The CIA and the Dragonfly: The Return of the Spy

The creative use of emerging technologies is clearly central in the world of spying today. However, despite video cameras on every street and facial recognition technology, the work of agents (HUMINT, aka Human Intelligence) in hostile countries remains essential.

The CIA, Mother Russia, Beirut, the seas of the Orient: with the end of the Cold War, it seemed that the spy story and its preferred settings should also be retired. Instead, we are in the middle of a boom of new books about Moscow, double lives in Lebanon, plots between Thailand and Monte Carlo, the British Secret Service … The ongoing competition between powers and wars in progress is triggering a trend for 21st century 007s. However significant, this is just the tip of the iceberg — there is a fundamental return to spying as an increasingly important tool, not only to prevent risks but also, in particular, to develop geopolitical strategies. Given how central technology has become, even in intelligence, it is taking new forms. Case in point: The fact that the American services knew of Putin’s intention to invade Ukraine months before it happened undoubtedly reduced, if not eliminated, the element of surprise in the Russian assault.

Two days ago, CIA Director William Burns published an article in Foreign Affairs magazine in which he maintained that in an era of “autocrats operating within small and insular circles of advisers, gaining insight into leaders’ intentions is both more important and more difficult than ever.” [https://www.foreignaffairs.com/united-states/cia-spycraft-and-statecraft-william-burns] However, he reveals some of the CIA’s aims. The war in Ukraine, according to Burns, “is corroding” the Kremlin’s control over the population. [As before] “That undercurrent of disaffection is creating a once-in-a-generation recruiting opportunity for the CIA. We’re not letting it go to waste.” [as before]

Nonetheless, the United States’ most significant challenge is China, Burns clarified. Because of this, over the past two years, the CIA has increased its budget aimed at intelligence collection related to the Asian giant by 100% and in 2021, set up a unique single-country mission center, the only one to be exclusively focused on China. The creative use of emerging technologies is clearly central in the world of spying today. However, despite video cameras on every street and facial recognition technology, the work of agents (HUMINT, aka Human Intelligence) in hostile countries remains essential, Burns affirmed. He also confessed that he loves spy gadgets (a la James Bond), especially the camera that hovers in the air and looks like a dragonfly. Which was, indeed, itself a Cold War invention.