Today's Washington Post is reporting that the United States will swap ten of the recently apprehended Russian spies for four Americans that the Russians claim are spies.
Eric Holder and Robert Mueller praised the arrests of the Russian spies as the result of years of investigations and counterintelligence work. Stephen Sestanovich, a former National Security Council official who is an expert on Russia, questioned the wisdom of the quick release of the spies. The United States did not really have very much time to learn anything from any of them.
I really wonder about the speed and the balance of this transaction. Why did the Russians turn over four alleged spies when we surrendered ten? Why was this done so quickly? What was the risk to America or to the Russians of keeping these spies in prison in America for a year or two? What message are we sending to the world about how we deal with spies? Is catch and release a good way to deal with spies?
I am sure more of this story will come out eventually. There has to be more, and I am sure some journalist will uncover it. It might be very interesting.
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