Russia Captures Alleged American CIA Agent In Moscow

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."

Amateur

[quarterbuck]

This spy seems to have all the marks of an made-up-Amateur or a set-up. The guy is wearing a wig, has a hat over it (not dyed hair) even when he is on a diplomatic passport and is openly approaching Russians. Then the Russians have a camera crew and policemen waiting in the street to arrest him and oddly enough he is found to be carrying money, maps and more wigs in his bag. This seems like Americans set-up a honeypot and the Russians jumped on it. Probably the guy had been told already that this is his last assignment in Russia.
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.

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[account_deleted]

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Re:Amateur

[MichaelSmith]

Yeah he sounds a bit like Ben Zygier [wikipedia.org] to be honest.

When do we get the ...

[Kittenman]

tit-for-tat expulsions that usually follow someone (innocent or guilty) getting nabbed? How long before the CIA nab a Russian agent in Washington DC?

Re:Amateur

[Anonymous Coward]

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:Maybe the FSB has silenced this site

[Areyoukiddingme]

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

[dbIII]

If you read a bit about the history of the CIA you'll see a lot of blindingly amateurish stuff. They still trust that "polygraph" voodoo which was a scam that came from the guy that wrote the Wonder Woman comic (no I am not joking).

Re:Lopsided war

[cusco]

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.

doesnt add up

[fazey]

This doesnt make sense. CIA operatives are better than this. First since when does the CIA write a note that can be used as evidence. Next, search for the translation of the letter... they wanted him to sign up for gmail. FFS gmail? Really? Then they would contact him via that email address in a week. This seems like Russian propaganda and not a CIA operative being caught. Operatives always have a way out, and they would repeatedly try the same guy. If they wanted him bad enough, he would have been kidnapped. Nothing about this makes sense.

Re:Maybe the FSB has silenced this site

[Anonymous Coward]

You might not be joking but you're wrong. William Marston created wonder woman John Larson invented the polygraph....

Re:Maybe the FSB has silenced this site

[dbIII]

From Wikipedia:

Marston is credited as the creator of the systolic blood pressure test, which became one component of the modern polygraph invented by John Augustus Larson in Berkeley,

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.