Tim Weiner on Russian Spies (PBS - Need To Know)

Description of Audio:
The round-up of 11 alleged Russian spies — 10 living in America, one abroad — caught nearly everybody by surprise. They went by names like Murphy and Foley and Lazaro, used old-school spy techniques like invisible ink and encrypted Morse code, and passed coded messages through photos posted online. They seemed like perfect neighbors — except when they were tipping off headquarters in Moscow.

The KGB is no longer called the KGB, but the agency's mission is still alive and well, as these latest arrests prove. Could they have posed a real threat to national security? And what is the capability of our intelligence services to stop other spy rings?

Need to Know host Alison Stewart talks with former New York Times intelligence reporter Tim Weiner, author of "Legacy of Ashes: The History of the CIA to illuminate this murky underworld."

i think it was more a case of a deal being struck because the USA wanted it's spys back and they both needed to sort this out without lossing face.

The spys were paid off to admit guilt and start new lives with only half of them being real spys at all and just sleepers at that.

if Russia or the USA has nothing to hide then it should not lead to that much concern and they would gain more by monitoring the agents than arresting them.

What happened to the spys from iserail after 9/11 or did we all forget about that one.

Ten out of ten all admiting guilt did not happen without a deal being struck and would never happen if the accused knew they could go to jail if found guilty, it's comon scence.