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Dead Drop: April 14

Dead Drop: April 14

THE PASSING OF A LEGEND: Ambassador Hugh Montgomery died last week at the age of 93.  The Washington Post describe him as “one of the most admired CIA officers of his generation.” We disagree.  Montgomery was one of the most admired CIA officers of ANY generation. An OSS veteran who parachuted into Normandy on D-Day, Montgomery (after a break to earn his Ph.D. at Harvard post-WWII) went on to have a remarkable career at the CIA, which included assignments to Moscow, Berlin, and other Cold War hot spots.  Montgomery has been described as “a Ph.D. who could handle himself in a bar fight.”  But the Ambassador could also talk his way out of a bar fight in at least eight different languages.  Montgomery led the State Department’s Bureau of Intelligence and Research and earned ambassadorial rank when he represented the U.S. at the UN.  Montgomery remained a fixture at Langley and did not hang up his trench coat until he was 90.

WHAT PRICE SPYING?  The South China Morning Post reported this week that the Chinese government is offering its citizens rewards of from 10,000 to 500,000 yuan (US $1500 to $72,400) for tips leading to the arrest of foreign spies in China.  We wonder: how insignificant a spy do you have to be to rate only a $1500 reward? Catching spies may be child’s play, however.  The Beijing City National Security Bureau released this cartoon video showing how to catch a foreign spy.

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