ONE of the problems with the concept of “spin” is that it turns media analysis into a full-fledged James Jesus Angleton Cold War wilderness of mirrors. At Berlin station in the good old days, if the guy’s telling the truth, that could mean he’s a real defector. If what he’s saying isn’t true, that could mean he’s a KGB-planted fake defector. On the other hand, if the guy’s telling the truth, that could mean he’s a fake defector feeding some true stuff so we won’t spot he’s a fake defector. And, if what he’s saying isn’t true, that could mean he’s a real defector, since every transparently honest fellow is bound to get a few things wrong. On the other other hand, if what he’s saying isn’t true, that could mean he’s a fake defector posing as one of those true defectors who appear more plausible by getting a few things wrong. On the other other other hand . . .
An ex-MI6 guy in Britain once told me that in intelligence every fact had a minimum of seven possible meanings. As I recall, at Angleton’s CIA, they figured it had eleven possible meanings. Let’s just say it’s like 7Eleven: Whatever you’re looking for, it’ll be in there somewhere.
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