Introduction Case History For more than 20 years an agent of the FBI, Robert Hanssen, committed espionage against the United States government. He provided thousands of pages of classified documents to the Soviet intelligence agency, the KGB, which drastically compromised United States intelligence secrets. (Fine, 2003) What is even more alarming than the amount of information that Robert Hanssen provided to the KGB; which the impact and scope of damage will never be fully known (Fenton, 2001), is the amount of time that he operated within the system before he was finally captured in February 2001. The duration of his actions is reported to have gone on longer; and been more damaging, than any other act of espionage in the history of the United States. (Fenton, 2001) Through an extensive investigation and the tireless effort by counterintelligence agents, Robert Hanssen was eventually captured and sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole. This paper will examine Robert Hanssen’s background, the threats and indicators, the role CI agents played in investigating and capturing Hanssen, and an assessment of the outcome. Who was Robert Hanssen? …show more content…
He was considered a well-qualified candidate for the FBI due to his background; which included experience in law-enforcement, a high-level education, and extensive work experience. He served in various positions early in his career and “generally received average to favorable performance evaluations throughout his career.” (Fine, 2003) Robert Hanssen was described; however, as being weak in leadership and management skills and possessed poor interpersonal skills. Despite many issues that should have prevented Hanssen from progressing through the ranks of the FBI and holding positions that eventually put him at an advantage to commit the level of espionage that he did, he still managed to get
Guilford, CT: Dushkin/ McGraw-Hill, 1997. Chiatkin, Anton. A. Treason in America. Washington DC: Executive Intelligence. Review, a review of the book, Divine, Breen, Frederickson, and Williams. America Past and Present.
Born on September 23, 1953, Earl Edwin Pitts was a all-American, clean-cut citizen of the United States. Earl Edwin Pitts is a native of Urbana, Missouri, he has a Bachelors in Science Degree from Central Missouri State University, a Master's Degree from Webster College, and a law degree from the University of Missouri, Kansas City. He served in the Army from 1975 to 1980. As a law school graduate and retired Army Captain (1), Earl Edwin Pitts had dreamed of working for the Federal Bureau of Investigations for two reasons, first to protect the United States and second, as a means of escaping his small town Missouri roots. On September 18, 1983 Earl Edwin Pitts joined the Federal Bureau of Investigations as a Special Agent taking the solemn oath of office and promising to support and defend the Constitution of the United States as well as to protect the secret information accessed during his tenure at the Federal Bureau of Investigations however, less than four years later, a disgruntled and angry Earl Edwin Pitts entered into a conspiracy with the Soviet Union to betray his country. Earl Edwin Pitts was a thirteen year veteran of the Federal Bureau of Investigations when he was caught selling information to the United States’ largest adversary; nine of those years were as a double agent. (2)
With this over the years the FBI has been given a large amount of authority to serve and protect. Doing so the FBI has been broken into seven areas to follow the U.S. Constitution. Background Investigations, Civil Rights, Domestic Terrorism, National Foreign Intelligence, Organized Crime/Drug Cases, Violent Crimes, and White Collar Crimes. Given this a large amount of authority even today the FBI sees to it that they base all their actions from the U.S. Constitution.
In times of great terror and panic, the citizens of a nation must decide what they value most: their right to privacy or the lives of the innocent. Government surveillance is criticized, however there are times in a nation’s history where, in order to ensure the safety of their citizens, they must surveill the country for potential hazards that might exist in the world. The government-issued program, COINTELPRO--a series of illegal projects during the twentieth century organized by the Federal Bureau of Investigation--while heavily criticized for its unconstitutional grounds--was justified because it benefitted the nation during a period of upheaval. COINTELPRO is popularly condemned by historians and professors such as Brandeis University Professor of Sociology, David Cunningham, who asserts that the FBI counterintelligence program was only a form of repression that allowed for the government to suppress matters that they consider bothersome (234) This however was not the case. COINTELPRO was necessary because of the great social unrest, individuals posed threats to society, and creating operations that were beneficial to the United States.
Sulick, Michael J.. Spying in America espionage from the Revolutionary War to the dawn of the Cold War., Georgetown University Press, 2012
“FBI Career and Salary Profile.” Florida Tech University Online. Bisk Education Inc., 2011. Web. 18 Dec. 2011. .
When the FBI was established, there weren't an abundance of federal crimes, so it investigated criminal acts that dealt with national banking, bankruptcy, naturalization, antitrust, peonage, and land fraud. In June of 1910, the FBI grew larger because the "Mann Act" (Made it a crime to transport women to other states for immoral reasons). The FBI could now prosecute people whom tried to flee over states lines. Because of its continued worth and effectiveness, the FBI's number grew to over 300 special agents and 300 support employees over the next few years. When the U.S. entered World War I, the FBI was given responsibility of Selective Service, Espionage, Draft violations, and Sabotage Acts. . The passage of the National Motor Vehicle Theft Act in 1919 made it even easier for the FBI to prosecute criminals.
The education requirements for this job are a bachelor's degree in forensic psychology or behavioral sciences, criminology, sociology, and criminal justice. Having a minimum of 3 years of related experience or a minimum of 3 years of experience being a FBI Special Agent. You also should have strong communication skills, analytical skills, and knowledge of the federal laws.
In the 21st century, the world as we know it suffers from psychotic, demented, treacherous and, sophisticated crimes. This world would be corrupt without a tunnel of light if it was not for the Federal Bureau of Investigation. The Federal Bureau of Investigation, also known as the FBI, is a corporation that seeks fidelity, bravery and, integrity for the United States of America. The FBI researches shocking and concerning crimes the news reports about politics, war and, safety that we hear on the television about issues that are being reported to the people. These cases of transgression are missions the FBI analyzes, such as hacking information from double spies, locating terrorists, seeking pedophiles, cracking down unknown mobsters, gang leaders and serial killers, white-collar crime, public corruption, cyber-crime, counter intelligence and civil rights.
Edward Snowden, the former National Security Agency (N.S.A) subcontractor turned whistle-blower is nothing short of a hero. His controversial decision to release information detailing the highly illegal ‘data mining’ practices of the N.S.A have caused shockwaves throughout the world and have raised important questions concerning how much the government actually monitors its people without their consent or knowledge. Comparable to Mark Felt in the Watergate scandals, Daniel Ellsberg with the Pentagon Papers, Edward Snowden joins the rank of infamous whistleblowers who gave up their jobs, livelihood, and forever will live under scrutiny of the public all in the service to the American people. Edward Snowden released information detailing the extent of the N.S.A breaches of American privacy and in doing so, became ostracized by the media and barred from freely reentering America, his home country.
The American Revolution saw the rise of the American spy, and the father of these spies was George Washington, commander in Chief of the Continental Army. The siege of New York demonstrated the importance and dire need for intelligence to General Washington. Unfortunately, the difficulty, at least initially, lies with finding people willing and able to serve in this manner. Upon recognizing the necessity for a network of subterfuge, Washington created the Culper spy ring. Housed in New York City under the command of Colonel Benjamin Tallmadge, its purpose was more than merely gaining intelligence.
?Espionage.? 2000-2004. The War to End All Wars. Michael Duffy. Original Material. Primary Documents Online.
Among the spies of the 20th century, Kim Philby was a master of his craft. “To betray, you must first belong,” Kim Philby once said. Philby betrayed his colleagues, his friends, his wives, and most of all his country. He did all this in the secret service of the Soviet Union. The effects of this master spy’s operations set the stage for post-World War II in Europe.
Throughout the years most country's governments have established some sort of secret police. No matter what the government called it, whether it is the United States' Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) or her Majesty's secret service (MI6), whatever name the government used, the international term of "secret police" could always be applied. Many agencies of secret police have had their success and failures, some more than others. The KGB, which in English means "the Committee of Public Safety," has had their share of both successes and failures. Most secret police agencies have been used primarily to obtain information from other countries. This was also a primary goal for the KGB, but one of their other goals, which was just as important, was to keep unwanted outside information from the Russian people. This was only one out of many the KGB's objectives. Therefore, the purpose of this paper is to prove that the actions of the KGB were, all in all, a success.
Edward Snowden. This is a name that will be in the history books for ages. He will be branded a traitor or a whistleblower depending on where you look. Many Americans feel that Edward Snowden is a traitor who sold the United States’ secrets aiming to harm the nation. Others believe that he was simply a citizen of the United States who exercised his right to expose the government for their unconstitutional actions. It is important to not only know the two sides to the argument of friend or foe, but to also know the facts as well. My goal in this paper is to present the facts without bias and to adequately portray the two sides of the argument.