as that.
Sorry, but this is the most ridiculous statement I have read on this thread. If it's public federal law can you provide ANY citation? Should be all over the place but I can't find anything even resembling it...
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If this was some serious spy, this is not how FSB would have cashed on the catch. This thing would have been quietly dealt with between agencies or they would have just kept an eye on him as on a "known spy" to use for spreading misinformation or something.
Since he is some entry position diplomat, the only thing this catch is good for, is to get some anti-US outrage inside the country going.
No biggie, really.
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The US government gets a good excuse for restricting its own people even more since they now have a plausible enemy.
The CIA gets more funding since they now have a plausible enemy.
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Also, he was caught with "written instructions for recruiting a Russian citizen"??
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Plus he's carrying written instructions, which is an incredibly stupid thing, and a compass which is going to be of little use in a city. This stinks of a setup. I don't see what the CIA could gain from this, but I can imagine Russia doing it as a propaganda piece - impersonate a CIA agent, 'recruit' someone, catch him, and announce to your people that the cold war isn't over yet but your superior Russian intelligence agents can still catch the minions of the capitalist pigs, or whatever the current rhetori
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This spy seems to have all the marks of an made-up-Amateur or a set-up.
Yeah, except the U.S. has apparently admitted that this "amateur" was working for the U.S. embassy (though denied he was a spy).
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Never attribute to malice what can be attributed to incompetence.
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Comment removed (Score:3, Interesting)
When do we get the ... (Score:4, Interesting)
Lopsided war (Score:5, Funny)
Their spies are hot redheads, ours look like dimwitted fratboys. I can't tell if we're losing or winning.
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Their spies are hot redheads, ours look like dimwitted fratboys. I can't tell if we're losing or winning.
Who do you mean by our spies, comrade?
Re:Lopsided war (Score:5, Interesting)
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I realize that was meant to be a frivolous statement, but there's an actual reason for that. The CIA has traditionally recruited from within the 'old boy network' of Ivy League fraternities and secret societies, people whose loyalty to the existing power structure they can pretty much guarantee because they were born into it.
You might want to ask someone how that can work out.
The Cambridge spy ring [bbc.co.uk]
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Not just women. During the buildup to WWII Martha Dodd [wikipedia.org], the daughter of the US ambassador to Germany was romantically subourned by one of the young male attache's to the Soviet embassy in Berlin. It turned out he was under orders from Moscow to do so.
If you think they aren't still doing this kind of thing (even perhaps with same sex relationships), you're kidding yourself.
Maybe the FSB has silenced this site (Score:2)
Re:Maybe the FSB has silenced this site (Score:4, Interesting)
What's to talk about? The remarks about the blindingly amateurish nature of this guy have already been made. Honey pot or patsy, either way, we know damn well that Russians aren't recruited by the American Third Secretary of the embassy who toddles around with a bag full of wigs. Sounds like Putin called up Obama and said, "I need a Big Bad America thing in the news. What can you do for me?" and Obama responded with, "Hey Rob! Who do we not like in the embassy?" and there you go. Or vice versa. Does it really matter?
In short, we're bored with this story. It's "news" only for particularly lame values of manufactured news. We're so bored with it nobody is even bothering to generate conspiracy theories about this being a calibration test of fake spy stories, to see who reacts and how.
Re:Maybe the FSB has silenced this site (Score:4, Interesting)
Re:Maybe the FSB has silenced this site (Score:4, Interesting)
It's annoying when people don't check their facts before they rush in to "correct" you on this site. Somebody please mod that AC back down.
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Except that this isn't unusual and won't have any long-reaching consequences.
A better explanation is that the GP hasn't noticed that Slashdot posts slow down around this time of day (GMT).
yeah. (Score:5, Insightful)
concern in Washington over what it sees as President Vladimir Putin's crackdown on human rights."
Coming from the US with its imprisoning of more people (by absolute numbers and percentage of population) than any other country in the world. Indefinite detention, torture, summary execution. Yeah. The US has credibility when it comes to human rights.
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GITMO (Score:2)
Yes, GITMO etc removes the moral high ground, but that doesn't change things like a difficult journalist getting assassinated as a present for Putin's birthday last year.
Actually GITMO is precisely to maintain the moral high ground by providing extraterritoriality. The extraterritoriality is what makes it safe from enforcement of US law, and makes the president and his underlings safe from accusations of violating US law by condoning events on its premises.
This is exactly why it has not been shut down, despite the campaign promises of several presidents, including Obama. Once sworn in, they get a thorough briefing on everything, which includes a little sit-down about GITM
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precisely to maintain the moral high ground by providing extraterritoriality
That's precisely the opposite of maintaining the moral high ground.
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No that's called being a weasel with a trick that doesn't fool anyone but avoids some inconvenient wording. It actually results in a greater loss of moral high ground than taking responsibility would. I doubt even Nixon would have tried to pull that one, but here we are today with it.
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Yes, GITMO etc removes the moral high ground, but that doesn't change things like a difficult journalist getting assassinated as a present for Putin's birthday last year.
Actually GITMO is precisely to maintain the moral high ground by providing extraterritoriality. The extraterritoriality is what makes it safe from enforcement of US law, and makes the president and his underlings safe from accusations of violating US law by condoning events on its premises.
This is exactly why it has not been shut down, despite the campaign promises of several presidents, including Obama. Once sworn in, they get a thorough briefing on everything, which includes a little sit-down about GITMO with the White House General Council, after which it stays open to aboid personal criminal liability for the staff in the executive branch, up to and including the president.
are you as retarded as GWB and the in office Obama? everyone knows why they did gitmo - precisely that's why it's not maintaining any moral high ground, it's an ongoing example of how the american government can do what it wants and not give a fuck about rules they imposed on themselves or rules from international agreements.
it doesn't maintain moral high ground. it only maintains nitpicking-with-laws high ground whilst clearly being against the intention of said laws. it only provides any high ground if yo
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Also known as the "and you are lynching Negroes" defense: The Soviets used the endemic racism and violence in the US as an excuse to send people to the gulag or have them killed after a show trial.
Let's go with this: The Russians are wrong for going after, for instance, Pussy Riot. The Americans are wrong for going after, say, Yaser Hamdi and Bradley Manning in the way that they did. There are some countries with a good human rights record, but Russia and the US are not among them.
Re:yeah. (Score:4, Insightful)
How blinded are you? What do you think the purpose of the Black Sites is, lovely vacation sites? You're too late, the previous administration would have paid you for posting nonsense like this, I think this one just relies on volunteers.
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The POWs in Guantanamo do get Red Cross visits [cbsnews.com]. As to the rest of their status - in order to receive the full protection of the Geneva Convention as a combatant you have to obey the Law of War. Al Qaida doesn't do that, quite the reverse. Their basic strategy of directly targeting civilian noncombatants constitutes a war crime. They are quite rightly recognized as unlawful combatants. And do note, it isn't that this categorization is unknown internationally, but rather that various advocates refuse to
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Although sometimes the torture is indeed deliberate policy. http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2013/may/13/guantanamo-bay-hunger-strike-forced-feeding [guardian.co.uk]
On a related note, can you post any facts on whether the CIA had or has a policy of followup drone strikes on rescuers/funerals and/or of treating multiple civilian casualties as acceptable if it means another dead terrorist? E.g. http://www.nytimes.com/2009/06/19/world/asia/19pstan.html?_r=1&ref=world [nytimes.com]
I'm more than beginning to have the disturbing sense that
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Although sometimes the torture is indeed deliberate policy.
It turns out that this "torture" is a routine medical procedure performed daily for large numbers of people, from infants to the elderly: Feeding tube [wikipedia.org]. Are they being "tortured" too?
So, question for you - if the US authorities were to stop forced feeding, and 60 detainees actually did starve themselves to death, would you complain? I expect so. Sort of a damned if you do, damned if you don't situation, isn't it? What do you think would happen if the threat of starving yourself to death becomes a "get o
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Close enough that water boarding is just maintaining the prisoners' head hygiene?
Without making any judgement on interrogation practices or detainee treatment, the argument that something is a "routine
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No, waterboarding is not meant to maintain hygiene. It is clearly a coercive measure. But coercion doesn't necessarily imply torture legally. Torture has specific legal meaning and tests.
Medical procedures necessary to sustain life are sometime uncomfortable or even painful for a period of time, and can even result in significant damage to the body. Does that make them torture? If US forces found an Al Qaida member who had a suicide bomb charge that detonated prematurely and shredded one of his legs, i
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The American Medical Association, the World Medical Assembly, etcetera, etcetera, disagree with you.
6. Where a prisoner refuses nourishment and is considered by the physician as capable of forming an unimpaired and rational judgment concerning the consequences of such a voluntary refusal of nourishment, he or she shall not be fed artificially. The decision as to the capacity of the prisoner to form such a judgment should be confirmed by at least one other independent physician. The consequences of the refusal of nourishment shall be explained by the physician to the prisoner.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Declaration_of_Tokyo [wikipedia.org] and http://www.wma.net/en/30publications/10policies/c18/index.html [wma.net]
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It turns out that this "torture" is a routine medical procedure performed daily for large numbers of people, from infants to the elderly: Feeding tube [wikipedia.org]. Are they being "tortured" too?
Have you ever been intubated? Against your will? Infant, elderly or otherwise, if they or their next of kin are capable of informed consent, refuse, and then are shackled, restrained and operated on anyway, then yes, they are being tortured. If my word isn't enough, I refer you to http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Declaration_of_Tokyo [wikipedia.org] and http://www.wma.net/en/30publications/10policies/c18/index.html [wma.net]
So, question for you - if the US authorities were to stop forced feeding, and 60 detainees actually did starve themselves to death, would you complain? I expect so. Sort of a damned if you do, damned if you don't situation, isn't it? What do you think would happen if the threat of starving yourself to death becomes a "get out of jail free card?"
Why yes it is a damned if you do, damned if you don't - but is that any surprise when you're "indefinitely detain
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To be accorded full POW status you also have to reveal your name and rank, and obviously identify yourself as an enemy partisan. If you respond "al-Qaeda, what's that?" you really have no rights under the Geneva conventions. We can decide you're an enemy clandestine operator - which means as far as the Geneva conventions are concerned we could execute you on the spot.
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Continuing the long Slashdot tradition of "facts are flamebait."
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They are imprisoned for what are recognizable as ordinary criminal offenses, such as drug offenses. People in the United States are not imprisoned for things like singing songs that insult the president, such as this.
Drug offences are not "ordinary criminal offences". Assault, fraud, and theft are ordinary criminal offenses. Drug prohibition is simply oppressive.
You are referring to Prisoners of War.
No, we're referring to innocent people being wrongly held. Most of those in Guantanamo are known not to p
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Drug offences are not "ordinary criminal offences". Assault, fraud, and theft are ordinary criminal offenses. Drug prohibition is simply oppressive.
I think the number of countries without some sort of limitation, whether substance, quantity, purity, purpose, or other, is going to be very small. If you want to talk about minor edge cases, as marijuana, that is one thing, heroin is another.
Most of those in Guantanamo are known not to pose a threat, and about a third of them are known to be entirely innocent.
Guantanamo is pretty much down to the hardcore cases now. Of the "innocents" that were outright released, instead of transferred to prison in another country, at least 27% have been found back on the battlefield engaging in Jihad. Several of those released have enga
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That is why there are checks and balances.
Obama waits for probe before condemning IRS; Congress pounces [washingtontimes.com]
Having a good overall human rights record doesn't necessarily mean that nothing bad ever happens, but the system should respond to it in an appropriate way.
The AP scandal is pretty fresh, but I have little doubt it will provide the administration some very uncomfortable moments in the months ahead.
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This story sounds ridiculous (Score:3)
A compass, a paper map of Moscow and a flashlight? Is this all CIA has in its arsenal? O yeah, a semi-literate "recruitment letter".
Another detail that make it sound even more ridiculous: an FSB guy lecturing Fogle on Russian primetime news about how spying is bad. Looks like some really bad spy movie.
I think this story was created by FSB for consumption within Russia. It is possible they knew more about his activities, but they are not telling the interesting stuff and for some reason decided to disclose this "evidence" that makes people laugh.
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Go check out some of the gear in the Spy Museum [spymuseum.org] some time. You would be amazed at how lame and silly some of the CIA equipment has been over the decades, not to mention their instruction manuals (which are often downright bizarre and intentionally hilarious).
Keep in mind that the CIA is not exactly known for recruiting the best and brightest. When it comes to recruits, they have traditionally valued loyalty and obedience over actual intelligence.
This is news for nerds? (Score:2)
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Story is about a spy, James Bond is a spy, Bond uses crazy gadgets, nerds love crazy gadgets.
QED.
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By the transitive property, yes.
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Not trying to start a flame-war here, but I've been seeing a fair amount of strictly politics related postings here lately. Could anybody please explain to me how this is on topic for Slashdot?
I'm guessing the flashlight he had was a Google Firesword?
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http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2013-05-14/russia-captures-us-embassy-worker-act-cia-recruitment [zerohedge.com]
Wireless is safe for "anyone" in the USA but we see the CIA understanding the need for a shielded bag.
We now know the NSA and CIA loves/trusts Google.
The need to buy a clean computer like device with cash to email from.
The CIA feels they can lure/own a Russian with $100k.
The going rate from the CIA is now $1 million.
New fratboy fancy d
Somewhat old fashioned mobile phone (Score:5, Funny)
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Excuse me Sir. Your shoe is ringing.
Which one?
Re:Somewhat old fashioned mobile phone (Score:4, Funny)
That must have been what Nikita Khrushchev was complaining about when he banged his shoe on the table at the UN: "Why doesn't this thing ever get good reception in here!"
Counter Counter Counter Intelligence (Score:5, Funny)
"We suspect this man is spy."
"Take his money, Tell him only lies, see where lies turn up."
"Maybe they know, we know, he is spy?"
"Possible. He has been searched?"
"He is carry a compass, torch, map of Moscow, mobile phone..."
"Yes, is spy. They expect we know. Use our lies to deceive. Make false leak to trick us... Kill him -- Wait, he has wig, yes?"
"Has not only a wig, but two."
"Two wigs? Ah! Is sign of double agent! Carry one wig, is a risk. Two is job application."
"You want I should not kill him then?"
"Of course not. Pay him standard fee; Send back to embassy. Tell this story to news, so CIA know he can not spy here. He can go home, work for us."
"Moscow Winter is the Father Land's greatest ally. Thin blooded American will do anything to escape it."
"One thing. Why we must speak filthy English, not Russian?"
::BLAM::
"Everyone knows. Is basic spy training to trick double agen--- Wait, you are American SPY!"
"No. I'm a Brit you poor, dead git."
Sheesh (Score:2)
Every U.S. embassy has CIA staff.
Putin's crackdown on human rights (Score:5, Insightful)
Yeah, as the OP said, there is a lot of concern about Putin's crackdown on human rights. Why, the rumor is that he is using the tax administration to harass opponents [wsj.com] and that his chief Justice has grabbed phone records from news agencies [slashdot.org] that don't tow the line.
Fortunately, such things would never happen in the US.
doesnt add up (Score:4, Interesting)
Sounds like inspector Clouseau (Score:2)
Are you sure this guy isn't from the Surete?
The description sounds like something from Get Smart or something else.....not a serious CIA operative.
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Oh right... incompetence was his disguise.
Operetta singer (Score:2)
Could this evidence have been planted? (Score:2)
The equipment looks pretty lame, although I'm no expert at what is effective in avoiding surveillance or implication.
What I wonder is if the FSB thought this guy was a spy and found no evidence (which is likely), but wanted to expel him (which is reasonable), why would the FSB not plant some grotesquely obvious evidence during the arrest? Would the CIA complain? How would they prove anything?
It would be more likely the US would complain about an unjustified request for deportation, meanwhile this is an open
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Truth Funnier than Fiction (Score:2)
The CIA and MI5 on one side, with the "no such thing as a former Chekist" FSB on the other, makes for more hijinks than anything Hal Roach could have produced with Laurel and Hardy or The Little Rascals.
At least the Russians have some foxy spies, even if they perform like ZaSu Pitts in a custard pie fight.
And these people are professionals? It is to laugh.
No wonder the CIA leans on the Mossad for a great deal of information.
russia's crackdown on human rights (Score:2)
Re:Meh (Score:5, Funny)
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Let's call it CWII.
We have already had a Second Cold War [wikipedia.org].
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Now we have a second Second Cold War.
Let's not fight about it - if the argument itself develops into a cold war we'd have the first Second Second Cold War Cold War, which would be terrible. And you know there'd inevitably be another one after that.
BFD (Score:5, Insightful)
News flash: the CIA spies on Russia and occasionally gets caught! In other news, water remains wet and rocks remain hard.
Re:BFD (Score:4, Insightful)
The consignment of criminal acts is dangerous. Oh tee hee a foreign agent killed some citizens, oh tee hee a foreign agent funded internal terrorists, oh tee hee foreign agent is consorting with and funding local organised crim. Perhaps a foreign agent corrupted local politicians to start a war and kill thousands of our soldiers to fulfil their goals of regional dominance, hmm, Mossad and the US government, not so fucking funny now is it. Capturing intelligence is worlds apart from inciting criminal acts like treason.
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Capturing intelligence is worlds apart from inciting criminal acts like treason.
Capturing HUMINT is going to involve inciting treason almost 100% of the time given that spying against your country is usually considered treason.
"It's their job" (Score:2)
This is a stupid (sorry!!!) thing to say: If "it's their job" is a justification for something, Mafia killers won't have any problems with the law.
Please note I have no conclusion to offer as far as spying is concerned (in the above statement!), I merely want to make you think a little harder to come up with some better arguments.
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Turnabout is fair play.
How the FBI Busted Anna Chapman and the Russian Spy Ring [go.com]
No surprise - Putin has been trying to drag the US - Russian relationship back to Cold War times. He has become much more provocative with military probes around US territory, and has been dismissive of US diplomats. Apparently it plays well in Russia.
It looks like he is getting his wish. So much for the "reset" in relations.
This time it will be confusing. Our local policies are reading too much like Russia's local cold war policies.
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I don't doubt for a second that this was an American agent. But I would think in every situation there is a reason everything happens when it did. Why did the Russians nab him now. Why not keep him under surveillance let him reveal traitors to the FSB as they get recruited? They obviously were not all that serious or they wouldn't have promptly turned him back over to the US. So what is up?
When the article says "The incident comes amid a new chill in Russian-U.S. relations sparked by the Syrian crisis and concern in Washington over what it sees as President Vladimir Putin's crackdown on human rights.", it should probably say that it comes because of the chill.
See also, 'game' [wikipedia.org].
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Torch is British for flashlight.
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Well, why would an American have a British flashlight?
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Article 29 of the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations prohibits the arrest or detention of a diplomat.
Pretty sure that doesn't cover spies using diplomatic cover.