Introduction Earl Edwin Pitts, a former United States Army service member, a certified attorney and FBI special Agent was sentenced to 27 years in federal prison in 1996 for spying against his own country, the United States, for Russia and the former Soviet Union. Pitts’ spying activities from 1987 to 1992 provided top-secret classified information to KGB and later on Sluzhba Vneshney Rasvedi Rossii (SVRR) Russian intelligence officers in exchange for monetary compensation (FBI Special Agent…, 1996). The consequences of Pitts’ actions resulted in the failure and compromise of multiple FBI operations during that period of time. When the FBI became suspicious of having a mole within their ranks they conducted an investigation and the FBI’s counterintelligence …show more content…
Pitts’ spying activities provided Russia and the former Soviet Union with the names of KGB officers being targeted by the FBI for recruitment. From 1987 to 1992, Pitts, while working as a counterintelligence officer in the FBI New York office, sold classified information pertaining to Russian defector sources and FBI operation procedures (Thomas, 1997). Among other things, it involved double agents, surveillance “schedules” of Russian preferred meeting locations, and the FBI’s list of KGB officers operating within the New York region ( Serrano & Martinez, 1996). Additionally, he disclosed personal data information of FBI agents to his Russian handler. Pitts contributed to an undisclosed amount of FBI operations failing throughout his five-years worth of traitorous acts. Pitts’ information might not of compared to the likes of Aldrich Ames and Robert Hanssen, but his acts were nonetheless criminal and all for a reward of $224,000 (Thomas, …show more content…
They highlighted the New York Office as the more than likely location of the mole. The FBI had been investigating all employees working at the New York office since 1986 (FBI Sting…, 1996). As the investigation was ongoing, the FBI was afforded a break when a Russian intelligence officer defector told the FBI that he had been the handler of FBI special agent Earl Edwin Pitts. Next, the FBI, utilizing the services of the Russian defector, put together a 16 month long sting operation against Pitts. The goal was to catch him red handed in the act of espionage. The FBI had two agendas with Pitts: they wanted to gain as much information as possible about the spying activities against the Bureau in the 1980’s and early 90s, and to test the current internal security protocols for the FBI (FBI Sting…, 1996). The FBI’s case known as a “False Flag” operation, because it consisted of US agents taking the persona of Russian operatives, sought to reactivate Pitts as a spy and uncover his past traitorous activities and secrets he could provide. They activated Pitts’ former handler, now a cooperating witness for the Bureau, and enticed Pitts into jumping back into his role as a spy. Pitts’ fell into the trap and once again turn on his country for cash, a total of $65,000 this time. (Serrano & Martinez,
Ronald William Pelton, Sold Secret Information About the NSA to the Union of Soviet Socialist Republic. In doing this act of Espionage Mr. Pelton was caught and sent to Prison for three concurrent sentences and one ten year sentence for the act of Espionage and conspiracy toward the United States.
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.
McCraw, David, and Stephen Gikow. “The End to a Unspoken Bargain? National Security and Leaks in a Post-Pentagon Papers World.” Harvard Civil Rights-Civil Liberties Law Review 48.2 (2013): 473-509. Academic OneFile. Web. 5 Dec. 2013.
The Civil War was the bloodiest, most devestating war that has ever been fought on American soil. It began on April 12, 1861, at 4:30 in the morning. The main reason that the war was fought was because Southern states believed that they should have the right to use African-Americans as slaves, and the Northern States opposed that belief.
The Newburgh Conspiracy of 1782 was the closest an American army has ever come to a revolt or coup d’état (Kohn, 17). Due to the failed attempt to ratify the Impost of 1781, Alexander Hamilton, one of the most involved conspirators in Congress to partake in the conspiracy, along with other nationalist conspirators in Congress, attempted to use the threat of the conspiracy as a weapon to pressure Congress into accepting an amendment to the Articles of Confederation. This amendment would allow the national government the power to tax imports, which would also result in a stronger national government; the Impost of 1781 would have given the government the ability to lay a 5% duty on imports. Alexander Hamilton tried to encourage General George Washington to help pressure Congress as well, but Washington remained true to his position as general of the American Army.
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.
Prados, John. Safe for Democracy The Secret Wars of the CIA. Chicago, IL: Ivan R Dee, Publisher, 2006.
Sulick, Michael J.. Spying in America espionage from the Revolutionary War to the dawn of the Cold War., Georgetown University Press, 2012
Everyday citizens often live unaware of their government’s inner workings. The knowing of political espionage is often too heavy of a subject to be inducted in conversation. True, prima facie, modest twists and turns of information may not be considered substantial, but this inconsideration leaves much to be uncontrolled. It is easy for political leaders to become power crazed, to not realize the massive implications that come of their actions. Only after all is said and done do the people actually realize their government is an opaque mask of deception. The Watergate Scandal substantially impacted Americans’ trust in their government.
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.