Remember ten short years ago when Russian President Vladimir Putin visited George Bush on the Texas White House ranch at Crawford? Remember the two of them tooling around in the truck smiling? And George enthusiastically said he had looked into the soul of this Russian and had seen a good guy? Remember? It has been another example of American naivete in the face of a sophisticated old enemy – the Russian KGB. [LA Times]
Ask my good friend Rob Lorinov at Lorinov’s Blog if the Soviet Union ever really went away and he will give you a resounding “Nyet.” Once a seasoned KGB officer, always a KGB officer and now Putin has returned to the old ways and systematic psychological warfare against the personnel in western embassies.
Russian spy agency targeting western diplomats
FSB using psychological techniques developed by KGB to intimidate and demoralise diplomatic staff, activists and journalists
The Russian president, Vladimir Putin, was a lieutenant colonel in the KGB and ran its successor, the FSB. Photograph: Carlos Baria/EPARussia‘s spy agency is waging a massive undercover campaign of harassment against British and American diplomats, as well as other targets, using deniable “psychological” techniques developed by the KGB, a new book reveals.
The federal security service (FSB) operation involves breaking into the private homes of western diplomats – a method the US state department describes as “home intrusions”. Typically the agents move around personal items, open windows and set alarms in an attempt to demoralise and intimidate their targets.
The FSB operation includes the bugging of private apartments, widespread phone tapping, physical surveillance, and email interception. Its victims include local Russian staff working for western embassies, opposition activists, human rights workers and journalists.
The clandestine campaign is revealed in Mafia State, a book by the Guardian’s former Moscow correspondent Luke Harding, serialised in Saturday’s Weekend magazine.
No state has perfected harassment to the extent the Russia has. So we have a renewed confrontation in our court. What is the Obama administration doing about it? Well, if a book has to announce the reality to us, the answer has to be not much.
roblorinov
September 24, 2011
NYET! NYET! NYET! The Soviets never fell from power. It was all a delusion and the world bought it lock, stock, barrel. Putin is in fact a former KGB Lt. Colonel and that’s a fact. Putin has and is returning to the old KGB/Soviet ways as he is tired of the delusion now. He is authorizing the psych ops against Western embassies, journalist, and opposition leaders around the globe now. Recall when the new US embassy was built in Moscow and we found out it was riddled, literally, with thousands of listening devices in the walls, floors, and ceilings? That was NO mistake! And they are still not all out yet!! Obama is and will not do anything about this. He’s too weak. He doesn’t have what it takes to stand up to a man like Putin. Bush was an idiot. I remember his little journey with Putin in the pickup in Crawford and Bush saying he’s discovered Putin is a good guy. Good guy? This showed the ignorance of Bush! KGB agents, including Putin, are highly trained in deception, fakery, and psych ops. I bet Putin could have sold Bush his own underwear and Bush would have bought it LOL.
Russia and the old KGB and old Soviet tactics are STILL being used. Recall the Russian spies not long ago discovered in the US? They were so good everyone just thought they were one of the normal American guys and gals. No one expected a thing. They had regular jobs, homes, etc just like Americans. People were shocked when they found out they were spies for Putin’s Russia. And what happened to them? Putin hailed them as national heroes when they returned to Russia just like the Soviets would have done!!
Don’t be fooled America! Putin is a Soviet! He’s a dictator just like the old Soviet Premiers and he rules Russia with iron fist just like Soviets did!