Circle of Treason: CIA Traitor Aldrich Ames and the Men He Betrayed Author: Sandra V. Grimes Jeanne Vertefeuille | Language: English | ISBN:
B00B0YPK3W | Format: EPUB
Circle of Treason: CIA Traitor Aldrich Ames and the Men He Betrayed Description
Circle of Treason details the authors’ personal involvement in the hunt for and eventual identification of a Soviet mole in the CIA during the 1980s and 1990s. The search for the presumed traitor was necessitated by the loss of almost all of the CIA’s large stable of Soviet intelligence officers working for the United States against their homeland. Aldrich Ames, a long-time acquaintance and co-worker of the authors in the Soviet-East European Division and Counterintelligence Center of CIA, turned out to be that mole. In April 1985 Ames walked in to the Soviet Embassy in Washington, D. C. and volunteered to the KGB, working for the Soviet Union for nine years until his arrest by the FBI in February 1994.
Ames was arguably one of the most destructive traitors in American history, and is most well-known for providing information which led to the death of at least 11 Soviet intelligence officers who spied for the West. The authors participated in the majority of these cases and the book provides detailed accounts of the operational contact with the agents as well as other similar important cases with which the authors also had personal involvement. The stories of the brave men who were executed or imprisoned by the Soviet Union include GRU General Dmitriy Fedorovich Polyakov, KGB Colonel Leonid Georgiyevich Poleshchuk, KGB Colonel Vladimir Mikhaylovich Piguzov, GRU technical officer Nikolay Chernov, GRU Lieutenant Colonel Boris Nikolayevich Yuzhin, KGB scientific and technical officer Vladimir Ippolitovich Vetrov, GRU Colonel Vladimir Mikhaylovich Vasilyev, GRU officer Gennadiy Aleksandrovich Smetanin, KGB illegals support officer Gennadiy Grigoryevich Varenik, KGB scientific and technical officer Valeriy Fedorovich Martynov, KGB political intelligence officer Sergey Mikhaylovich Motorin, KGB officer Sergey Vorontsov, and Soviet scientist Adolf Grigoryevich Tolkachev. Other operations include KGB technical officer Viktor Ivanovich Sheymov, GRU Colonel Sergey Ivanovich Bokhan, and KGB Colonel Aleksey Isidorovich Kulak. Of particular note in the preceding list of agents compromised by Aldrich Ames is GRU General Dmitriy Fedorovich Polyakov, the highest-ranking spy ever run by the U.S. government against the Soviet Union during the Cold War. Described as the “Crown Jewel”, he provided the U.S. with a treasure trove of information during his 20-plus year history of cooperation.
The book also covers the aftermath of Aldrich Ames arrest: the Congressional wrath on CIA for not identifying him sooner; FBI/CIA debriefings of Ames following his plea bargain; a retrospective of Ames the person and Ames the spy; and a comparison of Ames and FBI special agent and Soviet spy Robert Hanssen, arrested in February 2001 and sentenced to life in prison for spying for the Soviet Union against the U.S. for over 20 years. Although not personally involved in the Hanssen investigation, the two authors were peripherally involved in what became, after many false starts the Hanssen case.
- File Size: 916 KB
- Print Length: 240 pages
- Publisher: Naval Institute Press (December 15, 2012)
- Sold by: Amazon Digital Services, Inc.
- Language: English
- ASIN: B00B0YPK3W
- Text-to-Speech: Enabled
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- Lending: Not Enabled
- Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #13,323 Paid in Kindle Store (See Top 100 Paid in Kindle Store)
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- #6
in Kindle Store > Kindle eBooks > Nonfiction > Politics & Social Sciences > Politics & Government > Specific Topics > Intelligence & Espionage - #15
in Books > Politics & Social Sciences > Politics & Government > Specific Topics > Intelligence & Espionage - #38
in Kindle Store > Kindle eBooks > Biographies & Memoirs > Professionals & Academics > Military & Spies
This is a remarkable book. Although the investigation that led to the arrest of Rick Ames is its centerpiece, the authors are able to illuminate the intelligence battles of the Cold War from the perspective of counterintelligence experts who witnessed many of them. The book begins with the stories of Sandy's and Jeanne's CIA careers, and moves on to an overview of CIA operations targeting Soviet intelligence during the Cold War. From there, they present a series of case studies of CIA assets from the Soviet KGB and GRU. The common theme is that nearly every case ended badly by 1985, with arrest and sometimes execution, although some of the agents were fortunate enough to escape to the West. Once these stories are told, Sandy and Jeanne begin to describe the investigation that eventually led to the traitor Rick Ames. Nearly every sentence is rich with detail, yet the descriptions remain vivid and readable.
As I noted in my book, The C.I. Desk: FBI and CIA Counterintelligence As Seen From My Cubicle (Dog Ear Publishing, 2010), I worked closely with Sandy and her frequent partner Diana Worthen in the Moscow Task Force, which Sandy refers to as "the worst assignment of her career." I wasn't crazy about it, either, but it was extremely rewarding to have the benefit of their guidance and experience while cooped up in our tiny office. I was also able to learn from Jeanne, Sandy, and Diana in other assignments, both while I was in the CIA and in the FBI before that, and I am very grateful for knowing them. In the preface to Circle of Treason, Sandy and Jeanne note their frustration with prepublication review. The C.I. Desk was also subjected to lengthy review.
One of the most revealing, authentic and long-waited books yet published about Ames case written by two CIA veterans with direct knowledge of many dramatic episodes of the Cold War.
The authors - Vertefeuille&Grimes - two tenacious and experienced CIA officers made a superb team (supported by many other colleagues) and wrote, with authority and convinction, a book with many priceless stories.
What makes this book so compelling is that almost every word is true, but, by no means, a complete picture of many Cold War episodes, as you can see below.
The book starts in the first two chapters with a personal description of authors' careers, a fine team as I said, after a short, but explanatory, preface.
In chapter three we were provided with an insightful look and general overview of SE (Soviet and East European) division operations.
Starting with chapter 4 and continuing with the next two, we're providing with the best account about Polyakov case, the GRU general receiving a special attention from the authors and a special dedication at the beginning of the book.
The facts are as detailed as possible, but omitted one important factor - the death of one of Polyakov sons in US, because he was not allowed, by his superiors, to carry out a life-saving surgical operation in a US hospital (Cherkashin&Feifer/Spy Handler) a fact emerging in revenge on the Soviet system, a key element in supporting his double life.
I liked the story of Walt Lomac, an example of personal integrity, in the clash with his CIA superiors about Polyakov bona fide (page 33-34).
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