PrintJuly 8, 2010
Unseemly haste in spy swap
What is the big hurry to get rid of the alleged Russian agents? Signs are accumulating that the US will soon give up 10 potential songbirds, who could be pressured into revealing valuable information, particularly because of the presence of 2 children with spy parents.
Details are still sketchy, but the pattern of credentialing and planting deep cover agents in elite circles certainly suggests that some of the efforts were aimed at recruiting American operatives, whether via ideological appeal, or means more nefarious, such as the classic honey trap, blackmailing people into doing the agent's bidding.
Assume that each of the ten recruited only 5 such agents, that comprises a group of fifty Americans salted into the power structure. People who attended elite schools. People who are rich Wall Streeters, and might be powerful figures in politics, bvusiness, media, or the academy. The more such individuals we can identify, the better. If members of the American elite have been operatives of Russia, the public needs to know who they are.
The worst thing we could do is send the spies back to Russia without exposing the fruits of their labors.
Is the Obama administration wary of exposing certain people? If this exchange takes place, that is a reasonable question.
Is the Obama administration wary of exposing certain people? If this exchange takes place, that is a reasonable question.
