Russia reveals CIA head identity

May 18, 2013 11:36 pm | Updated 11:36 pm IST - MOSCOW:

Russia has accused the CIA of “crossing the red line” in its recruitment zeal targeting the Russian security services. Adding insult to injury Russia has not only made public the arrest and expulsion of a CIA officer working undercover in the U.S. embassy in Moscow, but also revealed the identity of the CIA station chief here.

Third Secretary Ryan Fogle was caught on Tuesday trying to recruit an officer of the Federal Security Service (FSB), Russia’s main counter-espionage agency. The diplomat was paraded on Russian television, wearing a wig and carrying spy gear.

The publicity angered Washington because normally the exposed spies are quietly ordered to leave without identities being revealed.

However, authorities went a step further and disclosed the name of the head of CIA operations in Moscow, Steven Hall, a Counsellor at the U.S. Embassy.

The disclosure was a breach of diplomatic protocol. According to a post-Cold War trust-building tradition, the spy agencies of Russia and the U.S. reveal to each other the identities of their respective station chiefs, but do not publicise them.

An FSB spokesman explained the move saying the CIA had “crossed the red line” ignoring repeated warnings to stop trying to recruit Russian secret services personnel.

“The FSB issued an official warning to the CIA station chief in Moscow Steven Hall in October 2011 that if provocative recruitment activities continued in relation to officers of Russian special services, the FSB would take ‘mirror’ measures in relation to CIA officers,’ spokesman Nikolai Zakharov told the Interfax news wire. The warning was also passed on to Director of U.S. National Intelligence James Clapper.

However, recruiting attempts continued. In December 2012 another U.S. spy, Third Secretary Benjamin Dillon, was caught trying to recruit a Russian secret services “turncoat.”

“In the hope that the CIA leadership would draw the necessary conclusions, we did not make this case public. But apparently the adherence by the FSB to the principles of professional ethics was not properly appreciated,” Mr. Zakharov said.

With Mr. Fogle, the FSB spokesman said, “we had no choice but go public.”

0 / 0
Sign in to unlock member-only benefits!
  • Access 10 free stories every month
  • Save stories to read later
  • Access to comment on every story
  • Sign-up/manage your newsletter subscriptions with a single click
  • Get notified by email for early access to discounts & offers on our products
Sign in

Comments

Comments have to be in English, and in full sentences. They cannot be abusive or personal. Please abide by our community guidelines for posting your comments.

We have migrated to a new commenting platform. If you are already a registered user of The Hindu and logged in, you may continue to engage with our articles. If you do not have an account please register and login to post comments. Users can access their older comments by logging into their accounts on Vuukle.