Spy Stuff: Excuse Me, How Many Spies Are in Washington, D.C.?

It’s not surprising to read that Washington, D.C., is a high-target city for international spies. But the number tossed out in an articlepublished by WTOP.com might makes some eyes pop.

Consider the following from this article (the full piece is well worth reading, by the way):

     According to the International Spy Museum in D.C., an educational and historical center of U.S. intelligence documentation and artifacts, there are “more than 10,000 spies in Washington.”

     While there may be some quibbling about the actual numbers, the FBI agrees with the premise.

     “It’s unprecedented — the threat from our foreign adversaries, specifically China on the economic espionage and the espionage front,” said Brian Dugan, Assistant Special Agent in Charge for Counterintelligence with the FBI’s Washington Field Office.

- Ray Keating

Spy Stuff: Russian Response to “Chernobyl” Miniseries? Blame the CIA

I haven’t had the chance yet to watch HBO’s miniseries “Chernobyl,” a dramatization of the 1986 Soviet Union nuclear reactor disaster, but apparently the Russian government has. And it seems that President Vladimir Putin isn’t happy.

According to The Washington Post, a pro-Kremlin company is in postproduction on a Russian answer to the HBO series. And the Russian government provided some financing for the series. 

Just in case one thinks that things have changed significantly in Russia, the country, under Putin, who was a KGB officer, still likes to re-write history. So, rather than blame human error and faulty designs, as was the case, why not point fingers at – yes, you guessed it – the CIA? 

As the Post notes, “The Russian series apparently is part of this patriotic pushback. According to the [Moscow] Times, the production will be anchored in the premise that a CIA operative was at Chernobyl conducting sabotage. The series follows a group of KGB officials working to track down the infiltrator.”

Same old Russia?

- Ray Keating

Reagan Country Hits First Sales Goal

Thanks!

Reagan Country and the Moscow State University Speech 30 Years Later

Thirty years ago today, President Ronald Reagan gave a speech at Moscow State University. That speech is highlighted and plays a central role in REAGAN COUNTRY: A PASTOR STEPHEN GRANT NOVEL by Ray Keating.