The arrest of 11 alleged Russian spies by the Federal Bureau of Investigation this week is a strong indication that the Cold War, generally thought to be over, is not. The arrests and the 55-page indictment that prompted them strongly suggest that there is still a lot of chill in the publicly proclaimed warm relationship between the United States and the successor to the Soviet Union. The hunt for secrets apparently never ends.
To be sure, the alleged spy ring does not appear to be the kind that operated during the heyday of the Cold War. Then the cat-and-mouse game between operatives of the United States and the Soviet Union — a staple of authors and filmmakers for half century — could and did have deadly consequences for both the individuals and nations involved. The contemporary spy ring seems far less successful and resourceful than its predecessors.
Indeed, those arrested are charged with conspiracy to act as unregistered agents of a foreign government rather than espionage. The latter requires that those charged deal in classified information. In the more than a decade that those jailed were under surveillance by federal agents, they apparently did not do so. Exactly what they did and how they did it undoubtedly will be revealed as the case progresses.
What is known is that the operatives openly assumed American identities as they attempted to establish relationships with individuals in and outside government that might provide advantageous information on U.S. policies and plans. The operation was a failure.
The FBI quickly became wise to the group, learned its codes and passwords and monitored its activities. There was, it seems, little chance the group would glean useful intelligence or, if it did, transmit it to the spy chiefs in Moscow.
Nevertheless, the incident is highly instructive. It is reminder that espionage, especially cyber-snooping, remains a staple on the world stage. Russia obviously uses it. China, it is widely acknowledged, is one of the foremost practitioners of the art, particularly in the area of industrial secrets. The United States is hardly innocent. It surely has agents promoting and protecting its interests in strategic locales.
The break-up of the spy ring and arrests of its alleged members are a reminder that old habits — espionage, in this case — die hard; that U.S. counter-espionage efforts should not be abandoned; and that while the relationship between the United States and Russia is far, far better than it was during the Cold War, it is still far from normal.