【Text/Observer Network Zhou Yibo】
According to the News of The New York Times on October 5, a person familiar with the matter revealed that in a "top secret telegram" sent to intelligence sites around the world last week, the CIA said that there was a large loss of personnel recruited by the CIA from other countries to spy for the United States, and dozens of foreign informants were arrested or killed in recent years.
The cable said the CIA has now been plagued by "poor espionage techniques," "excessive trust in intelligence sources," "underestimation of foreign intelligence agencies," and "risk neglect in the development of informants," presenting a situation where "the task is greater than security." Meanwhile, the C.I.A. claims that intelligence agencies in countries such as Russia, China, Iran, and Pakistan have been pursuing C.I.A.'s informants, sometimes successfully converting them into double agents.
The report also quoted a number of former CIA officials as saying that there are also a large number of examples in reality that confirm the CIA's "only focus on tasks and ignore security", and the development of informants has become a "way for CIA intelligence officers to get promoted", but "if there is a problem with the agent (informant), no one will be responsible for it." Moreover, the contents of this "top secret telegram" are confidential details that are not usually disclosed to the public, which is enough to show the seriousness of the problems facing the CIA.
On September 6, local time, members of the Afghan Taliban patrolled the bombed US CIA base Image source: Visual China
According to the New York Times, the "top-secret cable" revealed by people familiar with the matter is extraordinary, not only revealing that the CIA counterintelligence mission center has investigated dozens of cases involving foreign informants being killed, arrested or most likely implicated in the past few years, but also listing the number of special agents executed by hostile intelligence agencies.
However, the New York Times did not indicate exactly how much this "specific number" was, but used "dozens" to describe the number of informants lost by the CIA.
The cable highlights the difficulties the CIA faces in recruiting spies around the world — intelligence agencies in countries such as Russia, China, Iran and Pakistan have been pursuing C.I.A. informants in recent years, sometimes turning them into double agents who provide false intelligence to the United States.
In addition, the cable made it clear that recruiting spies is a high-risk undertaking and raised a range of issues that have plagued the CIA in recent years: poor espionage techniques, too much trust in sources, underestimation of foreign intelligence agencies, and too quick to develop informants without paying enough attention to potential counterintelligence risks. These issues can be collectively referred to as "mission over security."
The cable reminded C.I.A. intelligence officials to focus not only on the recruitment of informants, but also on security issues, including "censoring informants" and "avoiding hostile intelligence agencies."
The report quoted former C.I.A. officials as saying that the cable was usually confidential details that counterintelligence officials were reluctant to disclose, and this disclosure was enough to show the seriousness of the problems facing the CIA.
CIA Director William Byrne Image source: Visual China
Why is the CIA so bad? The New York Times gave an analysis of both "enemy strength" and "I am weak."
In the case of the former, the use of artificial intelligence, biometric scanning, facial recognition and other technologies has made it easier for governments to track down U.S. intelligence personnel operating in their home countries, making it more difficult for intelligence officers to meet and communicate with informants, and increasing the power of these countries in spotting CIA informants.
The report also quoted former CIA officials as saying that the confidential communication system used by the CIA had been compromised, exposing the CIA's network of contacts in China and Iran.
In the case of the latter, the report quoted several former CIA officials as saying that it confirms the reality of the CIA's "mission-oriented, security-mindedness."
While the CIA has many ways to gather intelligence for its analysts to brief policymakers, informant networks around the world remain at the heart of its work.
However, the CIA seems to be doing less attention to the online security review.
Former C.I.A. officials say developing new informants is a way for C.I.A. intelligence officers to get promoted, but they generally don't get promoted because of great counterintelligence — such as figuring out whether an informant is really working for another country.
"At the end of the day, if something goes wrong with the agent (the informant), no one is responsible." Douglas London, a former CIA agent, said, "Sometimes something is out of our control, but there are also sloppy and neglected situations, but people in senior positions are never held accountable." ”
Another former C.I.A. official said there are many examples of the C.I.A. being so focused on its mission that the issue of security measures is not properly considered at all, and in some cases, this can lead to the death of agents.
London noted that the bombing of a CIA base in Khost, Afghanistan, in 2009 was an example of "mission over safety."
At the time, a Jordanian doctor was persuaded by the CIA to break into al-Qaida, but in fact he had already turned against the United States.
Eventually, the doctor used the CIA's trust to enter the CIA base without searching and triggered a suicide attack that resulted in the deaths of 7 CIA employees.
"We're so desperate to make a big difference." London said, "These are actually espionage mistakes." ”
On December 30, 2009, the U.S. C.I.A. CIA's chapman camp at its base in Khost, Afghanistan, was attacked by suicide
Due to changes in job assignments, the skills of CIA intelligence officers are now beginning to grow unfamiliar.
Over the past 20 years, the C.I.A. has focused much of its attention on the threat of terrorism and the conflicts in Afghanistan, Iraq and Syria, and now it needs to shift its focus to intelligence gathering in rival countries — especially when policymakers are demanding to know more about China and Russia.
However, some former C.I.A. officials argue that the CIA's skills to "thwart hostile intelligence agencies" have become unfamiliar because of the long reliance on informants in previous counterterrorism missions, "developing, training, and mentoring intelligence officers and spying on foreign governments is in some ways different from developing informants within terrorist networks." ”
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