Spies: The Rise And Fall Of The KGB In America

Soviet Intelligence was interested in incorporating American journalists into their espionage network because they offered various talents that could aid the Soviets in gathering information such as, their access to resources not available to the Soviets, their ability to gather new recruits, and their skill to not draw attention to their work. Haynes, Klehr, and Vassiliev created Spies: The Rise and Fall of the KGB in America (2009) to exemplify the history of the KGB in America and the USSR’s reasons for needing American agents. Because the Americans offered so many outlets to gather information, the Soviets sought them out in order to gain a competitive advantage over a world that wanted to prevent the spread of communism. The journalists had access to information that was unattainable to

Many journalists had connections to political figures who gave them valuable information about their governments. These journalists were not typically questioned for probing for answers in order to write their stories because they were trusted by their governmental connections. Any Soviet official asking these same questions would conjure too much media and government speculation, so a journalist with connections to the American government would have an easier time operating than a Soviet agent (146). Haynes, Klehr, and Vassiliev’s book, Spies: The Rise and Fall of the KGB in America, exemplified why the Soviets needed American journalists to gather intelligence. Journalists operated without speculation, had resources unattainable to the Soviets, and had the ability to recruit new Soviet agents. While the authors exclusively point out why the Americans were exploited to obtain intelligence, do they not shroud the idea that the USSR could not get as many operatives in other nations because there was less compassion for communism