China reacted to the revelation it had purged a network of CIA informants with a victory lap, boasting that the execution of a dozen spies within the last seven years was a triumph for its \u201canti-espionage activities.\u201d<\/b>
\nChina reacted to the revelation it had purged a network of CIA informants with a victory lap, boasting that the execution of a dozen spies within the last seven years was a triumph for its \u201canti-espionage activities.\u201d
The network was terminated between 2010 and 2012, The New York Times reported Saturday, with 12 or more people killed and several more imprisoned. Without providing confirmation, the Global Times newspaper, which is published by the official People\u2019s Daily, said in an editorial smashing the ring with extreme prejudice was a \u201csweeping victory.\u201d
\u201cIf this article is telling the truth, we would like to applaud China\u2019s anti-espionage activities, \u201d read the editorial. \u201cNot only was the CIA\u2019s spy network dismantled, but Washington had no idea what happened and which part of the spy network had gone wrong.
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\u201cIt can be taken as a sweeping victory. Perhaps it means even if the CIA makes efforts to rebuild its spy network in China, it could face the same result.\u201d
If true, the action would be one of the worst security breaches in the U. S. intelligence services in decades. The Times reported that the saga still unnerves the CIA, and although investigators questioned a Chinese-American who left the CIA just before the crackdown began he was allowed to return home to Asia and no charges relating to turning on fellow agents have ever been filed.
While the CIA has undoubtedly carried out its own assessment of what happened, the Times article prompted former insiders to speculate about what caused the demise of the spy network.
\u201cThis would indicate an internal, insider threat type of person who was spying for the Chinese, \u201d former CIA Deputy General Counsel for Operations Robert Eatinger told Fox News. Eatinger was Acting General Counsel of the CIA from 2009 to 2014 and now runs his own law firm, SpyLaw Consulting.
Former CIA clandestine officer Mike Baker agreed.
\u201cWhen you start losing a number of assets, especially when they are all compartmentalized away from each other, you have to assume that one possible explanation is you\u2019 ve got a counterintelligence problem, that there is someone with knowledge on the inside — a mole\u2026a traitor, \u201d Baker said.
Asked whether the incident represents an ongoing vulnerability to Chinese infiltration of the CIA, Eatinger pointed out \u201cif somebody is very smart and cautious they can get away with this for a very long time.\u201d
The CIA declined to comment on the disappearing CIA informants in China.
Eatinger agreed with the Chinese editorial, saying the incident \u201ccertainly\u201d has a chilling effect on U. S. efforts to spy on Beijing.
\u201cIt\u2019s tougher to get new people to talk to you, and the ones you have may stop talking and go away, particularly if you can\u2019 t protect their identity, » he said.
The fact that the story took several years to get into the media could be attributable to CIA employees retiring and finally being able to discuss it publicly, Eatinger added.
Baker said \u201cthere is no good reason\u201d to be talking about this now, \u201cunless, and this is speculation, it\u2019s to let the Chinese know that we’re on to something to create movement on the other side.\u201d Such a strategy could be acceptable tradecraft.
But Baker worried that it\u2019s also possible that CIA sources revealed the story to reporters because of a cultural problem within the intel community. Segments of the community have been battling with the Trump administration, through a series of leaks.
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\u201cEven if what people believe that what they are leaking is OK because it\u2019s simply political and about Trump, there is an overall impact on the culture\u2026it lowers the bar\u2026it starts to normalize the idea of leaking or talking about other, more sensitive things, \u201d he said.
The revelations come amid several incidents of attempted Chinese recruitment of Americans to spy on Beijing\u2019s behalf, including a 28-year-old applicant to the CIA who had studied in China during his college years. Glenn Duffie Shriver was imprisoned for attempting to sell national defense secrets to Chinese agents for about $70,000.
After he was convicted and imprisoned, Shriver starred in FBI videos warning American students of the dangers of Chinese recruitment.
«If someone is offering you money and it feels like you don’t have to do anything for that money, then there\u2019s probably a hook in there that you’re not seeing, \u201d Shriver said in one FBI video.
The Shriver case reportedly led the CIA to think twice about recruiting Americans who studied in China, which in turn made it harder to recruit qualified CIA officers.
\u201cThere\u2019s a far greater scrutiny of anyone who has spent time in China as a student, particularly on the longer-term programs, \u201d former CIA deputy assistant director for East Asia and the Pacific Dennis Wilder told Newsweek.
Meanwhile, a veteran State Department employee was charged in March with making false statements to the FBI about gifts she received from Chinese spies, including an iPhone, a laptop and international travel.
Intelligence gathering \u201cis a high risk world, \u201d Baker told Fox News. \u201cThat\u2019s why it\u2019s such an emotional issue for the agency. People die. It\u2019s very serious. It\u2019s never helpful if people can\u2019 t keep their mouths shut.\u201d<\/p>\n

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