The CIA turncoat, Aldrich Ames told me that one country’s traitor is another country’s hero.But is that true?
Ames said it was true because the end result was betrayal — the breaking of an oath and allegiance to one’s homeland.
Sergei Tretyakov, Nathan Hale, and Benedict Arnold? Is there a difference between our traitors and their’s?
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The CIA turncoat, Aldrich Ames told me that one country’s traitor is another country’s hero.NO DATELINE APPEARANCE FOR ME
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The producer who interviewed me for DATELINE about Sergei Tretyakov told me today that I will NOT be on the program Sunday when it airs. The show is about the ten Russian illegals who were shipped back to Moscow and since I told DATELINE that Sergei Tretyakov was not responsible for tipping off the FBI about the case (read this post), I am ending up on the cutting room floor.
I guess I should have fudged.
Meanwhile if you want to read more about Sergei and his career check out these stories:
There is also more information in my book, Comrade J. The piece of literature in which Sergei and I became friends as well as collaborators.
Sergei’s Death. Mistakes. Nonsense and a Chuckle
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I’ve been a journalist for more than three decades, but I’ve never had a day like yesterday.
My morning began at 5 a.m. when I announced on my blog that my good friend, Sergei Tretyakov, had died unexpectedly on June 13th. We became good friends while collaborating on Comrade J. I posted this news after speaking several times during the week to Helen, his wife, and to several sources in the U.S. government familiar with his case.
Sergei Tretyakov, Russian Spy ‘Comrade J,’ Dead at 53
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I am sorry to announce that my good friend, Sergei Tretyakov, the subject of my book, Comrade J: The Untold Secrets of Russia’s Master Spy in America After the End of the Cold War, died unexpectedly on June 13th in his home with his wife, Helen.Sergei was 53.
Helen asked those of us who were his friends to not immediately reveal his death until an autopsy could be performed under the supervision of the FBI. She was concerned that Sergei’s former colleagues in Russia’s SVR, which replaced the KGB as Russia’s foreign intelligence service, might attempt to use his unexpected death for propaganda purposes.
Dateline Interview
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The arrest of eleven Russian “illegals” last week caused my phone to ring. The BBC, NPR, NBC, and Russian television wanted to speak to me. I said no because I was not familiar with the case, but then the media began reporting that the FBI had uncovered the spy ring because of a tip from Sergei Tretyakov, the subject of my book, COMRADE J, and a good friend.
Suddenly, everyone was calling asking me about him and the case.
On Thursday afternoon, I was interviewed by DATELINE for a show that will air Sunday, July 11th about the spies. While no one ever knows how much — if any of what you say — will end up on the air, I wanted to let you know that I had been interviewed. If you are interested in spies, tune in.
Thanks.
A Never Ending Debate
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Mental Health America asked me to moderate a thought-provoking panel that featured four nationally-known activists during its annual convention in Washington D.C.
Kay Redfield Jamison doesn’t need an introduction. Her memoir, An Unquiet Mind, was the first book I read after my son, Mike, became ill, and it spent five months on the New York Times bestseller list. She is not only brilliant and well-spoken, but also unassuming.
The other three panelists were new to me.
