The betrayal of trust carries a heavy taboo.
The betrayal of trust carries a heavy taboo.
Author: Aldrich Ames
Let's say a Soviet exchange student back in the '70s would go back and tell the KGB about people and places and things that he'd seen and done and been involved with. This is not really espionage there's no betrayal of trust.
Let's say a Soviet exchange student back in the '70s would go back and tell the KGB about people and places and things that he'd seen and done and been involved with. This is not really espionage there's no betrayal of trust.
Deciding whether to trust or credit a person is always an uncertain task.
Deciding whether to trust or credit a person is always an uncertain task.
Espionage for the most part involves finding a person who knows something or has something that you can induce them secretly to give to you. That almost always involves a betrayal of trust.
Espionage for the most part involves finding a person who knows something or has something that you can induce them secretly to give to you. That almost always involves a betrayal of trust.
Foreign Ministry guys don't become agents. Party officials the Foreign Ministry nerds tend not to volunteer to Western intelligence agencies.
Foreign Ministry guys don't become agents. Party officials the Foreign Ministry nerds tend not to volunteer to Western intelligence agencies.
We had periodic crises in this country when the technical intelligence didn't support the policy. We had the bomber gap the missile gap.
We had periodic crises in this country when the technical intelligence didn't support the policy. We had the bomber gap the missile gap.
The resistance of policy-makers to intelligence is not just founded on an ideological presupposition. They distrust intelligence sources and intelligence officials because they don't understand what the real problems are.
The resistance of policy-makers to intelligence is not just founded on an ideological presupposition. They distrust intelligence sources and intelligence officials because they don't understand what the real problems are.
There are so many things a large intelligence espionage organization can do to justify its existence that people can get promotions for because it could result in results.
There are so many things a large intelligence espionage organization can do to justify its existence that people can get promotions for because it could result in results.
Our Soviet espionage efforts had virtually never or had very seldom produced any worthwhile political or economic intelligence on the Soviet Union.
Our Soviet espionage efforts had virtually never or had very seldom produced any worthwhile political or economic intelligence on the Soviet Union.
In my professional work with the Agency by the late '70s I had come to question the value of a great deal of what we were doing in terms of the intelligence agency's impact on American policy.
In my professional work with the Agency by the late '70s I had come to question the value of a great deal of what we were doing in terms of the intelligence agency's impact on American policy.
I found that our Soviet espionage efforts had virtually never or had very seldom produced any worthwhile political or economic intelligence on the Soviet Union.
I found that our Soviet espionage efforts had virtually never or had very seldom produced any worthwhile political or economic intelligence on the Soviet Union.
The Soviet Union did not achieve victory over the West so was my information inadequate to help them to victory or did it play no particular role in their failure to achieve victory?
The Soviet Union did not achieve victory over the West so was my information inadequate to help them to victory or did it play no particular role in their failure to achieve victory?