From the Editor

A frequent comment on the arrest of Aldrich Ames, the KGB mole situated conveniently in the CIA’s counterintelligence section, has been that, like most such spies, he was a quiet man who never drew attention to himself. That seems not quite right. Ames looks like a dull dog, but even he drove an expensive Jaguar, vacationed frequently in Colombia, and threw money around like a drunken sailor— although, coming from a seafaring (and drinking) family, I like to think that a drunken sailor would have had better uses for the $5,000 that, according to the Wall Street Journal, Ames donated to the Democratic National Committee in 1991 and 1992.

Such splashiness would have drawn attention to him in most circles. But his CIA colleagues seemed not to notice. This easy-going myopia is an occupational disease of espionage. Long before Ames, the “Cambridge spies” tested it to destruction.

About the Author

John O’Sullivan

John O’Sullivan is a senior fellow at National Review Institute and a contributing editor of National Review.

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A frequent comment on the arrest of Aldrich Ames, the KGB mole situated conveniently in the CIA’s counterintelligence section, has been that, like most such spies, he was a quiet man who never drew attention to himself. That seems not quite right. Ames looks like a dull dog, but even he drove an expensive Jaguar, vacationed frequently in Colombia, and threw money around like a drunken sailor— although, coming from a seafaring (and drinking) family, I like to think that a drunken sailor would have had better uses for the $5,000 that, according to the Wall Street Journal, Ames donated to the Democratic National Committee in 1991 and 1992.

Such splashiness would have drawn attention to him in most circles. But his CIA colleagues seemed not to notice. This easy-going myopia is an occupational disease of espionage. Long before Ames, the “Cambridge spies” tested it to destruction.