13 ms·

Didn't one of the insurrectionists arrested require a Russian translator at his booking?

Forbo 6y ago
For those downvoting this comment, here's a source: https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/legal-issues/capitol-siege-arrests/2021/01/07/661292a2-5105-11eb-bda4-615aaefd0555_story.html https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/legal-issues/capitol-si...
- eloff 6y ago
  Hilarious, but definitely not a spy. The Russians aren't so amateur as to send an undercover agent to the US who can't speak English. If they missed the opportunity at the Capitol the other day to plant listening devices though, they must be kicking themselves now.
  - colde 6y ago
    You say that, but they have had spies being exposed for a lot of stupid reasons. Like having their address on driving licenses be the FSB headquarters to avoid getting traffic tickets. Also, it seems entirely possible to me that they would do that not for the purposes of spying, but to sow chaos.
    - Technically 6y ago
      Putin is, indeed, a huge fan of non-linear warfare. One side effect that it's extremely difficult to predict and can only be, possibly, recognized, and intent (the "true" end) is virtually impossible to discern. If you push a ton of buttons at once, you create opportunities for yourself that you might not even have predicted, and people can ascribe all sorts of intent that never existed. It's part of why I roll my eyes at election interference—not that it's somehow "fake", but the amount of hysteria generated has got to be a better return than anyone could have guessed throwing a couple million dollars at an online propaganda campaign.
  - folli 6y ago
    I'd say Russia definitely has at least a subset of very amateurish spies. An example coming to mind is the Skripal poisoning in Salisbury, UK.
    - obmelvin 6y ago
      How was that amateurish? Acquiring and handling such a substance would not be easy.
      - jfk13 6y ago
        They left a pretty clear trail, and they didn't actually succeed in killing the target. Sounds amateurish to me.
        eloff 6y ago
        That sounds intentional. The only reason to use novichok as the weapon is precisely so everyone knows who did it. It's meant to be an example to others so they don't cross the Russian government.
        fit2rule 6y ago
        Russians are not the only ones manufacturing the substance known as Novichok. The UK and US also manufacture it.
    - aksss 6y ago
      Isn't Stalin rumored to have said, "There's a certain quality in quantity" in response to criticism that quality beats quantity? I think the quote is one of those unproven maybe-it-happened-but-we-have-no-solid-evidence things, but it seems to sum up the Russian approach to tanks and troops in WWII well enough, and from stories I've read, seems to be reflect their approach in the spy world as well. They are immensely practical.
  - nkrisc 6y ago
    Seems like the kind of expendable person they might send for what is basically a smash-and-grab. How undercover does he need to be if American citizens are openly planning online to storm the Capitol? He just needs to wear a MAGA hat and walk in with them. Ok, probably not a spy, but who knows?
  - TravelPiglet 6y ago
    Why would a Russian spy not want Russian translators and lawyers?
  - lallysingh 6y ago
    Spies aren't the same as we see in the movies. Remember CIA field operatives used chip bags to hide their cell phones' signal. Clearly they never tried calling those phones to test...
    - eloff 6y ago
      To be fair the CIA operatives likely saw the chip bag trick in a movie. Art emulates life emulates art.
  - deleted 6y ago
    [deleted]

For those downvoting this comment, here's a source: https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/legal-issues/capitol-siege-arrests/2021/01/07/661292a2-5105-11eb-bda4-615aaefd0555_story.html https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/legal-issues/capitol-si...

eloff 6y ago
Hilarious, but definitely not a spy. The Russians aren't so amateur as to send an undercover agent to the US who can't speak English. If they missed the opportunity at the Capitol the other day to plant listening devices though, they must be kicking themselves now.
- colde 6y ago
  You say that, but they have had spies being exposed for a lot of stupid reasons. Like having their address on driving licenses be the FSB headquarters to avoid getting traffic tickets. Also, it seems entirely possible to me that they would do that not for the purposes of spying, but to sow chaos.
  - Technically 6y ago
    Putin is, indeed, a huge fan of non-linear warfare. One side effect that it's extremely difficult to predict and can only be, possibly, recognized, and intent (the "true" end) is virtually impossible to discern. If you push a ton of buttons at once, you create opportunities for yourself that you might not even have predicted, and people can ascribe all sorts of intent that never existed. It's part of why I roll my eyes at election interference—not that it's somehow "fake", but the amount of hysteria generated has got to be a better return than anyone could have guessed throwing a couple million dollars at an online propaganda campaign.
- folli 6y ago
  I'd say Russia definitely has at least a subset of very amateurish spies. An example coming to mind is the Skripal poisoning in Salisbury, UK.
  - obmelvin 6y ago
    How was that amateurish? Acquiring and handling such a substance would not be easy.
    - jfk13 6y ago
      They left a pretty clear trail, and they didn't actually succeed in killing the target. Sounds amateurish to me.
      - eloff 6y ago
        That sounds intentional. The only reason to use novichok as the weapon is precisely so everyone knows who did it. It's meant to be an example to others so they don't cross the Russian government.
        fit2rule 6y ago
        Russians are not the only ones manufacturing the substance known as Novichok. The UK and US also manufacture it.
  - aksss 6y ago
    Isn't Stalin rumored to have said, "There's a certain quality in quantity" in response to criticism that quality beats quantity? I think the quote is one of those unproven maybe-it-happened-but-we-have-no-solid-evidence things, but it seems to sum up the Russian approach to tanks and troops in WWII well enough, and from stories I've read, seems to be reflect their approach in the spy world as well. They are immensely practical.
- nkrisc 6y ago
  Seems like the kind of expendable person they might send for what is basically a smash-and-grab. How undercover does he need to be if American citizens are openly planning online to storm the Capitol? He just needs to wear a MAGA hat and walk in with them. Ok, probably not a spy, but who knows?
- TravelPiglet 6y ago
  Why would a Russian spy not want Russian translators and lawyers?
- lallysingh 6y ago
  Spies aren't the same as we see in the movies. Remember CIA field operatives used chip bags to hide their cell phones' signal. Clearly they never tried calling those phones to test...
  - eloff 6y ago
    To be fair the CIA operatives likely saw the chip bag trick in a movie. Art emulates life emulates art.
- deleted 6y ago
  [deleted]