On the Scene

Washington, D.C. LAST WEEK the FBI arrested a veteran CIA officer, Aldrich Ames, on charges of spying for the Soviet Union. The government alleged that Ames collected over $1.5 million for betraying his country, beginning in 1985. Ominously, his spying did not end with the collapse of the Soviet Union. For the past several years Ames spied not for the old KGB (motto: the “sword and shield” of the Soviet Communist Party), but for reformist, democratic Russia.

Even when compared to the long dismal record of American Cold War security failures, damage from the Ames case is appalling. Ames was no ordinary CIA employee and this first major espionage case of the post—Cold War period is not a routine spy vs. spy drama. In human terms, the details sicken even the most hardened intelligence officer. It is likely that Ames betrayed as many as ten agents who were working to send back vital information about the Soviet threat during one of the most sensitive periods of the Cold War. All are believed to have been executed.

KD

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Kenneth E. deGraffenreid

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Washington, D.C. LAST WEEK the FBI arrested a veteran CIA officer, Aldrich Ames, on charges of spying for the Soviet Union. The government alleged that Ames collected over $1.5 million for betraying his country, beginning in 1985. Ominously, his spying did not end with the collapse of the Soviet Union. For the past several years Ames spied not for the old KGB (motto: the “sword and shield” of the Soviet Communist Party), but for reformist, democratic Russia.

Even when compared to the long dismal record of American Cold War security failures, damage from the Ames case is appalling. Ames was no ordinary CIA employee and this first major espionage case of the post—Cold War period is not a routine spy vs. spy drama. In human terms, the details sicken even the most hardened intelligence officer. It is likely that Ames betrayed as many as ten agents who were working to send back vital information about the Soviet threat during one of the most sensitive periods of the Cold War. All are believed to have been executed.