American–Russian Relations Set Back by “Spies”

Published in Xinhua
(China) on 30 June 2010
by Zhang Guang Zheng (link to originallink to original)
Translated from by David Farley. Edited by Piotr Bielinski.
On June 28, the American Justice Department announced, after processing several years worth of secret investigation reports, that America has uncovered a Russian intelligence website and arrested 10 suspected spies, with one more on the run. Russian Foreign Minister Lavrov expressed the next day that Russia is looking forward to an explanation from the U.S.

Method

The Long-Kept Secret

According to an American media report, the suspects resided all over the United States, including New Jersey, Massachusetts, New York and the capital, Washington, D.C. They were Russian spies that had laid low and kept very secretive for a long time, and some had been living under American names as husband and wife, with their children left in the dark about the true identity of their parents.

American media also made public the details of the report. It says that these people had their own agenda, but a direct link to foreign nations is unclear. In comparison with traditional forms of communication used by spies, these people used wireless short-range communication on their laptops to transfer intelligence.

Mission

Accessing America’s Classified Information on Policy Making

According to American media reports, the FBI had been investigating the suspects for several years and discovered concrete evidence by intercepting communications between the suspects and their headquarters in Moscow. The intercepted information reveals that some of the defendants’ primary goal was to access the United States strategic policy archives, “to seek and unfold the content of American strategic policy making.” Some of the defendants had been requested to obtain intelligence on American nuclear weapons, American armaments and negotiations, the nuclear threat of Iran, rumors about the White House, replacement of leadership at various levels of the CIA, the 2008 American elections, Congress, the party currently in power and other related fields.

According to documents released by the courts in spring of 2009, Richard Mofei, who had been residing in New Jersey, had been called back to Moscow after information circulated that President Obama was preparing to visit Russia. He had been requested to figure out America’s standpoint on reducing offensive strategic weapons negotiations, on the nuclear threat of Iran and on the problems in Afghanistan. Moreover, he was to provide information regarding Obama’s reasons for visiting Russia and the respective American diplomatic policy.

Another section of information intercepted by the FBI shows that Mofei had direct contact multiple times with someone from New York inside banking circles, who has played an active role in politics as well. In response, and concerning foreign intelligence, Russia said that “this person is an extremely significant target” and had asked Mofei to slowly establish a relationship in order to obtain information on American diplomatic policy, the inside story of the White House and other related pieces of information. The CIA said that another defendant living in Massachusetts had contact with someone who worked in a government research organization and had asked him about America’s plans for developing nuclear weapons and earth-piercing missiles, as well as other sensitive questions.

The Secret War

Non-Aligned Marching

After this event took place, Lavrov said on June 29, “Nobody had told me anything about this,” and “The only thing that I am able to say is that the timing of this event was ingenious.” The rest of the world analyzed this by thinking that in July of last year, Obama visited Russia trying to reboot U.S.–Russian relations. After the United States and Russia were able to overcome Europe’s guided missile defense system, nuclear disarmament, the threat of Iran and other difficult matters in a step-by-step process, it became a pretext for Russian President Medvedev to visit America, bringing both sides to a higher level of cooperation in science, technology and trade. This sudden exposure of “spies” has caused America and Russia’s steps to be out of alignment.

Russian vice chairman of the safety department in Parliament, Nikolay Kolesnikov, says that “there are some people who are not willing to see two people working together to develop constructive relationships between two young presidents and U.S.–Russian relations warming up again.” The first vice chairman of the Russian Federation, Alexander Torshin, pointed out that Medvedev’s visit to the United States created a series of agreements and that “this is a much more important signal” that confirms U.S.–Russian intimate growing relation.

Editor’s note: Quotes in this article, correctly translated, could not be verified.


美俄关系遭遇“间谍门”考验

美国司法部28日宣布,在经过数年秘密调查后,美方破获一俄罗斯“情报网”,一举逮捕了10名“间谍嫌犯”,另有1人在逃。事件发生后,俄外长拉夫罗夫 29日表示,俄期待美国对此作出说明。

这张6月28日的画像显示的是美国纽约方面对被逮捕的俄罗斯间谍嫌疑人的庭审情况。美国司法部当日宣布,联邦调查局日前破获了一个在美国为俄罗斯情报部门招募人员并收集情报的间谍网络,截至目前已有10名嫌疑人被捕,另有一人在逃。新华社/法新

方式——

  长期潜伏并深度隐藏

  “当一名间谍与一位俄罗斯官员在火车站的楼梯上擦肩而过时,他们互换了外表相同的情报袋”

  据美国媒体报道,这些被捕嫌犯分散居住在美国新泽西州、马萨诸塞州、纽约和首都华盛顿等地。他们都是“长期潜伏”、“隐藏很深”的俄罗斯“间谍”,其中一些人被安排以夫妻名义生活在美国,甚至还有了孩子,而这些孩子显然不知道自己父母的真实身份。

  美国媒体还披露细节称,“当一名间谍与一位俄罗斯官员在火车站的楼梯上擦肩而过时,他们互换了外表相同的情报袋”。报道称,这些人有自己的工作,平时与外国政府间没有明显联系。较之传统间谍所使用的通讯手段,这些人还经常通过笔记本电脑间的短程无线通讯等高科技手段进行情报交流。

  使命——

  打入美国政府决策圈

  “此人是一个非常有意思的目标人物”,“要一点一点与他建立关系”

  据美国媒体报道,美联邦调查局已对涉案嫌疑人进行了多年调查,并通过截获他们与总部设在莫斯科的俄罗斯对外情报局之间的通讯掌握了大量证据。截获的信息表明,一些被告的主要使命是打入美国政府决策圈,“寻求和发展美国政策决策圈内的关系”,某些被告还被要求就美国核武器、美国军备控制谈判立场、伊朗核问题、白宫传闻、美国中央情报局领导层更换、2008年美国总统大选、美国国会及美国政党等领域搜集情报。

  根据美国司法机构出示的文件,2009年春天,居住在新泽西州的理查德和莫菲被召回到莫斯科,通报美国总统奥巴马当年夏天准备访问俄罗斯的情况。他们被要求了解美国在削减进攻性战略武器谈判中的立场以及美国在伊朗核问题和阿富汗问题上的立场,并提供随同奥巴马访俄官员的背景情况及美国外交政策有关的信息。

  另一段被美国联邦调查局截获的信息表明,莫菲与一位在纽约的美国金融界人士有过数次面对面接触,而这位金融界人士在政治上很活跃。作为回应,俄罗斯对外情报局称“此人是一个非常有意思的目标人物”,并要求莫菲“要一点一点与他建立关系,以便获得美国外交政策、白宫内幕等情况”。联邦调查局还称,另外一位住在马萨诸塞州的被告曾于2004年与一名在美国政府研究机构中工作的人接触,并问及美国核武器发展计划和钻地炸弹等敏感问题。

  暗战——

  不一致的步调

  “有人不愿看到两位致力于发展建设性双边关系的年轻总统上任后俄美关系出现回暖”

  事件发生后,俄外长拉夫罗夫29日说,“没人告诉我们发生了什么”,“我唯一能说的就是事件发生的时机很巧妙”。外界据此解读认为,去年7月,奥巴马访问俄罗斯,旨在“重启”美俄关系,美俄在政治、外交领域阶段性地克服了欧洲导弹防御系统、核裁军、伊朗核问题等难点后,又借俄总统梅德韦杰夫近期访美之机,将双方合作扩大至高科技和经贸领域。而突然曝光的“间谍门”,实在与近段时间美俄走近的步调不一致。

  俄国家杜马安全委员会副主席尼古拉·科列斯尼科夫认为,这起事件所反映的事实,是“有人不愿看到两位致力于发展建设性双边关系的年轻总统上任后俄美关系出现回暖”。俄联邦委员会第一副主席亚历山大·托尔申也指出,梅德韦杰夫访美期间双方达成了一系列协议,“这一信号更为重要”,证实了俄美之间密切的建设性关系。
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