Reply #10: Relax [View All]

Geez. Ease up. That's what the CIA is supposed to do, though getting caught is usually not part of the equation.

The translation doesn't really provide a lot of detail.

Option 1: The CIA tried to recruit Swedes under a false flag, that is, not US. Okay. That's what the US is supposed to do.

Option 2: The CIA tried to recruit a non-Swede in Sweden under a false flag. Okay. Again, that's what they're supposed to do.

Option 3: The CIA tried to recruit a Swede or non-Swede as CIA. Maybe this one's on the edge, but this is what intelligence officers do. It's they're job. Some are good at it. Some are not so good at it.

Should they have done this with the cooperation of the Swedes? Maybe they do conduct operations in conjunction with the Swedes. Again, that's fine. But sometimes, for any number of reasons, that's not feasible. It's a risk, but, and I know I sound like a broken record, that's what intelligence officers do.

As for the fleeing part, that is, "the Americans immediately fled the country," my guess is that "fleeing" is a bit of a stretch. If they learned that their operation was compromised, the officers might have been recalled to Washington. I find it very hard to believe they would have "fled." Alternatively, they could have been declared persona non grata by the Swedish government and asked to leave.

I mean, really. If the Swedes were discovered to be spying on Latvians in the U.S., would anyone get really worked up over it?