Spartan Posted May 14, 2013 Report Posted May 14, 2013 [img]http://rack.3.mshcdn.com/media/ZgkyMDEzLzA1LzE0L2M3L3J1c3NpYW5zcHkuMmRjMDUuanBnCnAJdGh1bWIJOTUweDUzNCMKZQlqcGc/bdd3d7a2/301/russian-spy.jpg[/img] The detainment of alleged CIA spy Ryan Christopher Fogle on Monday has all the ingredients of a good, cold war-era spy thriller: a fake diplomat trying to recruit Russian spies, promises of million dollar rewards, sunglasses and wigs for disguise, lots of cash, and Gmail. Wait — Gmail? Really? According to Russia's Federal Security Service (FSB), Fogle, who was officially a member of the political department of the U.S. Embassy in Moscow, was detained on Monday night. At the time of his arrest he was carrying a letter for a potential recruit, in an alleged attempt to lure him or her into betraying Russia to work for the CIA. [size=5][color=#FF0000][b]In the letter (see the translation here), Fogle promises $1 million for "long-term cooperation." And, noting that "your security means a lot to us," the letter asks the person (only addressed as "dear friend") to get in touch using public Wi-Fi, register a new Gmail account and then write an email to a Gmail address: [email protected].[/b][/color][/size] If you think it's weird the CIA would use Gmail, think again. Former CIA director Gen. David Petraeus himself used a Gmail account to correspond with biographer, and partner in his affair, Paula Broadwell. But it's one thing to use it for private purposes, another to use it for a high-risk operation like recruiting a Russian spy. Or, perhaps, this whole thing is made up and all the evidence used to incriminate Fogle was actually planted. As Max Fisher at [i]The Washington Post[/i] explains, "there’s something fishy to the story." If Fogle is indeed a spy, he seems to have been really clumsy, almost to a comical degree. For starters, as Fisher puts it, his letter sounds a lot like that phishing email you've received countless times from a "Nigerian prince." The language is basic and vague, and some phrases seem sarcastic (e.g., "Your security means a lot to us"). Additionally, the letter promises an astronomical reward, which is unusual for the CIA. Most notably, it seems like Fogle's "spy kit" came straight out of a mediocre Halloween costume: blond and dark wigs, sunglasses, a lot of cash, a knife, a flashlight, — and this is where it gets fishy — a map of Moscow and a compass. In what seems like a joke — but isn't — the Kremlin-funded news network Russia Today (RT) writes that the FSB defined his spy kit as "special technical equipment." "Who uses a compass these days?" a New York University professor who studies Russian security affairs, Mark Galeott, asked [i]The Washington Post[/i]. "This would be a phenomenal breach of tradecraft. This isn’t what they teach you at the CIA." At press time, the CIA did not respond to a request for comment. Also, it seems odd that, as soon as Fogle was captured, RT immediately published several photos and a video of his arrest. That's something that "certainly gives the appearance of close cooperation between Russian security services and the media," writes Fisher.
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