U.S. Spies Paid Russian Peddling Trump Secrets
This was a real-life account of the meetings, handoffs, deception, betrayal, and payoffs of spies in action. And a contemporary one as well. Even the picture after the jump shows a bleak landscape of what it looks like around N.S.A. headquarters in Fort Meade, Virginia— a chilly nighttime expanse of an empty road, glowing street lights and a fire hydrant. It is dystopian. Is the microfilm in the pumpkin nearby?
The reporter, Matthew Rosenberg, so immediately saw the story's similarities to all the spy stories ever written, that he describe the principals meeting in small German towns, "like those described by John Le Carrè." As most people know. Le Carré did once work for MI6, and has written more than a few classic spy novels. His last, 'Legacy of Spies.' can however be skipped.
The story basically revolves around the hacking of N.S.A. computers and the theft of cybersecurity software, and the N.S.A.'s attempt to get it back, or at least find out how it was done.
Without knowing more, it does seem odd that there would be a pursuit of stolen software and an attempt to get it back. Can't is just be copied, even if it is given back?. You wind up trying to buy the pictures back, but not the negatives. (When there was film.)
It seems there was this Russian who told N.S.A. he could deliver. There were meetings in isolated German villages, handoffs in swanky hotels in Berlin. The individual was tracked back and forth to Berlin, and to Vienna, where he rendezvoused with his mistress. Spy stories usually have a dose of sex.
The Russian also went home to St. Petersburg. St. Petersburg, Vienna, Berlin, the Bermuda Triangle of spy cities. You can see the letters being typed across the screen now, in all those Bourne franchise movies, and in all those copycat TV series, Berlin...Vienna...St. Petersburg, accompanied by postcard shots of the cities.
This is straight out of the latest spy novels to emerge, those by Jason Matthews, a man who did once work for the C.I.A., and who has now produced a trilogy, Red Sparrow, Palace of Treason, and the just published, The Kremlin's Candidate.
Red Sparrow has now been turned into a soon to be released movie starring Jennifer Lawrence in the role of Dominka Egorova. It will remain to be seen if Ms. Lawrence attempts a Russian accent. The trailer gives us no clue to what accent she might affect other than her body.
Perhaps a year or so ago Mr. Matthews and his wife, who also worked as an operative for the C.I.A., were on a morning show with the now fired Charlie Rose.
The banter went back and forth with Jason telling the story of how he wanted to name the book Red Swallow, but the Sparrow title was thought to be better. Dominika is a former Russian ballerina who was spitefully injured by a rival, (Nancy Kerrigan and Tonya Harding?) who climbs through the ranks of the Russian secret service, the F.S.A., the K.G.B. replacement agency.
After her ballerina career is over and Dominka joins the F.S.B. she is sent to Sparrow school, where she is trained on how to use her obvious feminine charms to trap rival agents in "honey pot" compromises. So, a movie with sex is guaranteed.
The C.I.A. operative is Nate Nash. Mr. Matthews's wife told Charlie Rose and others on the show that she was hoping Ryan Gosling would be cast as Nat. Apparently didn't happen. Joel Edgerton gets the nod.
Mr. Rosenberg's story after the page one jump gets a full six columns for more than half a page. The narrative is pure Le Carrè or Jason Matthews.
Apparently, the information peddling Russian was not acting in good faith, which in that line of work is something I'm sure is hard to expect. He delivers "chicken feed" and annoys the C.I.A and the N.S.A.
The story is a great read, with damaging Trump stories woven in. As for the blurb for Mr. Matthews's latest tale, The Kremlin's Candidate tells us, it is "ripped from today's headlines," Mr. Rosenberg's tale is the headline.
And how does it end? Not with a bang, but a whimper. All the stereotypical expectations of spies is somewhat deflated when the final meeting with the Russian operative is described.
"The Russian...took a sip of the cranberry juice he was nursing..."
Cover blown? No, the image.
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