Russian Spies

[denuseri]

Scott Shifrel, Helen Kennedy and Michael Sheridan of the NYDaily News reported that:

The 11th suspect in an alleged Russian spy ring straight out of the Cold War has been busted in Cyprus.

Canadian citizen Robert Christopher Metsos, 54, was detained at Larnaca airport as he tried to leave the island for Budapest, police said. He was arrested and later released on bail, according to Reuters.

"Based on the (Interpol) red notice we received, he is wanted for money laundering and espionage," police spokesman Michalis Katsounotos told Reuters, regarding why he was arrested.

Moscow, meanwhile, has called the arrests of the alleged secret agents "baseless and improper."

"We do not understand what prompted the U.S. Justice Department to make a public statement in the spirit of Cold War espionage," the Russian Foreign Ministry said in a statement on Tuesday.

"Such incidents have occurred in the past, when our relations were on the rise," the ministry said on its Web site. "In any case it is regrettable that all these things are happening on the background of the 'reset' in Russian-U.S. relations announced by the U.S. administration."

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said the timing of the announcement and arrests seemed significant, but did not elaborate, according to CNN.

The FBI announced Monday it had smoked out a nest of 11 Russian spies who spent decades under "long-term deep cover" - living as ordinary suburbanites with lawns and minivans while gathering information for Moscow.

The amazing charges were laid out in a federal complaint that reads like an old-school spy thriller, packed on every page with invisible inks, mysterious meetings and secrets sent by shortwave radio.

Some of the four accused couples, including residents of Montclair, N.J., and Yonkers, even had children together to make their cover more realistic.

"The evidence here is overwhelming. It is simple. It is strong," said Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael Farbiarz at a hearing in Manhattan.

"This is a Russian agent!" he said, gesturing dramatically at one of the suspects, Anna Chapman, a demure divorced 28-year-old who said she founded an online real estate company worth $2 million.

Ten suspects were recently arrested and held without bail, five of them in New York.

Has the cold war started back up or did it never really end?

Is this as sugested by the Russians a change in US poliecy?

Is it possible that the Russians were spying on some other country's behalf?

[IAN 2411]

Let’s get real, spying has been going on since time began, and it never ended with the Russians with the ending of the cold war or the fall of the iron curtain. There is no doubt in my mind that probably somewhere in the United States of America there is another cell may even be more. Your intelligence might have caught these from what I gather by their own stupidity of using the internet, but the others will have learnt by that lesson. There is probably a couple of Chinese cell also because there is always something to spy on even if it is only industrial. What I can’t understand is the fact that if they knew about them ten years ago, then why haven’t the authorities done something before now? Also by the English press their maximum prison term under the American law is five years.

Before anyone mentions it I would just like to say we have most likely got a few cells in the UK, and as in all cases of spy’s getting caught, we will probably find a few as well.

Regards ian 2411

[Thorne]

Before anyone mentions it I would just like to say we have most likely got a few cells in the UK, and as in all cases of spy’s getting caught, we will probably find a few as well.

Don't forget about OUR spies, all around the world. If we don't have at least as many agents poking around in Russia as they have here, the CIA, NSA and all the other alphabet soups aren't doing their jobs.

As for waiting ten years, sometimes its a case of the Devil you know being better than the Devil you don't. If you know someone's a spy, and they don't know that you know, you can feed them bad intel. If you arrest them, there will be a new agent in place within days, if not sooner, and you won't know who it is.

[TwistedTails]

Has the cold war started back up or did it never really end?

Yes and no. The " cold war" is indeed over, but the "cold war" should really be understood more as an single military engagement, not as a entire war. The real war is one of global dominance. Each side erroneously believing that their way is the best and is to become the ultimate government on the face of the globe.

Is this as sugested by the Russians a change in US poliecy?

It is if this is what it appears to be, which I doubt. The real question is to what end have these arrests been made. It is common to allow sleeper cells to operate inside the U.S. A known sleeper, or even an active spy cell is a benefit to the U.S. Control can be exercised as to what information they get access to. The future plans of the opponent can be determined by the information the cells attempt to gather. To alter the U.S. response to Russian spying ( or the Russian response to U.S. spying ) significantly alters the game.

Is it possible that the Russians were spying on some other country's behalf?

Highly unlikely. The Russians have always known that knowledge is power. They have and will continue to keep gathered information under their control and for their own use. A more likely scenario would be a spy handler gone freelance to a third party. Neither government would appreciate that. The current drama playing for our entertainment looks very much like that to me. We "capture" the spies, The Russians are shocked. Diplomatic measures are taken and peace assured. Meanwhile the handler relocates to someplace with permafrost, and the U.S. gets to convict some spies for a public show ( under the blanket of national security so no one sees the sleight of hand as they get sent home, or enter the protection program for defectors. )

The above is only my own hasty, uninformed, opinion of course.
But it is free and worth exactly what you payed for it. LOL

Cheers,
Twisted

[MMI]

Did anyone say why the spy ring was exposed at this particular juncture? If the US knew about them all this time, I can only assume they chose the moment.

What should we really be paying attention to?

[TwistedTails]

Did anyone say why the spy ring was exposed at this particular juncture? If the US knew about them all this time, I can only assume they chose the moment.

What should we really be paying attention to?

I would have to agree that the moment was chosen, but to what purpose is anyones guess at this time. I know I don't have a clue. LOL

[denuseri]

Does anyone have Jack Bauer on speed-dial?

[Hamishlacastle]

great more unemployment. they were bringing in money at the best. and probably watching CNN altering the news a bit and then sending back secret documents.

[IAN 2411]

I said the authorities in the UK would find a link, one of the Russian spy's had a wife in the UK. Works every time LOL.

Regards ian2411

[DuncanONeil]

When I still was a member of the Defense Department I had a requirement to report any contact with certain persons of foreign countries. Usually this was not an issue. Yet I once found out that one of the people we were socializing with actually worked for the inteligence service of his native country. Australia as I remember. I reported the association and was told not to worry. But also informed that even our allies have been know to spy on us!

[B][COLOR="pink"]

Has the cold war started back up or did it never really end?

Is this as sugested by the Russians a change in US poliecy?

Is it possible that the Russians were spying on some other country's behalf?

[Thorne]

But also informed that even our allies have been know to spy on us!

Are you saying that you weren't aware of this beforehand? That would surprise me. AFAIK, our allies have always spied on us, and vice versa. I would imagine it's not quite as cutthroat, though.

[MMI]

Are you saying that you weren't aware of this beforehand? That would surprise me. AFAIK, our allies have always spied on us, and vice versa. I would imagine it's not quite as cutthroat, though.

Oh, I don't know about that ... not if "Spooks" is anything to go by.

(I know that's fiction, but I don't know anyone with real life experience of (counter-)espionage.)

[Thorne]

Oh, I don't know about that ... not if "Spooks" is anything to go by.

I wouldn't put too much reliance on fictional spy stories. I'd bet real intelligence agencies would literally kill to have the kinds of resources the fictional agencies have. Still, it's a tricky business, and today's allies may be tomorrow's enemies, so it only makes sense to keep as much to yourself as you can, while trying to ferret out as many of their secrets as possible.

[DuncanONeil]

Are you saying that you weren't aware of this beforehand? That would surprise me. AFAIK, our allies have always spied on us, and vice versa. I would imagine it's not quite as cutthroat, though.

Didn't think of it. Doesn't mean I was surprised though.

[DuncanONeil]

My understanding of ally spying is more a matter of verifying what they were being told.

I wouldn't put too much reliance on fictional spy stories. I'd bet real intelligence agencies would literally kill to have the kinds of resources the fictional agencies have. Still, it's a tricky business, and today's allies may be tomorrow's enemies, so it only makes sense to keep as much to yourself as you can, while trying to ferret out as many of their secrets as possible.

[Thorne]

My understanding of ally spying is more a matter of verifying what they were being told.

I would be very surprised if it were as simple as that.

Still, as a former member of the Defense Department I suppose your experience with this would be far greater than my own.

[DuncanONeil]

[COLOR="Yellow"]Heck I was just a transporter!!But I still got all that silly GMT every quarter!
[COLOR]

I would be very surprised if it were as simple as that.

Still, as a former member of the Defense Department I suppose your experience with this would be far greater than my own.