Talk:Aldrich Ames/Archives/2012/March

Polygraph

This article says that Ames failed three Polygraph tests, but that article says he passed two. Something is wrong. Sewebster 08:01, 1 November 2006 (UTC)

You have not identified which article belongs to "this" and which to "that," therefore I'll be able only to address the question as a whole, not knowing if the articles referred to all his polygraphs or just some. According to the Pete Earley book, Confessions of a Spy, Ames failed (i.e. the machine indicated a possible deception) once shortly after he began his work for the KGB when he was able, through parsing the question, to pass it the second time around (p. 168-169), and twice in April 1991. Then he was not able to change the results (p. 280-282).--HappyMaam (talk) 13:19, 4 April 2008 (UTC)

I believe Ames both "failed" and "passed" his polygraphs. While biting your tongue and counting backwards by sevens during the control questions can confuse inexperienced operators - I don't believe this was the problem with testing Ames. 60 Minutes once had three polygraph firms examine four employees accused of stealing a camera where, without their knowledge, each polygrapher was told a different employee was suspected by management. In each case, the suspected person was found guilty. I believe the problem with Ames was similarly that the operators knew him - one even wrote on an exam next to a failing question about talking to foreign agencies "Not Ames." And, testing for clearances wholly changed afterwards in that all examinations are always confirmed today with double-blind verification (or the exam is redone by a new operator and double-blind verification). Since the turn of the century, government polygraphs have also been augmented by voice stress tests. Alas, commercial polys usually do not employ double-blind or voice stress tests. But, the combination has proved so successful organized crime has often been able to locate undercover law officers. This resulted in strict controls on the sales of Computerized Voice Stress Analyzers (CVSA) that have now become the standard for twenty-first century law enforcement. Micro facial expressions and other non-verbal expressions are also currently obtaining attention with notable success (while facial recognition is leading biometric identification). Lawrence Farwell of Brain Wave Science has also successfully shown the measurement of P300 brain waves (or mental “ah-ha”) to accurately identify the recognition (or lack of), say, of a murder weapon and Kosslyn has shown increased blood flow to anterior cingulated occurs during outright lying and in the back part of the brain when making up a new story. But, a “lie detector” would more accurately be called a “truth detector” due to the greater chances of false positives. Mustenberg, a professor of law at Harvard, was so concerned perjury was destroying the integrity of the American judicial system that he recommended in 1909 that witnesses should always have GSR monitoring (in addition to muscle contraction, eye movement, cardiovascular activity) when giving testimony. We should re-examine this advice today. TucsonJim50 (talk) 04:03, 1 November 2008 (UTC)

Cash payment for house

One part of the article says he paid $400,000 in cash, another $500,000. Which is correct? Pennywisepeter (talk) 10:44, 29 January 2008 (UTC)

According to the Pete Earley book, Confessions of a Spy, the price paid for the house was $540,000 (p. 247, Hardback ed.), this was confirmed by a deeds search by Payne (p. 261). Ames laundered the Soviet money through a Swiss bank account in his mother-in-law's name, and claimed it was a gift from her (p. 264). This was believed initially because CIA officers told Payne that Rosario must come from money with her background (p. 261). Later, after more evidence of extravagant spending was found, a faulty investigation by the Bogota office using a single informant continued to support the ruse Ames had constructed that gifts and inheritance explained his wealth (p. 288-289).--HappyMaam (talk) 13:05, 4 April 2008 (UTC)

The $2 Million Balance

Has anyone checked for articles on Rosario's status after deportation? The message "Yuri" supposedly sent to Ames through Pete Earley was, "Tell Rick that we are extremely grateful for what he did for our country. Tell Rick that we have not forgotten him. If we can find an appropriate way to help him, we will. Good friends do not forget each other." (Confessions of a Spy, p.345) Could money have been sent to her in Columbia? It seems unlikely they would attempt retrieval from a high-security prison.--HappyMaam (talk) 13:38, 4 April 2008 (UTC)

Hero

I recently saw a historical documentary with Kryuchkov saying that Ames' deed was heroism, because he has arguably only betrayed traitors - i. e. this persons from KGB which were recruited from the West, which betrayed the UdSSR and in betraying traitors there was nothing reprehensible. Should this Russian stance be included in the article too? Is there any objection to its inclusion? Bogorm (talk) 13:26, 10 July 2008 (UTC)

Thats the natural point of view of the former-soviet-intelligence-agency`s-chief, which did (of course) not prevent him to cooperate with the bad, bad traitors from the other side. One sides traitors are the other sides heroes... Normal! -- Dispatcher7007 (talk) 08:34, 17 July 2011 (UTC)

High School

The article indicates that Aldrich Ames attended Langley High School in McLean, Virginia. Langley High School was first founded in 1965, at which time Mr. Ames would have been 24 years old. For the 1965-1966 academic year, Langley High School admitted only freshmen and sophomores. Elizabellaire (talk) 22:54, 26 February 2010 (UTC)

The only source I have full access to ("Betrayal" by Weiner, Johnston, Lewis; p. 172) doesn't give the name of Ames' high school, but whatever the name was, it was in McLean, Virginia. He graduated in 1959 and entered the University of Chicago. More research could uncover the name of the high school - if Langley High School wasn't named as such until 1965, obviously the Ames article is wrong in the school name and needs proper referencing, Thanks for finding that, Elizabellaire! Do you have any other texts on Ames? If you know the high school name (cited), please insert it to correct the article. Thank you! :> Doc9871 (talk) 07:36, 27 February 2010 (UTC)

Aldrich Hazen Ames: Additional Information

I will be adding additional information to the article of Aldrich Ames from a book source which I will eventually place as "Further Reading" and page numbers as sources for anyone who would like to find a copy of the book I have. Adamdaley (talk) 13:53, 10 January 2011 (UTC)

 Done. I've also added WikiPedia:WikiProject Espionage and assessed it. Feel it is important to have WikiProject Espionage as part of his "Discussion" page, because he was convicted of Espionage. Adamdaley (talk) 13:53, 10 January 2011 (UTC)

His young age in the CIA

Should we add emphasis (or at least point out) that he was around 12 years old when he began working for the CIA? --CartoonDiablo (talk) 23:55, 17 October 2011 (UTC)

He was more like 16, though. Born in 1941, in the summer of 1957 he would have been 16. Doc talk 00:00, 18 October 2011 (UTC)

Nevertheless satisfactory discouraged

This is not very clear:

Ames' job in Turkey was to target Soviet intelligence officers for recruitment, and he infiltrated the Communist DEV-GENÇ organization through a roommate of student activist Deniz Gezmiş. Nevertheless, Ames' performance was rated as "satisfactory," and Ames, discouraged by the critical assessment, considered leaving the CIA.

I think what is meant is this:

Ames' job in Turkey was to target Soviet intelligence officers for recruitment, and he succeeded in infiltrating the Communist DEV-GENÇ organization through a roommate of student activist Deniz Gezmiş. In spite of this success, Ames' performance was given the low rating of "satisfactory," and Ames, discouraged by the critical assessment, considered leaving the CIA.

In any case, it needs rewording to make the intended meaning clear. jnestorius^(talk) 23:01, 14 November 2011 (UTC)

You are free to make the change, of course, and I personally think it's a good one. Doc talk 23:04, 14 November 2011 (UTC)