Tuesday, June 29, 2010

BBC News - Suspected Russian spies charged in US
BBC News reports: "Ten alleged members of a Russian spy-ring have been charged in the US with acting as foreign agents. The suspects are accused of posing as ordinary citizens, some living together as couples for years. They were charged with conspiracy to act as unlawful agents of a foreign government, a crime which carries up to five years in prison [...] they were asked to find information on topics including nuclear weapons, US arms control positions, Iran, White House rumours, CIA leadership turnover, and political parties."

BBC News - Russian 'spies' were no James Bonds
BBC News reports: "There is one diplomatic footnote which might be followed up by the British and Irish governments. They were angered recently by the use by Israelis of fake British and Irish passports in the killing of a Hamas official in Dubai. These new documents indicate the Russians use the same ploy."

Comment: It appears that some in the Russian government thing the Cold War is still going on. Two points about this interest me. First, this is a rather mediocre effort and doesn't speak well for the Russian spy agency. Unless there is more going on that has been revealed, nothing these spies uncovered could not have been easily revealed by standard open source analysis. Second, I'd call you attention to the quoted part of the second report which makes a connection to that Israeli operation a while back that was so very controversial. I wonder if people will be equally enraged at Russia? No, probably not.

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