Life after spying for the CIA

[paxamericana]

A great article that give readers a glimpse of our intelligence community. It discuss many aspect of how spies are treated and cared for once they have been exfiltrated to the US away from their home countries. 

"Defectors present a myriad of psychological and logistical challenges for CIA handlers as they navigate the complex reality of life-long resettlement.
Some defectors maintain an "unnaturally strong belief of their own invulnerability" that can manifest itself years into the program -- a trait that often makes them targets of coercion and can have potentially fatal consequences, according to Augustyn.
Other individuals cannot reconcile themselves to the fact that they are no longer the person they used to be, he added.
"Anyone who betrays their country, for whatever reason, is different," Augustyn told CNN, adding that these individuals often have strong egos and are motivated by personal reasons like greed or a desire for revenge rather than political ideology or a desire to make the world a better place.
And while the CIA provides defectors with new identities and professions, the jobs given are often a dramatic step-down from the high-level military, political or intelligence professions that made them attractive recruitment targets in the first place."

"Not every spy qualifies for exfiltration, but the US will work to rescue high-ranking military officials, intelligence officers, academics, scientists and other workers with access to sensitive information who are at imminent risk of being caught or captured."

"But while the CIA has successfully resettled hundreds of former spies over a span of several decades, many cases have ended in tragedy."

"Kuklinski lived peacefully in Florida for many years after leaving Poland and was celebrated as a hero within the US intelligence community for dramatically improving their understanding of Soviet weaponry in the 70s and 80s.
However, his two sons mysteriously died within six months of each other in 1994 -- one lost at sea off the coast of Florida and the second hit by a car, which burned up and left behind no evidence of the perpetrator. The mystery remains unsolved, though many have pointed the finger at angry KGB agents seeking retribution."

 

 

https://www.cnn.com/2018/08/03/politics/cia-spies-secret-defector-program/index.html

This gave me a thought, do the CIA hire Canadian spies to spy on Canada?

Edited August 4, 2018 by paxamericana

[GostHacked]

 

On 8/4/2018 at 5:39 AM, paxamericana said:

This gave me a thought, do the CIA hire Canadian spies to spy on Canada?

Yes.

[cannuck]

On 8/4/2018 at 3:39 AM, paxamericana said:

 

This gave me a thought, do the CIA hire Canadian spies to spy on Canada?

More than likely.

Over the years, I have worked with a fair number of spooks, but one became a particularly close friend.  He was ex MI-6 and in his "retirement" he worked for drug enforcement programmes in both Canada and the USA, with occasional assignments for tax authorities.  I knew his Canadian handler, but not his US one.  There is not much of a border between the countries when it comes to these guys and gals. and there isn't much patriotism involved in their craft.  They live so far outside of the rulebook, the lines are further blurred, so it makes sense to me that they would work for more than one "employer" once they were outside of their original country and agency.

[Michael Hardner]

On 8/10/2018 at 12:19 AM, cannuck said:

 They live so far outside of the rulebook, the lines are further blurred, so it makes sense to me that they would work for more than one "employer" once they were outside of their original country and agency.

From what I have read, though, they would still be informing into their home country... aaand it wouldn't matter so much if they were 5-eyes, but perhaps that's a past thing also.

[cannuck]

12 hours ago, Michael Hardner said:

From what I have read, though, they would still be informing into their home country... aaand it wouldn't matter so much if they were 5-eyes, but perhaps that's a past thing also.

Absolutely ANYTHING is possible with these people.

[Rue]

On ‎8‎/‎4‎/‎2018 at 5:39 AM, paxamericana said:

A great article that give readers a glimpse of our intelligence community. It discuss many aspect of how spies are treated and cared for once they have been exfiltrated to the US away from their home countries. 

"Defectors present a myriad of psychological and logistical challenges for CIA handlers as they navigate the complex reality of life-long resettlement.

 

https://www.cnn.com/2018/08/03/politics/cia-spies-secret-defector-program/index.html

This gave me a thought, do the CIA hire Canadian spies to spy on Canada?

Yes of course, all intelligence agencies have paid and non paid informants, no different than the police or journalists and they could be of any citizenship. 

Anyone who lives with another alias or identity will have psychological issues as to re-entry and/or their original or true identity. The longer they use the alias, the more likely this adjustment phenomena on return may have negative impact . In theory under cover police officers are supposed to be pulled after so many months to prevent overly identifying and attaching and becoming sympathetic to and identifying with  the people they are reporting on- it is a variation of Stockholm Syndrome.

The ability of detaching oneself from their alter-ego or assumed alternative identity without negative phenomena experienced,  depends on many factors including how long you engage in that identity, how much demands were placed on you emotionally,  and how long you have been separated from  your family and loved ones in the real world.

People with no support group of friends or loved ones to come back/return to after living as an alter-ego do not do as well re-entering as do people with such connections. Each operate has a handler who is supposed to monitor the psychological effects and pull them If problems develop and serve as the anchor back to the real world. A skilled handler knows what signs to look for and when to pull back so to speak on the leash and inversely know when to let the leash stay loose.

The only way you probably would not have any negative side effects with identity re-entry issues is if you were a pathological liar or psycho-sociopath . To be able to detach your emotions and ego from what you do and keep them distinct is very problematic even for the best of us. This is why what you see in movies and on t.v. is b.s. It is not that glamorous,. Often its tedious surveillance or research. Sitting and analyzing weather and how it will effect cycles of production or impact to create famines, draughts and movements of population is not glamorous.Identifying risk patterns and liability exposure is not glamourous. Tracking cyber security issues is hard work requiring intense focus. No one is jumping from buildings. They are probably an anonymous employee id no. in a portal.

Keep in mind the CIA is just one of hundreds of intelligence gathering agencies in the US. Each segment of the US Armed Forces has an intelligence branch, The Justice, Treasury, State, Home Security, Interior Departments have their own. Every police force and enforcement agency at a federal, state and local level may have one.  Many do not share information causing a lot of counter productive work.

All countries have agents who try get information from other countries, friendly and not so friendly. The majority of intelligence gathering deals with obtaining trade, industry and intellectual property  secrets by payments  (bribes) or by extortion through having compromising information on someone. Just ask Donald Trump what Vladimir Putin has on him.  Here's a hint, you think Melania was just a model. Her Daddy was way up high in the Commie Party. You think it was a coincidence she found him?  Lol. She was a high priced escort whose job was to get business secrets out of his big mouth. I should send you the pictures of him being spanked in his diapers.

We all have skeletons someone may try  use against us if its to their advantage . In my case there are compromising pictures going around with me and Katherine Wynne. Hey I was Jethro Bodine and she was Jane Hathaway. It was all innocent at a Halloween party.

Edited September 13, 2018 by Rue

[Dougie93]

On 8/4/2018 at 5:39 AM, paxamericana said:

This gave me a thought, do the CIA hire Canadian spies to spy on Canada?

I don't hold compartmentalized security clearance and never have, but OSINT would suggest that the CIA NCS probably doesn't waste much time on Canaderp.  If there was a political crisis and Canada was destabilizing into civil disorder that would attract more attention, but the CIA has a finite budget so they can't be wasting that much time on covert action in a frozen wasteland where not much of geopolitical significance happens.

Moreover, the Canadian security services already report up the chain of command to FVEY, and due to the nature of the Liberal Party of Canada dictatorship, probably see Washington as being the boss more than Ottawa is, and so probably just tell the Americans what they need to know, under authority of FVEY

Which basically leaves DHS and FBI NSAC, and they would be focused on non state actors in Canada, terrorists, extremists, agitators what have you.

Edited January 22, 2019 by Dougie93

[Dougie93]

Even this Meng Wanzhou business, I don't think CIA is significantly involved, the Hauwei War is SIGINT,  so that's NSA and the military.

In fact, NSA to JSOC and/or NSA to the FBI, pretty much renders the CIA irrelevant.

Not to mention that JSOC has the ISA and CRT, which is basically their own SIGINT and NOC's, so the Pentagon is vertically integrated one stop shopping, no need for civilian spies at all.

Edited January 22, 2019 by Dougie93