Hearing the word spy, most people think back to the cold war and the fall of Russia or maybe some people think of some popular spy movies like the borne series. Let me tell you that the word spy should still bring up images of shadowy figures and crooked government employees, the kind of people that will sell their government, friends, or information for any amount of cash to the right people.
These spies are still active in the U.S. even though we do not hear about them in the news often but they are still here and busy spying. This blog is to let you who read it, realize that spies and spying is still common in the U.S and the world as it was during the cold war. To make this case, I found a press release from U.S Department of Justice that informs the public of a father / son duo that has been cough in the act of espionage. The charges brought against this father / son team are two counts of Conspiracy, one count of Acting as Agents of a Foreign Government, and four counts of Money Laundering. The father was using his son to pass information to agents of the Russian Federation, while the father is in prison, serving time for passed espionage activities. The father was a senior CIA officer that was charged with conspiracy to commit espionage in 1997. The father used his son to pass information and collect dues from past activities. this team was active for about 2 years, 2006 to 2008, during this time his son traveled around the world to meet with Russian Federation agents at varies locations. These locations include some obscure countries like Mexico City, Mexico;
I linked the indictment here if you are interested in reading the court proceedings.
http://www.usdoj.gov/usao/or/PressReleases/2009/NicholsonIndictment.pdf
http://www.usdoj.gov/usao/or/PressReleases/2009/NicholsonAffidavit.pdfThis just shows that our own government employees, trusted with knowledge, can turn against their nation. To betray their nation for financial gains. The fact that the father brought his son into the ring of lies and spies shows that the father has little care for family or national pride. I am glad that the public relations department of the Department of Justice put forth this information because it shows that the government is looking out for the people by letting us know what is going on in the world of espionage. This relates back to PR class in that the public relations of the Department of Justice have the interest of the public and the government within it sight.
This is such a good topic to blog about, because its helps create awareness of something that exits heavily today in our society but is not very talked about and kept very subtle.
ReplyDeleteThe father and son duo is a pure example of unpatriotic citizens. This goes to show that not everyone is loyal to their country and some, would rather betray their country for financial gains even at the expense of their countries safety.
After reading your blog it proves what some movies and books say, that not everyone is loyal to their country. In my mind almost anyone has a price they could be bought on to commit betrayal. In this case the dad and son figure the financial gain was more important than their countries safety. This shows that people we elect to run our government are not always the most honest, or best qualified for the job. In the end it comes down to the morales of the individual as to what is more important to them.
ReplyDeleteWhen it comes to government PR, I always wonder what are their real motives. I am sure that sounds like I have might have some paranoia, but I feel like you may never know what they are trying to accomplish. I think I feel this way because ultimately our governmnet has the upmost authority and can twist the truth. I think this because ultimately if anything bad were to occur they would just say they said it because it was in the best interest of the country. I definately think the article put out by the Department of Justice in this blog does show that our country is strong and intelligent than most think which might keep people from trying to take part in espionage against the US. I'll just say we must do our research when it comes to our government.
ReplyDeleteWOW!! To think that this was just happening this past year kind of freaks me out. It makes you realize that people are not always what they make themselves out to be....including your own father!!! Now this might be the son's choice to agree to these doings, but how many of us would do anything for our family?? By no means am i saying what he did was right because yes, he does have his own concious...but when family is involved things can get a lot harder. The fact that this information was even made open to the public is great!!! Usually things like this get swept under the door mat and never heard of again!
ReplyDeleteThis blog caught me off gaurd. To tell you the truth I had never actually heard of spies until now, other than in the movies. It is crazy how a father could drag his son into something like this, knowing that his son could possibly be right where he is.
ReplyDeleteI am in total agreement with you. It is good that the government not only discovered the problem but let the public know what was going on and what they did to fix it all.
Wow, this is a good one. I wasn't expecting that is what I was thinking through this blog. I do realize that espionage and skying across the United States is still going on and I don't think it will ever end. In fact, I'm betting that the United States has spies in other countries as well. I mean no one can know what another country might be up to without someone telling them something about that govornment or other decision making branches. It's a part of this daily world life to suspect a foreign country of doing something that's immoral or illegal. That's where the spies come into play and where action is taken if needed.
ReplyDeleteSteve your post really makes a person think about things a little bit. If this duo would not have been caught who knows what kind of things could have got into the hands of another nation that would want to do the United States harm. Also it makes you wonder how many more spies are out there that have not been caught yet or may never get caught. Also posting the links was a good idea so that people can find this article if they want to learn more.
ReplyDeleteHey Steve, have you ever seen the show "Burn Notice" it is about an ex-spy who has turned good, he helps out innocent people who have been taken advantage of. Some of the episode show corrupt in governemnt areas. But i totally agree that spying happens and i want to say the main reason they do it is... my guess is Greed or possibly even power.
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