Killing C.I.A. Informants, China Crippled U.S. Spying Operations

[Kontinuum]

The Chinese government systematically dismantled C.I.A. spying operations in the country starting in 2010, killing or imprisoning more than a dozen sources over two years and crippling intelligence gathering there for years afterward.

Current and former American officials described the intelligence breach as one of the worst in decades. It set off a scramble in Washington’s intelligence and law enforcement agencies to contain the fallout, but investigators were bitterly divided over the cause. Some were convinced that a mole within the C.I.A. had betrayed the United States. Others believed that the Chinese had hacked the covert system the C.I.A. used to communicate with its foreign sources. Years later, that debate remains unresolved.

But there was no disagreement about the damage. From the final weeks of 2010 through the end of 2012, according to former American officials, the Chinese killed at least a dozen of the C.I.A.’s sources. According to three of the officials, one was shot in front of his colleagues in the courtyard of a government building — a message to others who might have been working for the C.I.A.

Still others were put in jail. All told, the Chinese killed or imprisoned 18 to 20 of the C.I.A.’s sources in China, according to two former senior American officials, effectively unraveling a network that had taken years to build.

Assessing the fallout from an exposed spy operation can be difficult, but the episode was considered particularly damaging. The number of American assets lost in China, officials said, rivaled those lost in the Soviet Union and Russia during the betrayals of both Aldrich Ames and Robert Hanssen, formerly of the C.I.A. and the F.B.I., who divulged intelligence operations to Moscow for years.

The previously unreported episode shows how successful the Chinese were in disrupting American spying efforts and stealing secrets years before a well-publicized breach in 2015 gave Beijing access to thousands of government personnel records, including intelligence contractors. The C.I.A. considers spying in China one of its top priorities, but the country’s extensive security apparatus makes it exceptionally hard for Western spy services to develop sources there.

At a time when the C.I.A. is trying to figure out how some of its most sensitive documents were leaked onto the internet two months ago by WikiLeaks, and the F.B.I. investigates possible ties between President Trump’s campaign and Russia, the unsettled nature of the China investigation demonstrates the difficulty of conducting counterespionage investigations into sophisticated spy services like those in Russia and China.

The C.I.A. and the F.B.I. both declined to comment.

Details about the investigation have been tightly held. Ten current and former American officials described the investigation on the condition of anonymity because they did not want to be identified discussing the information.

https://www.nytimes.com/2017/05/20/w...espionage.html

[Deja Thoris]

Maybe America is leaking like a sieve because of statements like "ten current and former officials". I mean what's a single person doing speaking to the press, let alone 10?

[oxymoronic]

Maybe America is leaking like a sieve because of statements like "ten current and former officials". I mean what's a single person doing speaking to the press, let alone 10?

liberals feel this sense of duty to expose america secrets without regard to how it plays out. i dont get it either.

[Deja Thoris]

liberals feel this sense of duty to expose america secrets without regard to how it plays out. i dont get it either.

Err, who said they were "liberals"?

Fucking idiotic assumption right there.

[Clone]

liberals feel this sense of duty to expose america secrets without regard to how it plays out. i dont get it either.

Kinda like Trump.

[Mormolyce]

I wonder how many Chinese agents have been unmasked by the US in the same period.

I think you'd have to actually be an intel community insider to understand the full context here.

Maybe America is leaking like a sieve because of statements like "ten current and former officials". I mean what's a single person doing speaking to the press, let alone 10?

I'm sorry, you're saying that the cause of the leaks is the statement that there are lots of leaks?

[Deleted]

Yeah it seems like "leaks" aren't even needed. Competency in the alphabet agencies seems to be at an all time low.

[Thoughtful Trolli]

it only takes one bad apple to ruin a bunch and the capitalist system that currently exists is completely geared towards producing bad apples.

This is the kind of consequence generated from purposefully lying, retarding youth, and not sharing the wealth to the point the sick can't even take sick days.

The whole leak will be due to one dumb young fucker in the alphabet agency. The only true question is if the chinese and russians will ever figure out we're already too far advanced beyond their ken and they're being played harder than they can ever imagine.

Everyone's being played, lol, and once they figure out the same procedures, they'll realize we're approaching singularity, but not the good kind, the everyone's a slave to to the system now and nobody wins kind.

[GreenJesus]

Kinda like Trump.

Wasn't the leak regarding terrorist activity on planes with laptops? Maybe he thought the potential dangers of people dying on planes was greater than the need to keep it classified? I mean, besides that story ran in the media for months before anyway.

[Deja Thoris]

I'm sorry, you're saying that the cause of the leaks is the statement that there are lots of leaks?

It wasn't a statement saying their are a lot of leaks. It was leaked information since the people leaking it didn't "want to be identified discussing the information"

So in short, apology accepted. Next time read and understand the OP correctly instead of trying to get your burns in?

[Tierbook]

Not sure why Trump was brought up, this happened during Obama's first term.....

[Super Kami Dende]

Not sure why Trump was brought up, this happened during Obama's first term.....

You must be new to Gen-OT. You could literally have a discussion on a Dog getting a Treat for a Trick and someone would try to link it to some halfassed insult to Trump.

[GreenJesus]

Sounds like a good thing.

How is it a good thing? China is a communist country that needs to be kept in check.

[Barnabas]

Err, who said they were "liberals"?

Fucking idiotic assumption right there.

Nope it's a valid statement. Only 7% of press are republicans.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/...=.f55b1ef5ab91

[NED funded]

Err, who said they were "liberals"?

Fucking idiotic assumption right there.

Liberals (extreme left) tend to be the ones that hate American foreign policy the most.

[Halicia]

Its a shame... but intelligence assets getting exposed and killed while in hostile nations isn't exactly anything new.

[Cinaedus]

First rule of spying, never get caught

How is it a good thing? China is a communist country that needs to be kept in check.

Don't even get me started on the number of countries America has invaded in the last half century alone. Also, says the country with the orange Hitler.

[GreenJesus]

First rule of spying, never get caught



Don't even get me started on the number of countries America has invaded in the last half century alone. Also, says the country with the orange Hitler.

It isn't their fault if there is a mole in the CIA leaking information.

[Hooked]

I don't trust any of the alphabet agencies anymore with the amount of leaking they are doing. Leaking is a felony so that makes their agents felons.

[Mormolyce]

It wasn't a statement saying their are a lot of leaks. It was leaked information since the people leaking it didn't "want to be identified discussing the information"

So in short, apology accepted. Next time read and understand the OP correctly instead of trying to get your burns in?

Or you could type English that makes sense?

Maybe America is leaking like a sieve because of statements like "ten current and former officials"

You know what the word "because" means?

I still have no idea what you're trying to say, incidentally. Take a deep breath and try to render it into a logical sentence.