> though they were spies under diplomat cover Pretty much all diplomats are spies, whether officially or unofficially. Their work involves learning and underst

> though they were spies under diplomat cover Pretty much all diplomats are spies, whether officially or unofficially. Their work involves learning and understanding things about the counterpart, openly or otherwise, and reporting their findings. The main difference is that the official spooks take more risks and carry out more direct action. > Among "non-friendly countries" Among all countries. Any embassy of note (say, US in Germany, or French in Algeria, etc) hosts at least a few actual spooks at any given time.