American Spies

American Spies 

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Title:                      American Spies
Author:                 Michael J. Sulick
Sulick, Michael J. (2013). American Spies: Espionage Against The United States From The Cold War to The Present. Washington, DC : Georgetown University Press
LCCN:    2013000035
UB271.U5 S852 2013

Summary

  • “American Spies presents the stunning histories of more than forty Americans who spied against their country during the past six decades. Michael Sulick, former head of the CIA’s clandestine service, illustrates through these stories–some familiar, others much less well known–the common threads in the spy cases and the evolution of American attitudes toward espionage since the onset of the Cold War. After highlighting the accounts of many who have spied for traditional adversaries such as Russian and Chinese intelligence services, Sulick shows how spy hunters today confront a far broader spectrum of threats not only from hostile states but also substate groups, including those conducting cyberespionage. Sulick reveals six fundamental elements of espionage in these stories: the motivations that drove them to spy; their access and the secrets they betrayed; their tradecraft, i.e., the techniques of concealing their espionage; their exposure; their punishment; and, finally, the damage they inflicted on America’s national security. The book is the sequel to Sulick’s popular Spying in America: Espionage from the Revolutionary War to the Dawn of the Cold War. Together they serve as a basic introduction to understanding America’s vulnerability to espionage, which has oscillated between peacetime complacency and wartime vigilance, and continues to be shaped by the inherent conflict between our nation’s security needs and our commitment to the preservation of civil liberties.”– Publisher description.

Contents

  • The Cold War: 1950-1970 — The KGB rebuilds — Spies in the enlisted ranks — Vietnam and the 1960s — Decade of turmoil: the 1970s — Espionage and the 1970s — Soviet science and technology espionage — James Angleton and the spy hunt in the CIA — The decade of the spy: Soviet spies of the 1980s — Espionage in the 1980s — Evil spy for the evil empire: John Walker — The spy in the National Security Agency: Ronald Pelton — A spy in the CIA: Edward Lee Howard — The spy in the US Marine Corps: Clayton Lonetree — The decade of the spy: other spies of the 1980s — An illegal in the CIA: Karl Koecher — The Army’s John Walker: Clyde Conrad — Spies for East Germany: James Michael Hall and Jeffrey Carney — The spy for China: Larry Wu-Tai Chin — The spy for Israel: Jonathan Pollard — Espionage and the new world order: the 1990s — The end of the Cold War and US counterespionage — Aldrich Ames and his impact on the CIA — The spy in the FBI: Robert Hanssen — The last vestiges of Cold War espionage — Espionage in the new millennium — New threats, old threats — Chinese nuclear espionage and Wen Ho Lee — Spies for China — Spies for Cuba I: Ana Belen Montes — Spies for Cuba II: Kendall and Gwendolyn Myers — Espionage and the war on terrorism — Cyberespionage.

Subjects

Date Posted:      March 14, 2016
Reviewed by Joseph C. Goulden.[1]
As a bibliophile who devours several lineal feet of books on espionage and intelligence each month, both for review and for pleasure, I find it delightful to encounter a volume written by a professional who has walked the ground about which he writes. Michael J. Sulick spent 28 years with the CIA, including stints as chief of counterintelligence and then head of covert operations of the clandestine service.
His book deals with Americans who spied for our adversaries since the end of the Cold War. Albeit scholarly, it brims with details of spying that make for enjoyable reading. In a series of case studies, he focuses on the fundamental elements of espionage: the motivations that drove Americans to spying; their access and the secret they betrayed; the tradecraft of the foreign services that controlled them; the punishment meted out when they were caught; and the damage inflicted on our national security.
Mr. Sulick drives home, again and again, an important point: The demise of the old Soviet Union did not mark the end of spying against the United States (even by the old USSR, for that matter: one of Vladimir Putin’s first statements upon becoming president of Russia was that “the potential of the special services will not just be maintained, but increased.”) Thus, we suffered the treason of superspies Aldrich Ames of the CIA and Robert Hanssen of the FBI. The Russians were not alone, though. In 2007, John Brenner, then the head of the National Counterintelligence Executive estimated that about 140 foreign intelligence services sought to penetrate the United States or U.S. organizations abroad. By 2010, Mr. Brenner wrote, “Chinese espionage had eclipsed Russian spying in the United States.”
Fortunately, a congressional mandate in 1995 forced the CIA and the FBI to end their longtime hostility and work together on counterespionage. As Mr. Sulick illustrates, their cooperation was essential to unraveling many major cases.
Of the rogues he discusses, two of the more striking, and disgusting, were Kendall and Gwendolyn Myers, who on the surface were unlikely spies. Their case illustrates how political naifs (perhaps “idiots” is the better term) can be manipulated by a clever agent handler.
Kendall Myers boasted blue-blood lineage. His father, a cardiac surgeon, was a relative of President William Howard Taft. His mother was the daughter of Gilbert Grosvenor, longtime director of the National Geographic Society.
Myers’ career blended academia and public service. He graduated from Johns Hopkins University’s prestigious School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS), then taught there and worked (with a top-secret clearance) in the State Department’s Bureau of Intelligence and Research.
After a failed marriage, Myers befriended a twice-divorced woman named Gwendolyn Steingraber, with whom he shared a zest for leftist politics. The couple happily marched for a multitude of causes popular with their comrades. A police raid that seized marijuana plants growing in their basement did not affect Myers’ security clearance.
Myers’ strident radicalism at SAIS made him a fat target for a trawling Cuban agent. In 1978, he treated the couple to a two-week visit to the island, and they came away smitten with communism. Their formal recruitment as espionage agents followed. The motivation: adulation of Fidel Castro, who Myers described in his diary as “one of the greatest leaders of our time.”
The couple met Cuban handlers in Europe and South America, and relied on such tradecraft as “brush passes” to exchange materials while in Washington. “Gwendolyn later admitted that her favorite brush pass was the quick transfer of shopping carts in a grocery store,” Mr. Sulick writes. But the loud-mouthed Myers and his far-left views attracted the attention of State Department colleagues.
Then the FBI intercepted radio communications suggesting that Cuba had a high-level spy in the U.S. government. No names were used, of course, but one message expressed concern about a tumor in the shoulder of “Agent E-634.” Nine days later, Gwendolyn had surgery to remove a shoulder tumor.
Coincidence? Another Havana message told the handler to reconnoiter the area around an intended new residence for a spy. A month later, the Myerses moved to a new residence. For some reason, the Cubans broke contact with the couple for some three years.
More radio chatter—and gullibility—proved their downfall. Myers spoke of quitting his job and making an around-the-world cruise, with the goal of settling in Cuba. An FBI agent approached Myers outside SAIS and identified himself as working for Cuba. Thrilled, the Myerses met the imposter three times in hotel rooms and babbled at length about their activities, including their meeting with Castro. (The same sort of ruse in other cases coaxed damning admissions from a serviceman who had spied while working for the National Security Agency and a retired army colonel.)
Facing insurmountable evidence in their own words, the couple pleaded guilty in return for a life term for Kendall, 81 months for his wife.
Mr. Sulick notes that few of the new generation of spies did so for money. A major trend noted by counterintelligence officers is the waning of traditional concepts of loyalty to one nation. Globalization and the socioeconomic and cultural interdependence of peoples and corporations are a new driving force. Hence, the rise of economic espionage, at a cost to U.S. business of up to $250 million a year.
Mr. Sulick stresses that counterintelligence professionals can do their job of ensuring national security without offending civil liberties. Alas, the furor over National Security Agency snooping emerged after his book was written. Nonetheless, five cloaks, five daggers. A must-read.
[1] Joseph C. Goulden is a long-time reviewer of espionage and spy books for The Washington Times, for AFIO’s Intelligencer, and other publications and this review appeared in The Intelligencer: Journal of U. S. Intelligence Studies (20, 2, Fall/Winter, 2013, pp. 113-114). Most of the reviews above appeared in prior editions of The Washington Times. Veteran Washington writer Joseph Goulden is the author of 18 nonfiction books. Joe Goulden’s recent book is Goulden, Joseph C. (2012). The Dictionary of Espionage: Spyspeak into English. Mineola, NY: Dover Publications

 
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· · · · · · ·

Title:                      The FBI in Peace And War Author:                 Fre... 

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Title:                      The FBI in Peace And War
Author:                 Frederick L. Collins
Collins, Frederick L. (1962). The FBI in Peace And War. New York: Ace Books
LCCN:    63001003

Subjects

Date Posted:      March 14, 2016
Reviewed by Paul W. Blackstock and Frank L. Schaf[1]
An account of the FBl’s fight against Nazi and Japanese espionage and sabotage during World War II. In addition there is a limited description of the operations of the FBl’s Special Intelligence Service in combating Axis espionage in Central and South America and in preventing cross-border operations into the United States. Descriptions of post-World War II counterespionage operations are sparse, with little detail on the Soviet atom bomb spy rings and a too-brief description of the capture of Rudolf Abel.
[1] Blackstock, Paul W. (1978) and Frank L. Schaf, Jr. Intelligence, Espionage, Counterespionage, And Covert Operations: A Guide to Information Sources. Detroit: Gale Research Co., p. 75

 

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Seven Days

A Divided House Judiciary Committee Ponders the Pot Bill
Seven Days
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Putin to Rivlin: I'll discuss diplomacy, regional security with Netanyahu

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March 16, 2016, 6:48 PM (IDT)
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Navy says glitch caused improper pulling of SEALs' weapons

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The House of Representatives on Monday overwhelmingly approved a resolution declaring as "genocide" atrocities committed by the Islamic State against Christians and other religious and ethnic minorities in the Middle East.
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MOSCOW (AP) - Russia's defense ministry: First group of Russian warplanes has left Russia's base in Syria.

The Latest: Russia may keep about 1,000 personnel in Syria

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Omar al-Shishani, Islamic State commander, died of wounds from U.S. airstrike in Syria 

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A group of hackers loyal to the Islamic State terrorist group have reportedly posted a "kill list" with the names and personal details of 36 policemen in Minnesota.
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Page 4

Iran's military meddling in Middle East helps Tehran 'spread' ideology across region 

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Federal immigration officers refused to let an armed team of agents into their office to detain the accused conspirator in December's San Bernardino terrorist attack, government officials acknowledged Tuesday, exposing an embarrassing lack of communication within the Department of Homeland Security.
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Generals express concern over spike in aircraft accidents

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WASHINGTON (AP) - The top Army and Marine Corps generals say they're concerned about an increasing number of major military aircraft accidents.
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General says Army at high risk in war against China, Russia

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Pentagon Admits to Wrongly Taking Combat Rifles From Navy SEALs 

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The Pentagon disclosed Tuesday that a glitch in its internal processes caused officials to improperly seize combat rifles from a team of Navy SEALs, who had raised concerns about the lack of arms last week, according to a letter sent to Congress by a Navy official.
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Russia Reminds Obama: You Caved on Iran’s Missile Program, Bro 

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Days after the latest Iranian ballistic missile test, Russia and Iran are telling the Obama administration that Iranian missile tests are not prohibited by the UN Security Council, as the administration argues.
Russia and Iran cited language about ballistic missiles that was changed during last summer’s nuclear negotiations in Vienna. UN Security Council Resolution 1929 had stated plainly: “Iran shall not undertake any activity related to ballistic missiles.” During the negotiations, Iran demanded the removal of this uncompromising language in favor of a new, softer formulation.
The Obama administration complied, resulting in the passage of a new UN Security Council Resolution after the Iran agreement was reached. The new resolution merely “calls upon Iran not to undertake any activity related to ballistic missiles.”
The change in language—from the “shall not” requirement of the original resolution to the “calls upon” suggestion of the new one—was the subject of intense questioning by Congress precisely due to the suspicion that the administration had provided a loophole Iran would use to justify missile development.
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“The ban on Iranian ballistic missiles,” Menendez told Kerry, “has, in fact, been lifted. The new Security Council resolution is quite clear. Iran is not prohibited from carrying out ballistic missile work.” Kerry rejected Menendez: “That is not accurate … [Iran is] restrained from any sharing of missile technology, purchase of missile technology, exchange of missile technology, work on missiles.”
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Why isn’t Gen Raheel Sharif staying on as Pakistan Army chief?

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Bargain: Why isnBargain: Why isn’t Gen Raheel Sharif staying on as Pakistan Army chief?

catch news

The race has begun. General Raheel Sharif has made it clear he won’t follow in the footsteps of many a predecessor by seeking an extension of his term as the Pakistan Army chief.
So, who would succeed him in arguably the most powerful job in Pakistan? The contest is between Lt Gen Ishfaq Nadeem Ahmed and Lt Gen Zubair Mahmood Hayat.
My money is on Ahmad. One of Gen Sharif’s first decisions after becoming the Chief of Army Staff was to appoint Ahmad as the Chief of General Staff, or CGS – essentially the CAOS’ clearing house that keeps the lines open with the two other services.
Ahmad is now the “protector” of the Sharif brothers Nawaz and Shahbaz. He commands one of the army’s two strike corps, the II Corps based in Multan, Punjab. He has also served as the Director General of Military Operations.
Lt Gen Hayat, an artillery officer, is the current CGS. He is close to the former army chief Ashfaq Parvez Kayani – not really Nawaz’s favourite COAS – and was his Director General of Staff.
He has also had a stint as Director General of Strategic Plans Division – short-hand for the nuclear warfare department – and served in Punjab for about 10 months commanding the 31 Corps in Bahawalpur.
Lt Gen Ahmad was Gen Sharif’s CGS, now commands II Corps in Multan. Is he is the next army chief?
Still, given the byzantine ways of Pakistan’s Praetorian Guard – the general staff – in which decision-making is opaque, one can try to predict personnel or policy at one’s own peril. But one thing is certain: neither of the two likely chiefs will be particularly friendly towards India. And with either at the helm, Indo-Pak relations will continue to chug along, blowing alternatively hot and cold.
As for which of the two lieutenants general will get the coveted job, much will depend on how Nawaz and Raheel work out the equations. While the prime minister will be seeking regime stability, the outgoing COAS will be keen to safeguard his legacy, one that’s even acknowledged by Washington, not exactly the best of friends Islamabad can have at the moment.

Invisible hand?

Raheel has shown he has purchase to seek an invitation to visit the United States – unbidden – where all the talk could have been on Afghanistan and nuclear weapons, and connected to both, India.
One should keep in mind that the Af-Pak section of Foggy Bottom is also staffed by the Pakistani establishment’s biggest suitor in Washington, Robin Raphel, a former assistant secretary of state. She could well be the eminence grise behind the reported attempt to merge the Af-Pak division into the South Asia desk, thus re-hyphenating India and Pakistan.
The troubled US-Pak relationship has been looking up lately, and Gen Sharif is the bright spot for the people in Washington. Most importantly for them, he has taken the battle against the Taliban to North Waziristan – something that Kayani had refused to do – and even undertaken operations against the ISI’s main sword arm for Afghanistan, and even India, the Haqqani Network.
In return for not seeking an extension, has Gen Sharif secured US money and arms for his army?
Gen Sharif’s case could well have been helped by his country’s new sponsor, China, whispering a few words in his favour at the Pentagon. But what could he have wanted from the US? Is it the India-Pak re-hyphenation? Or at least a guarantee that the US will keep flowing to Rawalpindi the milk and honey of dollar bills and F-16s?
In turn, Sharif could have figured out after his visit last November that his American friends would be happier if he retired on time – not to grow roses, of course, but bide for time in a democratic way. So, his announcement after the Pathankot attack that he would be gone by the end of the year could have signaled both Beijing and Washington that a dysfunctional state is becoming functional again.
Edited by Mehraj D. Lone
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Another Defector Dead in Washington 

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A former member of Putin’s inner circle has died violently and mysteriously in our nation’s capital.
The story has all the makings of a sleek Hollywood spy thriller. A defector from the Kremlin, a man close to the top echelons of power in Russia. A man who knew too much. And who lived the global jet-set lifestyle. Fear, international intrigue and rumors of stolen fortunes end in a fashionable hotel—with a brutal death.
For years, Mikhail Lesin had it all. He went into the mass entertainment business as the Soviet Union went into terminal decline and, unlike most Russians, he profited from the Communist collapse. In the years after the fall of the USSR in 1991, Mr. Lesin built a media and advertising empire that made him a wealthy and powerful man. By the end of that decade he entered politics, as the wealthy often do, not just in Russia.
Mr. Lesin’s star took off with the arrival of Vladimir Putin in the Kremlin in 1999. He entered the halls of power alongside the former KGB man, serving as his media minister from 1999 until 2004. Mr. Lesin oversaw the consolidation of most of Russia’s media under Kremlin control. To his detractors, this amounted to the slow strangulation of the independent media that appeared in the Soviet wake.
Nicknamed “the Bulldozer” for his forceful ways, Mr. Lesin brought Russia’s media to heel and kept it on-message with what Mr. Putin wanted. As Russia became an increasingly authoritarian country after 1999, media control was a vital part of the formula to keep Russians happy and politically quiet. Most members of the media were willing to be bought off by Mr. Lesin, while hold-outs who valued press freedom were dealt with harshly. The lucky ones, intimidated, fled into exile while less the fortunate became martyrs—most infamously the muckraking reporter Anna Politovskaya, a harsh regime critic who was gunned down in her Moscow apartment building on Mr. Putin’s birthday.
Read the rest at the New York Observer …

Filed under: CounterintelligenceEspionageEspionage MysteriesUSG  
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Page 6

SYRIA: More Posturing Than Performance

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US: Rifle found at El Chapo hideout tied to Fast and Furious

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One of the guns that Mexican officials say was found at the hideout of drug lord Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman Loera has been found to be associated with Fast and Furious, a failed "gun-walking" operation, according to the Justice Department.
     

In the Syria chess game, did Putin outwit Obama?

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Russian President Vladimir Putin's sudden move to withdraw Russian forces from Syria, and declare the putative end of his country's main military operations there, once more caught many international observers by surprise.
     

To combat Islamic State, understand its tactics

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One wouldn’t call them bedfellows, strange or otherwise, but President Barack Obama and Donald Trump are both inadvertently helping the Islamic State group through rhetoric that is either too cautious or too rash.
     

Trump still not doing well enough to guarantee nomination

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Donald Trump is the only candidate with a path to clinching the Republican nomination for president before the party's national convention in July, according to an analysis of the delegate math. But despite four more wins on Tuesday, the billionaire businessman still must do better.
     

Trump, Clinton surge, with turbulence ahead

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Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton were the winners in a big presidential primary day Tuesday. But both showed just enough vulnerability to keep the races intensely contested for at least another month.
     
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Omar the Chechen, an ISIS Official Wounded by U.S. Raid, Has Died 

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