Recently convicted Cuban agents just tip of espionage iceberg
By Toby Westerman. © 2001
WorldNetDaily.com
A 30-year veteran of the intelligence field says most Americans "almost
ignore ... the power of intelligence and counterintelligence" in this
country, despite the danger foreign intelligence agents pose to the nation's
security.
In an exclusive interview with WorldNetDaily, David Major identified the use
of counterintelligence as a "serious" public issue for the United
States. If a nation "chooses not to invest in good security
counterintelligence," said Major, "it simply makes it easier for the
collector [foreign intelligence agents]."
Although espionage activities are carried out against the Unites States "every
single day," Americans, according to Major, "have a love/hate
relationship" with counterintelligence, which people "never really
see. ... It's just something that's in Hollywood; its something in a book
but it never really happens."
Major, an FBI veteran who was a member of Ronald Reagan's National Security
Council, is now dean and professor of the Centre for Counterintelligence and
Security Studies, a non-governmental center committed to counterintelligence and
security education.
The Centre and their professors former intelligence officers in the
FBI, CIA, DOD and KGB provide advanced counterintelligence and security
training for the U.S. government, the intelligence community and private-sector
companies. The Centre offers several programs to acquaint the public with the
unfamiliar world of spies and counterspies, including its unique SpyCruise,
which will be offered March 2002.
Revelations from the case of Robert Hanssen and the Wasp Network trial have
publicly exposed the vulnerabilities of the U.S. to infiltration by foreign
intelligence services.
Hanssen, a 25-year veteran of the FBI, is alleged to have spied for the
Soviet Union, and then Russia, for 15 years. If the allegations against Hanssen
prove correct, the former FBI agent would be guilty not only of revealing U.S.
secrets, but would also be implicated in the deaths of several individuals who
were assisting the U.S.
The six-month Miami Wasp Network trial involves accusations of
Cuban-directed spying against U.S. bases, locating points for the importation of
explosives into the U.S., Cuban government-sponsored terrorism and murder. Five
Cubans were convicted of spying by a Miami jury yesterday. One spy was found
guilty of contributing to the death of four Brothers to the Rescue members shot
down by Cuban jet fighters in international airspace in 1996.
Referring to the ambivalence some Americans have regarding
counterintelligence, Major stated that there is "nothing evil about doing
counterintelligence. ... Vigilance is very important."
Major addressed the lack of media coverage given to the Wasp Network trial
in Florida and the group's connection with the government of Cuban President
Fidel Castro.
Regarding evidence implicating the Cuban government with assassination
attempts and murder, Major expressed surprise that "nobody talks about it.
No one seems to mind that Castro is involved in this," yet the myth of the
CIA as "the personification of evil" is spread throughout the world.
"The United States doesn't do it (assassinations), and yet no one seems
to mind that Castro is involved in this," Major said.
"There appears to be no price to pay for Castro for implementing this
kind of program, Major observed. "It shows you the aggressiveness of the
[Cuban intelligence] service."
"If you were to look at intelligence operations against the United
States for the last 50 years, you'll not find one that has more intrigue, more
complexity. ... It shows that the Cubans have all the toys," Major
reflected.
Major stated that intelligence services normally seek to have more than one
source for information "redundancy" and the public
revelations surrounding the Wasp Network may indicate "what else is going
on that you don't see in the public domain."
On the question of Cuba sharing its intelligence information gathered in the
U.S. with "rogue states," Major responded, "I think the chances
of that are extremely high."
Cuban intelligence also hosts a super-sophisticated Russian spy base at
Lourdes.
"For what purpose" is the base, Major asked, "if Russia is
the ally it says it is?"
Major quoted one associate, a retired KGB agent, who stated that reform in
Russia "is clearly slipping away."
The Peoples Republic of China, another close friend of Cuba, represents a
formidable counterintelligence problem for the U.S. In contrast to European and
American methods of intelligence gathering, the Chinese government relies mainly
upon those in sympathy with it to come forward and supply information. The
Chinese, according to Major, do not use embassy personnel or seek to recruit
agents in the same manner as the Americans and Europeans.
Major's organization is striving to make the world of intelligence and
counterintelligence understandable to the general public. The group's activities
include a variety of training seminars on intelligence topics, and a "spy
tour" of Washington, D.C. examining the nation's capital the way a
spy might do.
I.J. Toby Westerman, is a contributing reporter for WorldNetDaily who
focuses on current events in the Commonwealth of Independent States and the
Balkans.
© 2001 WorldNetDaily.com, Inc. |