Russia’s crew of “illegals” arrested by the FBI this week were paid to be spies. Each of the 11 appear to be native Russians living in the United States with elaborate cover stories that kept them from previous arrest and deportation. All were trained extensively. They knew far more about the U.S., its history, its politics and its economics, than most Americans do. They successfully integrated themselves into our society without at-tracting attention to themselves.
And perhaps they kept their Kremlin bosses happy with the reports they sent back.
But their assignments were a joke. They were asked to collect political gossip. To guess what President Barack Obama had in mind in making a trip abroad. To get acquainted with financial experts and share their wisdom with the KGB. If there was a substantive assignment made to any of them, it didn’t make the report of their arrest.
They learned nothing the Kremlin could not have found surfing with a Mac or reading the New York Times.
None of them can be charged with espionage because none of them sent classified information back to Russia. Not one of them foiled any U.S. plot to interfere with a Russian activity. They were very well behaved undocumented aliens.
Whatever was spent training and supporting the 11 was wasted money — unless giving that cheery band of Olgas and Dimetries a very long, very lux vacation abroad qualfies as a good social investment.
Officials in both capitals agreed this week that the incident should do nothing to upset the thawing relations be-tween the countries. If any damage was done, it was to the reputation of the KGB — and to prime minister Vladimir Pu-tin’s standing in the undercover fraternity. Putin is a former secret operative and was director of espionage back in the days before the Internet, when there were still secrets to guard. He must be embarrassed to have the list of accomplishments of this sorry crew plastered over the world’s front pages.
As for our next move, they acted the part of dedicated American citizens so well, maybe they should ask for amnesty.
— Emerson Lynn, jr.
