Gross incompetence of Cold War era MI5, part 1,394

[Filuwaúrdjan]

Quite the story from the BBC today:

Tory MP Raymond Mawby sold information to Czech spies

The really funny part is that he doesn't seem to have been suspected by MI5, ever.

[Tetro Kornbluth]

One could make an epic thread based on the massive incompetence of western intelligence agencies during the Cold War.

[dead0man]

Agreed...but has there ever been an intel organization that never screwed the pooch?  You almost seem to be insinuating that this is only a problem with "friendly" intel orgs....clearly that's not true.

[Tetro Kornbluth]

Agreed...but has there ever been an intel organization that never screwed the pooch?  You almost seem to be insinuating that this is only a problem with "friendly" intel orgs....clearly that's not true.

No, of course not but I'm pretty sure that had the Cold War been decided on the basis of the competence of each sides' respective intelligence agencies the Washington Monument would have made way for a Lenin statue a long time ago.

[Filuwaúrdjan]

Agreed...but has there ever been an intel organization that never screwed the pooch?  You almost seem to be insinuating that this is only a problem with "friendly" intel orgs....clearly that's not true.

No, of course not but I'm pretty sure that had the Cold War been decided on the basis of the competence of each sides' respective intelligence agencies the Washington Monument would have made way for a Lenin statue a long time ago.

Basically (despite the tales of supposed Soviet/etc. agents who were - in practice - shakedown artists, lol). If anything the eventual outcome adds to the hilarity.