How The Stories Of These Soviet Cold War Defectors Reveal The Intelligence Abyss pt. 4

/
How The Stories Of These Soviet Cold War Defectors Reveal The Intelligence Abyss pt. 4

The endless accusations of moles being present in most of Western intelligence services by Soviet defector Anatoliy Golitsyn was like a supernova but was unseen or heard by most in related intelligence groups. Much like the subsequent events that may follow a supernova, Golitsyn’s mole claims backed with the power of the CIA’s Counterintelligence leadership and staff formed a proverbial black hole. This became another part of the vast intelligence abyss, and its pull on the careers and lives of many people would slowly be felt and most were unable to escape the tendrils of this massive investigation for traitors. As 1961 passed Golitsyn would accurately describe some details of yet unknown betrayers within British intelligence and this information when added to later revelations added to the weight of the mole hunt. Yet this larger hunt for CIA moles was precipitated upon ideas that were unproven and relied largely upon a single defector and his supporters…

Read More

How The Stories Of These Soviet Cold War Defectors Reveal The Intelligence Abyss pt. 3

/
How The Stories Of These Soviet Cold War Defectors Reveal The Intelligence Abyss pt. 3

The proverbial intelligence abyss expanded with the revelations of each new defector, exposure of double agents, and fed a growing suspicion of hidden moles within Western clandestine groups. Due to a nearly perfect storm of facts mixed with paranoid speculations a significant expansion in hunting for such agents would commence following the appearance of two final related defectors. As familiar intelligence officers dealt with the latest defectors and longstanding suspicions mounted over the prior years, it was a matter of time before the right defector and claims inspired certain intelligence leaders to adopt the belief that a hidden traitor likely existed within their own group. The 1960s had just begun and before that decade ended several careers, some lives, and multiple intelligence group operations would lay in shambles…

Read More

How The Stories Of These Soviet Cold War Defectors Reveal The Intelligence Abyss pt. 2

/
How The Stories Of These Soviet Cold War Defectors Reveal The Intelligence Abyss pt. 2

Within the murky depths of the historical intelligence abyss lies a nearly ceaseless array of unanswered questions and varying accusations, some affirm or deny the credibility of several figures related to unresolved historical mysteries. The last article in this series began a descent into reviewing the valuable but often inconsistent nature of multiple defectors that dealt with intelligence groups. From Pyotr Popov, a reliable double agent that was later exposed and executed, to Peter Deriabin a source of valuable intelligence who later offered less reliable claims regarding significant world events based on mere postulations are just two varying historic tales. Defectors can each offer vital intelligence, but they simultaneously might also render consequential negative effects for those dealing with them. The question is how much weight the claims of a defector should be given, at what point could they be wrong, and even if they are false defectors or moles intent on misinforming the very people they claim to aid. Defectors and moles can both appear nearly the same in the vastness of historical intelligence and in rare cases are precisely that…

Read More