Foreign Policy

Agent describes why the KGB was always better than the CIA.

"Back in my CIA days we sometimes used to describe our opponents in the KGB as "ten feet tall." It was, in truth, a tribute to their tradecraft and ability to operate in largely hostile environments. Soviet case officers were sent overseas meticulously trained in both the local culture and language, remained in a country for as long as they continued to be effective, and would engage in hours long "runs" to detect and eventually evade surveillance before making their meetings with their agents. They also drank heavily. We Americans, meanwhile, normally did two of three year tours, were frequently language deficient, and often spent a good deal of our time worrying about where we would be going next rather than concentrating on the job at hand. We also drank heavily."

Not good.

"In a sense, the KGB and CIA officers were products of the cultures that had created them, the Soviets exhibiting caution and patience because they knew they were in for the long haul while the Americans were more focused on getting their ticket punched for promotion so they could buy a new Oldsmobile when they eventually returned home to Reston."

I don't need to comment.

"These days perhaps no intelligence agency benefits more from a media enhanced reputation than Israel’s external service Mossad. A new Mossad book has just come out, by the same authors who wrote the old Mossad book, and the inevitable spin has begun. An article on March 2^nd in the Israeli newspaper Haaretz’s website was headed "Report: US pressures Israel to halt assassinations of Iranian nuclear scientists." Haaretz wisely called it a "report," perhaps to distance itself from what was described, instead attributing it to CBS News the day before. If one goes to the CBS story "US pushing Israel to stop assassinating Iranian nuclear scientists" one would find the story credited to CBS correspondent Dan Raviv, whose updated "Spies Against Armageddon: Inside Israel’s Secret Wars" co-authored with Israeli journalist Yossi Melman has recently been published. The authors claims to have "sources close to Israel’s intelligence agencies" but admit their account is a mix of facts and opinion. " 

Surprise.