Spycraft - Melton [243]
Through the years, the CIA’s Office of Communications, Office of Research and Development, Office of Development and Engineering, and Office of Technical Service each pursued some element of covcom’s Holy Grail. Their efforts resulted in the deployment of successive generations of technically sophisticated gear that advanced one or more of the following imperatives: obtain more timely information, improve security, pack the maximum amount of information into an exchange, and deliver intelligence ever more quickly to the end user.
When selecting a covert communications system, the case officer considered factors such as the agent’s lifestyle, profession, ability to travel abroad, and risk tolerance. He estimated how frequently the covcom would be used, the size and aggressiveness of the local counterintelligence service, level of surveillance directed against the handler, and the number and types of covcom systems already operating in the area. Regardless of the variables, two general categories of covcom occurred between agent and handler: personal and impersonal. Each category of covcom has advantages as well as risks.
Personal meetings between an agent and handler (often a U.S. official) represent the riskiest form of covcom. Hostile governments conducted routine surveillance of foreign diplomats under the assumption that some of them were actually intelligence officers operating under official cover. Persons suspected of having an intelligence affiliation were systematically surveilled to detect signs of clandestine activities such as clearing and filling dead drops or meeting an agent. The agent, unless already under investigation, was less likely than the American to be under surveillance, but if observed in an unauthorized meeting with a foreign official, immediately was suspect and placed under surveillance.
Despite the risk, face-to-face meetings were frequently a preferred means of communication with agents. Exchange of materials was assured, conversations could address urgent issues, conflicts could be ironed out, and the agent’s morale given a boost. During personal meetings, the handler was always alert for changes in the agent’s attitude, motivation, personality, and health. He was able to conduct hands-on agent training, modify requirements, change operational plans, and gauge firsthand the extent of any counterintelligence problems.5
Given the inherent risks, however, personal meetings in denied areas were kept to a minimum, carefully planned, and never conducted without a specific reason. The handler was always prepared for the contingencies necessary to maintain the security of the operation; meeting times, duration, and locations were selected to provide a plausible cover story for both handler and agent in case they were observed. The agenda for the meeting was scripted in advance; initial greetings were immediately followed by a standard question, “How much time do you have?” Next on the script was to agree on arrangements for the next meeting should they be interrupted.6
To minimize the counterintelligence exposure of an agent being spotted during a personal meeting, the CIA developed techniques known as “brief encounters.” These involved a personal contact between the agent and handler, but minimized the length of time required for an exchange of material. In 1958, the CIA Chief of Station in Prague, Haviland Smith, developed the technique of a “brush contact” or “brush pass” while providing tradecraft training in New York City to a Czech agent.7 Smith noticed that the agent was reluctant to leave his package of secrets in a dead drop for fear it would be discovered and traced back to him. As an alternative, Smith had the agent