Spies like us?

[ordnance11]

I think all of you had heard of the Russian spy ring that got broken up this month. There were 2 things that came thru my mind:
1. Better the spies you know than the ones you don't.
2. It's amazing that the FBI was able to find and track these folks for a decade. But considering some of them had facebook photos of them on the web, makes me kinda wonder whether it was good spycraft or not.
The paranoid in me keeps envisioning Islamic sleeper cells here in the States. If you recall the story of the Hashashin, it might not be so far fetched. Granted the Hashashin would had scorned today's fedayeen suicide bombers as being crude amateurs, but you have to wonder.
__________________
Into terror!,  Into valour!
Charge ahead! No! Never turn
Yes, it's into the fire we fly
And the devil will burn!
- Scarlett Pimpernell

[Jinx999]

I think all of you had heard of the Russian spy ring that got broken up this month. There were 2 things that came thru my mind:
1. Better the spies you know than the ones you don't.

Oh yes. It's very bad tradecraft to arrest a spy - now when you can use them to send misinformation or trace the spy network.

2. It's amazing that the FBI was able to find and track these folks for a decade. But considering some of them had facebook photos of them on the web, makes me kinda wonder whether it was good spycraft or not.

It's about fitting in. However, modern technology means that you leave massive traces, just by doing so.

The paranoid in me keeps envisioning Islamic sleeper cells here in the States. If you recall the story of the Hashashin, it might not be so far fetched. Granted the Hashashin would had scorned today's fedayeen suicide bombers as being crude amateurs, but you have to wonder.

Possible. However, that would require them to act against what they believe their religion to be, in order to fit in.

[Bob Schroeck]

As it so happens, the 9/11 crew were sleepers -- and weren't particularly devout Muslims, by many reports. Don't forget that Islamic extremism is more a political movement than a religious one, and on top of that offers the equivalent of medieval indulgences to excuse sins committed in the pursuit of the movement's greater glory.
-- Bob
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Then the horns kicked in...
...and my shoes began to squeak.

[Jinx999]

I don't believe that they make the distinction between political and religious the same way westerners do (to make some very broad generalisations on both sides), but I believe you're basically right. IIRC, the 9/11 hijackers didn't fit in to American society at all well - it's just that nobody was looking for them at the time.
There's a large difference between intelligence gathering and terrorism, though. To gether intelligence well, you need to be able to "become" an insider in the target, but a terrorist is safer remaining an outsider. It's easier to kill people when you're not one of them.