To Russia With (Lots of) Love

I am still loving this story. Two airplanes sit side by side on the tarmac at Vienna airport. One is Russian, covered in rather discreet Russian writing, containing four American spies, imprisoned for years now; next to it stops a Vision Airlines plane (they were not going to board these passengers on Air Force One), chartered by the Americans for 10 “deep cover” Russian agents, themselves sent via La Guardia Airport immediately following their brief appearance before the federal court of Manhattan.

And then the exchange begins, coincidentally in plain view and duly filmed by flickering video cameras. It was the perfect scenario, set up with exemplary stage direction. This speaks volumes about the desire of the two countries to not let this unfortunate—though rather comical—affair soil their small diplomatic progress. If the United States had kept the detainees any longer, determined to make the exchange secretly later on, the spies would have monopolized the media and surely sparked a litigation greater than their actual worth. Instead, the quick trade satisfies everyone and allows, for one thing, the Russians to save face.

In choosing Vienna, a preferred place for secret contact between the two powers until the fall of the Soviet Union, America revived, whether voluntarily or not, the old legends and paid homage to the bygone strength of the U.S.S.R. Furthermore, Washington’s request to free four of its own agents (one of whom still claims innocence) openly recognized as such, has a liberating virtue for the Russians. It is a way of saying, “We, on the side of the CIA, are not angels either.”

The Russians, those presently at fault, show their contrition by implying that they lose in the exchange. They are giving up big fish (grilled and refrigerated for many long years) in order to recover some worthless old moles. The New York Post almost requested that the U.S. keep the pretty Anna Chapman, with the headline, “Bye Spy! Anna flies back to Russia with love.” And then the sexy spy had the attention of Jay Leno on Friday night: “Do we have any spies that hot?” he asked his guest, Vice President Joe Biden. “It wasn’t my idea to send her back,” retorted America’s second-in-command.

Funny. But maybe the reality is simpler. Anna, allegedly harmless, nevertheless spent several days in a high-security cell in a Brooklyn prison. She was there without the least bit of contact with the outside world, or the least bit of information. Her only visitor was an attorney appointed by the court, and of course, placed on audio. We will not know for at least several years what this network’s real activities were, performing surveillance for more than 10 years. Maybe they caused greater damages than we now believe.