Quem disse que os romances de espionagem estão fora de moda?

Boa notícia: eles nunca sairam de moda.
Má notícia: os personagens deste "romance" estão completamente fora de moda...

The World from Berlin: 'Espionage Is Still Obligatory for Most States'
SPIEGEL ONLINE 2010
06/30/2010 01:53 PM

The arrest of 10 alleged Russian spies in the US may have caused tensions between the two former Cold War enemies. But German commentators on Wednesday argue that the case is unlikely to do much lasting damage. In today's world, they say, spying is a necessary evil.

Their exploits sound like something from a bad spy novel. Invisible ink, coded radio transmissions and even the swapping of identical bags -- the 10 alleged Russian sleeper agents arrested on Sunday seemed to have a penchant for the clichés of the espionage business. However, the very public unveiling of the spy ring could have serious repercussions, coming just as relations between Washington and Moscow were finally improving.

Russian President Dmitry Medvedev was in the US only last week on a state visit, a sign of warming relations between the two old Cold War enemies following the election of President Barack Obama. And a new nuclear arms control deal, known as New START is on the cards, although it still needs to be ratified by the US Senate and the Russian parliament.

Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, himself a former spy, said on Tuesday that he hoped the series of arrests would not harm US-Russian relations. Russian officials initially denounced the arrests as "Cold War-era spy stories" and suggested elements in the US government were attempting to undermine the move toward better relations between the two countries. The Russian Foreign Ministry has since admitted that some of those arrested are Russian citizens but says they did nothing to hurt US interests.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov noted that the US authorities had announced the arrests just days after Medvedev's visit, saying: "The only thing I can say is that the moment for doing that has been chosen with special elegance."

Operating Without Diplomatic Cover
The 10 people arrested across the US on Sunday have been charged with failing to register as foreign agents. Some may also face money laundering charges. Another suspect was arrested in Cyprus on Tuesday. The suspects have not been charged with the more serious crime of espionage. And it is not yet clear if the agents passed on any important information to their handlers.

The accused were allegedly part of an operation to infiltrate US society in a bid to gather information relating to US policymaking. In espionage parlance, they were "illegals," spies operating without diplomatic cover. Court papers say the operation goes back as far as the 1990s and that some of those arrested had been tracked for years by the FBI.

A few of the suspects lived as married couples, and some of them used fake identities, claiming to be US or Canadian citizens, while others used their real names. The decision to make the arrests came after it seemed the investigation had been uncovered and one of the suspects was preparing to leave the country.

Most German commentators on Wednesday think the spy scandal is a storm in a teacup and predict that it will have little long-lasting impact on US-Russian relations.

The Financial Times Deutschland writes:
"Political espionage is still obligatory for most states. That goes for the US as much as for Russia and China. The fuss that the US government has made about the unveiled spies is hypocritical. After all, it is far from a surprise that Russia sends agents to the US. And it would be a great surprise if there were no US spies in Moscow."

"Particularly in these times when the clear front lines are crumbling and where minor states could become nuclear powers within a few years, governments have to be kept informed about what is going on around them. That is true particularly for the last superpower, the US, which would be a target for potential aggressors. Giving up a widespread network of spies would be negligent."

The center-left Süddeutsche Zeitung writes:
"At least the US intelligence service had enough respect to wait until the honored guest from Russia had flown home before they released the news of the Russian spy ring."
"For Moscow, this delay was not long enough. The bitterly angry irony of Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov was the most charming expression of rage. Others felt reminded of the Cold War. The old reflexes still functioned -- on both sides. However, in all likelihood the affair will be nothing more than a short celebration for the conservatives in both countries, a cold rain shower in the political summer."
"Neither the Kremlin nor Prime Minister Vladimir Putin have any increased interest in seeing a dozen unveiled agents ruin with one blow the past few months' careful policy of easing tensions. Moscow is set on appeasement and on the urgent modernization of a Russia that is still backwards economically. And for that they need the help of the US and American investors ... In all likelihood, therefore, the excitement of a few hot days is likely to cool down very quickly."

The center-right Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung writes:
"The timing couldn't be worse for the blowing of the spies' cover. The Senate in Washington still has to ratify the New START treaty for the reduction of strategic nuclear weapons, something that was already far from a sure thing. The spy affair could grow into a bigger burden.
Presumably Russia will now have to expel a few American diplomats. However, the likelihood that there are quite a few people in Russia spying for the Americans, could calm down the crisis."

The conservative Die Welt writes:
"The ridicule that has greeted the agents, who seemed to be having such a great time in the US that they didn't want to spoil the fun with espionage, will probably not be viewed with amusement in Washington and Moscow. Espionage is no trivial matter, not even between partners."
"It is curious to realize that the deployment of spies in the comfortable West still leads to idleness. In Moscow, and particularly in Pyongyang, Tehran, Baghdad or Kabul, the lack of distractions and the fact that discovery could mean death, makes agents a lot more diligent. And there is no possibility of disappearing into middle-class anonymity like that achieved by the Russian agents in the US."

Siobhán Dowling