Over the years American history has revealed we have spies aplenty who are native born. Many assert, even though world intelligence services have often contended, that Americans will do almost anything for money. But it is not really true. Benedict Arnold betrayed as much for pride as for money. He felt he was neither recognized nor remunerated for his admittedly outstanding contributions to the American Revolution. Counterespionage professionals admit the hardest spy to capture is the ‘true believer’. Such spies believe deeply in the righteousness of their secretly served cause.
Deep Beliefs Lead to Espionage
Some spies believe so deeply they would be insulted to be offered money for their betrayals. Why? Because they don’t see their compromising of secrets to be a betrayal at all. Just as Kim Philby and the notorious Cambridge spies of the United Kingdom served the Soviets, so Jonathan Pollard served Israel. The former because they were disgusted by their perceived unfairness of the class structure into which they were born, the latter because he believed the United States could do more to protect Israel. Ana Montes and the Meyers couple served Cuba’s intelligence service willingly because they firmly believed in the social justice they believed was created by Fidel Castro’s nation. Christopher Boyce, the so-called ‘Falcon’, believed America had lied to damage the world, and had to be struck back at. Money was, however, the primary goal of his accomplice, Andrew Dalton Lee, the ‘Snowman’.
No Money Trail to Trace
The question why these spies are so hard to catch is because there is no evidence of money changing hands. Normally, how a spy communicates with his handler, and his payment methods, are the most readily discernible evidence of their foul deeds. Picking up these ‘trails’, through following the money or intercepting communications, are the most lucrative methods of investigation leading to conviction. The true believer doesn’t need or want money, so that avenue is often blocked to investigators. So too with other modern true believers.
Extremism and Radicalization
We read today that many spies are radical advocates of conspiracy theories, extreme political, racial, or religious beliefs. Someone who hates aspects of his company, his country, or who even has grave personal issues seeks a sense of empowerment. Radicalization can now take place online, alone, and away from public participation in extremist activities. How might this work? A soothing, calm, rational and apparently caring Mephisopheles appears on an extremist website visited by our seeker. The recruiter detects in our seeker a potential radical, and eventually coaxes the disaffected person to a secret, encrypted site. Once there, radicalization can begin. The secret recruiter will offer simple answers to life’s concerns. Or, he might offer an angry ‘secret truth’ which goads the listener to further hatred of others. Variations on these methods are generally how this gradual recruitment develops. Once ‘enlisted’, the seeker after truth feels a part of something greater than he is. He feels empowered. No longer is he adrift in a world he doesn’t understand. Caring, listening, like-minded others are out there, he discovers. They’re just like me. They want to change the world to make it just like we want. Now he believes he can at last ‘do something’. And so it goes. The seeker after truth knows his enemies have been revealed. Only now, they won’t be laughing at him anymore. The enemies will be destroyed. His friends online can convince him to storm a building, plant a bomb, or kidnap or shoot someone. Or steal something. Or tell them who else might be interested.
Awareness for Clearance Holders
Cleared personnel must be aware of this phenomenon. It is only new in the sense it is much more evident in the age of the internet. Eric Hoffer wrote ‘The True Believer’ in the 1940s. He wanted to explain why young men (especially, though not exclusively) joined movements. He wanted to explore motives, and possible actions which could take place as a result. His discoveries were often frightening. If we discover our acquaintances no longer engage with one another at work, no longer have a generally accepting view of others, or display paranoid, indeed hateful behavior, we need to advise our security personnel. Perhaps it is just a morale problem. But maybe not. If someone is susceptible to possible compromise, this is one type of person the spy or saboteur is looking for. Reach out to help the lonely, the disaffected. He or she needs someone to confide in. Make sure that someone is you, or a professional, capable of responding to whatever causes his distress. Otherwise, the person reaching out to him might be a spy wanting him to do something to ‘take his cares away.”
