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."
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:Torch (Score:2, Informative)
Torch is British for flashlight.