Sex, Spies, and Video Hype

By Rob Argento
July 5, 2010

How important are The Russian Spies? Probably not very. But you will hear plenty about the "long-term, deep cover espionage ring" run by the Russian intelligence service—and for the same reasons you heard so much about Monica Lewinsky a decade ago: The tail wags the dog.

First, the Russian spies. A juicy media distraction based on sex, intrigue, and national security-fixated fantasy. There's nothing like a good 007 jaunt to take your breath away and make you forget all about the banker bailout, the "Change, Change Change" that remains ever the same, the forever war on terror that scares you more than the terrorists, the imaginary economic recovery, and the mountain of debt that would make Hercules cower and lose all his power. Bleh.

You do know, don't you, that they used to execute spies? Now they make glamour queens of them. So what else is new, right? If they can do it for coked out rockers, masturbating Madonnas, dressed down rappers, dark-glassed pimps, short-shorted whores, pumped-up pushers, political Johns, pill-popping pundits, Wall Street scammers, corporate raiders, serial killers—and yes, Monica Lewinsky—why not spies?

The answer is...drum roll please: Why not!

I mean, hey, if eye-catching redhead Anna Chapman glues eyeballs to the screen and sells advertising, it must be good for the economy. And what's good for the economy is good for you and me. So they say. But there's more.

The timing is amazing, no? Right on cue. Just like Monica. It's JIT ("just-in-time") and perfectly synced  to dovetail with Salt, the latest (CFR-member) Angelina Jolie movie about a Russian spy embedded within the CIA. No sooner than The Chosen One finds himself in political disarray some Damsel pops up out-of-nowhere, with seemingly pre-cognitive precision, and diverts attention from the filet mignon of a comatose-economy and The Forever War to something that is bound to be, well, all-sizzle-and-no-steak. The spy scandal will lead nowhere, just like Monica. And, just as in the case of Tales of Bill and Monica, the scandal will provide the current front man with just enough breathing room to—maybe—get his game back in near-messianic form.

"But how could  the perfect timing be accomplished?" you might ask. Not hard to explain, really. Well, as in the case of The Nineteen Hijackers who somehow managed to elude the entire United States air defense grid on September 11, 2001, the FBI and other national security agents had been tracking the Russian devils for years. Unlike the 9/11 debacle, however, this time the angels decided to strike before the devils got out of hand.

But why strike now, just at this moment? Well, if you will recall the political setting of the Bill and Monica affair the answer becomes quite obvious. Presidents need a diversionary crisis to get them out of political trouble, as has been admitted by the politicos themselves—"Never let a good crisis go to waste." Or, if you prefer, Wag the Dog. More on the Bill-and-Monica tale—or tail—a bit later.

But first a word on this latest espionage detour, and why I say "detour." From 1987 to 2004 this writer provided technical communications services in Silicon Valley for some of the most prestigious IT vendors anywhere in the world—including superstar government contractors like Oracle and VeriSign that were loaded with security-related contracts—often working side-by-side with 80 or even 90 percent foreign born engineers, most of whom were in the USA on work visas. They would work in the Valley for years, absorb all of our technology, and then "bring it on home." Espionage? Give me a break; Americans give it away! In the age of globalization there is no espionage; there's only "technology transfer."

Technology transfer is actually condoned by the US government and urged by former President Jimmy Carter's National Security Advisor, and current Obama advisor, one Zbigniew Brzezinski. It fosters interdependence, says Zbig, which discourages war. Got that? And that brings us full circle to Monica Lewinsky, the tail that wagged the dog. Allow me to elaborate.

During the 1990s President Clinton had been under suspicion of, among other things, treason for sale of "dual-use technologies" to China, one of them, some have claimed, being inertial navigation systems. Allegedly the proceeds were used to fund Clinton's bid for president in 1992. The opposition Republicans, quite naturally, were incensed and demanded a special prosecutor to investigate the caper. Clinton eventually chose Kenneth Starr, perhaps because he knew how to lasso the moralist Starr with a nice rare slice of beef. Just in time (JIT) Monica Lewinsky comes into the picture and a juicy scandal ensues with major media talking about nothing else but Monica's oral technique and stained dresses for well over a year. By that time both the Republicans and the general public had forgotten all about the nav systems, which by the way, must now guide nuclear-tipped Chinese cruise missiles under US radar directly into the heart of every American population center. With friends like Bill Clinton, an easily diverted "opposition" party, a fawning national media, and a dumbed-down American public who needs espionage ?

Now, for another take on the Russian spies by investigative journalist Webster Tarpley see the video clip below.