Aldrich Ames was one of the most notorious spys in United States history, single handily crippling the United States spy network in the Soviet Union, and compromising hundreds of Intelligence Operations around the world. Ames’ impact on the national security of the United States was devastating and the ramifications of his actions can still be felt today in the Intelligence Community. This paper will provide details into the background and the events surrounding Ames’ espionage and subsequent arrest for treason.
Aldrich Ames was born in 1941 in Rivers Falls, Wisconsin. His father, Carleton Ames, was college lecturer and in the latter part of his career worked for the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) as a Case officer. His father moved Ames and his family to his first assignment for the CIA in Southeast Asia for three years under the guise of a college professor teaching abroad. Carleton had a less than stellar tour of duty in Southeast Asia receiving a negative performance report and subsequently was sent back to CIA Headquarters at Langley, Virginia. This caused Carleton to drink heavily and the rest of his career was mired in alcoholism and mediocre performance at work.
Ames attended High School in Virginia and it was during his sophomore year that he spent a summer working at the CIA as an intern doing low-level tasks. He spent the following 2 more summers interning at the CIA, ultimately working full time after dropping out of college in Chicago. While he worked full time at the CIA, Ames enrolled at George Washington University part time and finished with a Bachelor degree in History. Ames married his high school sweetheart and then attended training at the CIA’s Career Training Program with the ultimate goal...
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...names of CIA double agents spying on the Soviet Union, this way he wasn’t in his mind doing any real damage and simply providing them with the names of those who were spying for both countries.
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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)
Holton, Woody. Unruly Americans and the Origins of the Constitution. New York: Hill and Wang, 2007.
This historical study will compare and contrast the depiction of the “War on Terror” in a pro-government and anti-government plot structures found in Zero Dark Thirty (2012) by Kathryn Bigelow and The Siege (1998) by Edward Zwick. The pro-government view of Zero Dark Thirty defines the use of CIA agents and military operatives to track down Osama Bin Laden in the 2000s. Bigelow appears to validate the use of torture and interrogation as a means in which to extract information in the hunt for Bin Laden. In contrast this depiction of terrorism, Zwick’s film The Siege exposes the damage that torture, kidnapping, and
Cole, D., & Dempsey, J. X. (2006). Terrorism and the constitution: sacrificing civil liberties in the name of national security. New York: New Press.
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Sulick, Michael J.. Spying in America espionage from the Revolutionary War to the dawn of the Cold War., Georgetown University Press, 2012
John F. Kennedy, of Irish decent, was born in Brookline, Massachusetts on May 29,1917. He entered the Navy, after graduation from Harvard in 1940. In 1946, home from World War II, Kennedy became a Democratic Congressman and in 1953, he joined the Senate. A "privileged aristocrat," his father's wealth and influence contributed largely to Kennedy's political career. 1 John's father, Joseph Kennedy was a self-made millionaire. "In Joseph's political career, he accompanied President Franklin D. Roosevelt and his New Deal, as the chairman of the new Securities and Exchange Commission. Joseph was also chairman of the Maritime Commission and from 1937- 1940, he was ambassador to Great Britain." 2 John's mother, Rose (Fitzgerald) Kennedy, was daughter to John F. Fitzgerald, Mayor of Boston. John's paternal grandfather, Patrick J. Kennedy, had served in the Massachusetts Senate.
For the Common Defense. Allan R. Millett and Peter Maslowski. New York, NY: The Free Press, 1994.
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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.
Henry Kissinger born in Furth Bavaria, 1923, to a German Jewish family escaped Nazi persecution by emigrating to the United States in 1938. He became a naturalized United States citizen in 1943, changing his name from Heinz Alfred Kissinger to Henry Alfred Kissinger, and served as a translator in the United States Army from 1943 to 1946. After serving in the Army he went on to attend Harvard University where he obtained his Baccalaureate degree in 1950, Masters of Arts in 1952 and his Ph.D. in 1954. Upon graduation of Harvard he remained on and became a faculty member and in 1957 became an Associate Director of Harvard’s Department of Government and Center for International Affairs.
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