Skip to main content

The Game of Espionage

By Adnan Khan

A number of incidents in recent weeks deserve a deeper look. While these events took place on different continents and at different times, they shed a fascinating window into the scope and nature of intelligence efforts around the world. In early April 2013, the US government announced it was pursuing charges against Marta Rita Velazquez with conspiracy to commit espionage on behalf of the Cuban government. She is accused of being a Cuban agent within the US government for over 18 years! In mid-April the Boston Marathon bombing took place and subsequent investigations brought to light long and deep contacts between the bombers and the CIA.[1] In mid-May Ryan Fogle, an employee of the US Embassy in Moscow, was captured by Russia’s intelligence services (FSB) working for the CIA attempting to infiltrate Russia’s security services. Evidence is now emerging of links between Britain’s secret services and the suspects who murdered a British soldier in London on May 22nd, 2013. These events give a number of insights into the world of intelligence.

On May 15, Russia expelled Ryan Fogle after he was caught attempting to recruit a Federal Security Service officer in the country.[2] The tit-for-tat expulsion of spies between Russia and the US has been going on for some time, which did not end with the Cold War. If Ryan Fogle was in fact a CIA operative, it would seem that something had gone wrong and his mission was compromised. In 2010, a Russian spy ring was captured and deported after being caught working undercover for over a decade.[3] These events show that there are no friendly intelligence services and that all intelligence agencies exist for the purpose of stealing secrets from other countries. Agencies may cooperate on criminal-related issues and even terrorism, but when it comes to espionage, each agency is on their own and no country is immune.

As the investigation into the Boston bombings continues, what has become very clear is that the CIA and FBI had not only been in contact with Dzhokhar and Tamerlan Tsarnaev, who are accused of carrying out the Boston bombings, but had for a decade been attempting to recruit them through bribes, threats, and blackmail.[4] All intelligence agencies operate outside the law and work to recruit a supply line of informants to spy on enemies as well as allies. Such power gives intelligence agencies the ability to conduct operations which usually serve political aims. A number of bombings in Iraq during the US invasion have been linked to intelligence agencies trying to divide the Sunni and Shi’ah.[5] In Pakistan, Raymond Davis, the US operative, was exposed as someone working to sow chaos in in the country in order to achieve America’s political aims.[6] As per the legal standard, the question of the 'motive' behind this attack arises, when looking into the relationship between the Tsarnaev brothers and the intelligence services; why would they conduct such an attack? War and covert intelligence operations are simply different channels to achieve political ends; the inconsistencies surrounding the Boston marathon bombings in relation to photographic and video evidences present the possibility of a false flag operation.[7]

The recent attack in London which left a British soldier dead, has very quickly been used by the British government to try and pass a raft of new laws to increase surveillance of the population, with an emphasis on Muslims. It is now coming to light that Micheal Adebolajo – one of the two men who carried out the attack – was ‘pestered’ by MI5 agents, pressuring him to become an informant for them and infiltrate ‘radical’ Islamic groups.[8] Adebolajo was known to British intelligence agencies for years, however their focus was on recruiting rather than arresting him.These incidents and many like them show that whilst the US and British forces may have a large pool of informants abroad, within their own countries they have struggled to enlist informants from the Muslim community.

The case of the Cuban spy network in the US government reveals a number of interesting insights. Marta Rita Velazquez was recruited by the Cuban intelligence service in 1983 while she was a student at Johns Hopkins University in Washington. She served as a spotter agent, helping Cuba recruit people who either occupied sensitive national security positions or had the potential to move into such positions. After assuming a false identity, she travelled to Havana in 1985 and was trained in espionage. Velazquez took a position as a legal advisor for Central America with the US Agency for International Development. Her cover was blown in 2002 when Ana Belen Montes – someone Velazquez recruited and who was the Defense Intelligence Agency’s most senior Cuba analyst – was arrested by the FBI in 2001. Montes pleaded guilty to ‘conspiracy to commit espionage’ charges and is currently serving a 25-year sentence.

Analysis of the Cuban incident begs the question: how did a small and poor nation like Cuba successfully recruit agents and place them in critical positions within the US government for so long? Velazquez espionage was solid for the 18 years. What does this say about the efforts and successes of larger and richer nations with much more aggressive intelligence agencies, like China and Russia? In the 21st century, espionage is as prominent a tool as it was during the cold war. While espionage efforts on a country-to-country basis are what dominate the headlines, the covert operations that are not heavily publicized are what deserve the most scrutiny. These recent events reveal much about the inner workings and trends within the intelligence community, and show that every nation is spying on other nations despite rhetoric to the contrary.

* This image above is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 2.0 Generic License by Christopher Schirner

Source

Comments

Anonymous said…
Michael Adebolajo, the alleged Woolwich attacker, is unfortunately not the only one being pestered by MI5. The Independent revealed in an article back in Jan 2013 that there is growing anger among Britain Somali community about how some of their youth are treated at Britain’ ports. And in 2009, Mahdi Hashi and several of his friends said they were being pressured by MI5 into working as informants and spy against the Muslim community, and were threatened with sanctions (usually the revoking of their British nationality) when they refused to co-operate. Hashi eventually had his citizenship revoked late last year (2012) by the Home Office and was rendered from a jail in Djibouti to America, an incident which has caused consternation among many British Somalis. Also Cageprisoners website disclosed that they continue to receive a number of calls each week complaining about the treatment that Muslims are receiving at UK airports, misery brought about by “Schedule 7” stops.
Anonymous said…
Jonathan Pollard, an American Zionist Jew, is a former U.S. Navy intelligence analyst. He was arrested by the FBI in Nov 1985 and subsequently convicted of spying for Israel. He was sentenced to life imprisonment in 1987 and is currently incarcerated in the United States.
Initially, Israel apologized and explained Pollard was part of a rogue and unauthorised operation. "It is Israel's policy to refrain from any intelligence activity related to the United States," an official government statement declared, "in view of the close and special relationship of friendship" between two countries. And Shimon Peres Prime Minister at that time stated: "Spying on the United States stands in total contradiction to our policy." However in 1998, Israel officially acknowledged that Pollard as one of its spies. Pollard applied and was granted Israeli citizenship in 1995. He is eligible for parole and may be released in Nov 2015.
Ben-Ami Kadish is another high profile case of espionage by the Zionist regime against its US ally. There have been several cases of Mossad agents being caught in the US, but which were not heavily publicised. One that dominated the headlines at some point was the Israelis caught filming and celebrating the attacks of the 9/11 World Trade Centre. In May 2002, two Israeli nationals were arrested near a US base in Washington, and were found to have traces of explosive on them and in their van. All these show a pattern of aggressive collection of military and technological intelligence by the Zionists against its Number 1 ally.
I should be grateful if the author could shed some light, based on the above espionage incidents, on the reality of the relationship between America and Israel? This is because most Muslims believe that the Jews actually control America and other big Western powers. Especially after an alleged quote by Ariel Sharon, who is said to have stated “don’t worry about American pressure on Israel. We, the Jewish people, control America, and the Americans know it.” Is there some kind of truth in that? Or is it just a myth? What is the real nature of this relationship? How a powerful lobbying group like AIPAC fits into this relationship?

Popular posts from this blog

An advice to Muslims working in the financial sector

Assalam wa alaikum wa rahmatullah wabarakatahu, Dear Brothers & Sisters, We are saddened to see Muslims today even those who practise many of the rules of Islam are working in jobs which involve haram in the financial sector. They are working in positions which involve usurious (Riba) transactions, insurance, the stock market and the like. Even though many of the clear evidences regarding the severity of the sin of Riba are known, some have justified their job to themselves thinking that they are safe as long as they are not engaged in the actual action of taking or giving Riba. Brothers & Sisters, You should know that the majority of jobs in the financial sector, even the IT jobs in this area are haram (prohibited) as they involve the processing of prohibited contracts. If you work in this sector, do not justify your job to yourself because of the fear of losing your position or having to change your career, fear Allah as he should be feared and consider His law regard

Q&A: Age of separating children in the beds?

Question: Please explain the hukm regarding separation of children in their beds. At what age is separation an obligation upon the parents? Also can a parent sleep in the same bed as their child? Answer: 1- With regards to separating children in their beds, it is clear that the separation which is obligatory is when they reach the age of 7 and not since their birth. This is due to the hadith reported by Daarqutni and al-Hakim from the Messenger (saw) who said: When your children reach the age of 7 then separate their beds and when they reach 10 beat them if they do not pray their salah.’ This is also due to what has been narrated by al-Bazzar on the authority of Abi Rafi’ with the following wording: ‘We found in a sheet near the Messenger of Allah (saw) when he died on which the following was written: Separate the beds of the slave boys and girls and brothers and sisters of 7 years of age.’ The two hadiths are texts on the separation of children when they reach the age of 7. As for the

Q&A: Shari' rule on songs, music, singing & instruments?

The following is a draft translation from the book مسائل فقهية مختارة (Selected fiqhi [jurprudential] issues) by the Mujtahid, Sheikh Abu Iyas Mahmoud Abdul Latif al-Uweida (May Allah protect him) . Please refer to the original Arabic for exact meanings. Question: What is the Shari’ ruling in singing or listening to songs?  What is the hukm of using musical instruments and is its trade allowed? I request you to answer in detail with the evidences? Answer: The Imams ( Mujtahids ) and the jurists have differed on the issue of singing and they have varying opinions such as haraam (prohibited), Makruh (disliked) and Mubah (permissible), the ones who have prohibited it are from the ones who hold the opinion of prohibition of singing as a trade or profession, and a similar opinion has been transmitted from Imam Shafi’i, and from the ones who disliked it is Ahmad Ibn Hanbal who disliked the issue and categorised its performance under disliked acts, a similar opinion has been tran