Aldrich Ames Quotes

A collection of quotes by Aldrich Ames.

Aldrich Ames was a former Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) officer who gained infamy as one of the most notorious double agents in the United States' history. Born on May 26, 1941, in River Falls, Wisconsin, Ames joined the CIA in 1962 and initially worked as a communications and operations officer at several overseas posts.

In the 1980s, Ames turned to espionage, selling classified information to the Soviet Union and later to Russia. He betrayed numerous CIA operatives and compromised several intelligence operations, leading to the deaths of at least ten individuals who were working for the U.S. He provided crucial information that severely damaged American intelligence efforts and compromised national security.

Ames' spying activities went undetected for nearly a decade due to his senior position within the CIA's Soviet-East European division, which gave him access to highly sensitive intelligence. However, in 1993, he was finally exposed and arrested by the FBI.

Following his arrest, Ames pleaded guilty to espionage charges and was sentenced to life imprisonment without the possibility of parole. His actions highlighted the need for tightened security measures within the U.S. intelligence community and had a lasting impact on how counterintelligence operations are conducted.

Aldrich Ames remains a symbol of betrayal and treachery, showcasing the devastating consequences that a single individual's actions can have on national security.

The national security state has many unfair and cruel weapon

The national security state has many unfair and cruel weapons in its arsenal, but that of junk science is one which can be fought and perhaps defeated.

Science Weapon

In my professional work with the Agency, by the late '70s, I

In my professional work with the Agency, by the late '70s, I had come to question the value of a great deal of what we were doing, in terms of the intelligence agency's impact on American policy.

Intelligence

Foreign Ministry guys don't become agents. Party officials,

Foreign Ministry guys don't become agents. Party officials, the Foreign Ministry nerds, tend not to volunteer to Western intelligence agencies.

Intelligence

The betrayal of trust carries a heavy taboo.

The betrayal of trust carries a heavy taboo.

Trust

We had periodic crises in this country when the technical in

We had periodic crises in this country when the technical intelligence didn't support the policy. We had the bomber gap, the missile gap.

Intelligence

I found that our Soviet espionage efforts had virtually neve

I found that our Soviet espionage efforts had virtually never, or had very seldom, produced any worthwhile political or economic intelligence on the Soviet Union.

Intelligence

Let's say a Soviet exchange student back in the '70s would g

Let's say a Soviet exchange student back in the '70s would go back and tell the KGB about people and places and things that he'd seen and done and been involved with. This is not really espionage there's no betrayal of trust.

Trust

The Soviet Union did not achieve victory over the West, so w

The Soviet Union did not achieve victory over the West, so was my information inadequate to help them to victory, or did it play no particular role in their failure to achieve victory?

Failure

Our Soviet espionage efforts had virtually never, or had ver

Our Soviet espionage efforts had virtually never, or had very seldom, produced any worthwhile political or economic intelligence on the Soviet Union.

Intelligence

The resistance of policy-makers to intelligence is not just

The resistance of policy-makers to intelligence is not just founded on an ideological presupposition. They distrust intelligence sources and intelligence officials because they don't understand what the real problems are.

Intelligence

Deciding whether to trust or credit a person is always an un

Deciding whether to trust or credit a person is always an uncertain task.

Trust

There are so many things a large intelligence espionage orga

There are so many things a large intelligence espionage organization can do to justify its existence, that people can get promotions for, because it could result in results.

Intelligence

Espionage, for the most part, involves finding a person who

Espionage, for the most part, involves finding a person who knows something or has something that you can induce them secretly to give to you. That almost always involves a betrayal of trust.

Trust