Ryan Fogle, vodka, bears and gypsies

 

Exposing a CIA agent, who was trying to recruit an agent of Russia's FSB (Federal Security Bureau), has become the talk of the day in Russia. Some experts say that in addition to the wig, Ryan Fogle should have brought bears and gypsies. Others seriously say that the FSB excelled in detaining the spy.

Three years have passed since the last spy scandal between Russia and the United States. The main character of the previous scandal was a native of Russia's Volgograd, Anna Chapman. Another spy story unfolded in Moscow on May 14. Intelligence agencies reported the detention of Ryan Christopher Fogle, an employee of the U.S. Embassy. According to Russian intelligence services, Fogle tried to recruit a FSB agent for the CIA. Fogle has repeatedly contacted the security officer on a cell phone and offered him to meet to discuss further cooperation. The FSB employee was responsible for the struggle against terrorism in the North Caucasus. The CIA was reportedly prepared to pay its new recruit up to one million dollars a year.

In pictures: American spy caught in Moscow

Fogle managed to convince the Russian officer to meet near the Vorontsovsky Park, where the US diplomat handed over ​written instructions to the FSB officer. The letter start with "Dear Friend." In addition, Fogle brought $100,000 of advance payment. Having handed over the cash and papers to the Russian officer, Fogle was detained by FSB agents.

The pictures from the place of detention show that the US agent came to the meeting wearing a strange blonde wig and a baseball cap. Other photos that were taken in the department of special services caused a storm of debate about the qualification of the spy and the level of his readiness for the operation. Russian agents seized a large amount of money, a small folding knife, a flashlight, two ladies' wigs, three pairs of glasses, a very old cell phone, a map of Moscow and a compass.

"It should be understood that this spy is young, apparently not a very well trained one, so this detention should be categorized as quite an amusing incident," General Director of the Center for Political Information, Alexei Mukhin said. "Of course, the story does not honor the United States. Frankly, such a spy should have been taken to the embassy in a caravan of bears and gypsies to be released afterwards. This recruitment does nothing but puts a smile on your face. Perhaps, the detention occurred at quite an appropriate moment, during Mr. Kerry's visit to Moscow. But it does not look like a well-planned action - this is all very strange. A similar incident occurred in the past during the visit of a Russian delegation to the United States, and the Americans took advantage of the situation to embarrass the Russians. However, I am certain that Fogle's detention is not a symmetrical response to the States," the expert told Pravda.Ru

Retired Major-General of State Security, Valery Malevanny, does not see anything funny and ironic in the detention of Ryan Fogle. On the contrary, the expert does not want to joke about the operation of Russian security services at all.

"Let's start with saying that it was an officer of CIA intelligence, who was arrested. He is a professional. The things that were withdrawn from him comply with the recommendations that special services give to their employees," he told Pravda.Ru. "This is a systematic training program, on which such experts work, and they try not to violate those recommendations. One shouldn't forget the fact that Fogle served as the third secretary of the embassy. This is a serious post, the activity of which is classified. I would point out the excellent work of FSB's counter-intelligence: it is very difficult to catch a person red-handed during recruitment, especially such a professional as the third secretary of the embassy."

On the day of Fogle's detention, US Ambassador to Russia strongly refused to comment on the incident. Responding to a request for post a message on Twitter, McFaul only said "no."

However, experts do not believe that the most recent spy scandal will undermine the ties between Russia and the United States.

"Intelligence services have always worked, and intelligence officers, including ours, work in all countries of the world," retired KGB General Valery Malevanny said. "Let us remember the scandal when our general fled to the West and delivered ten Russian spies to special services. Among them, there were people who had been working illegally for 25 years, as well as other officers, including Anna Chapman. So I think that there will be no tensions between Moscow and Washington. But I am certain that the US may "shoot back" and arrest some of our diplomats in the West. This will be indolent opposition, which will not affect big politics at all."

Russia's FSB in its reports on the detention of Fogle is clearly proud of the actions of its employees: "The U.S. intelligence has repeatedly attempted to recruit employees of Russian law enforcement bodies and special departments. Those attempts were recorded and conducted under the control of Counterintelligence of the Russian Federal Security Bureau."

Anton Frolov

Pravda.Ru

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Author`s name Dmitry Sudakov
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