December
22, 2006: A 44 year old British Army corporal has been charged with spying for
Iran. Corporal Daniel James is of Iranian ancestry, on his mothers side, speaks
Pushtun (the most common tribal language in Afghanistan and Pakistan), and
served as a translator for the NATO commander in Afghanistan. James was caught
passing classified information to Iran.
Details
of the case have not been released, but the situation is a common one faced by
intelligence agencies everywhere, but especially in nations that accept a lot
of immigrants. In the United States, for example, it was quickly discovered
after World War II that migrants from communist controlled countries were a
major security risk. Not so much because the migrant was eager to betray their
new country, but because if the migrant had kin back in the "old country," and
the communist secret police were quick to use these family members to force the
migrant soldier or government official to betray the United States and spy for
the communists. China uses similar tactics today against Chinese immigrants to
the United States. Sometimes, threats are not needed. Appealing to the migrants
ethnic loyalties will often do the trick. Spymasters will also attempt to get
the migrant to provide secrets without seeming to be doing so. Just getting the
migrant soldier or official to talk about their work will often elicit useful
intelligence. And sometimes, it's just about money. For sergeant James, the
details will come out in the trial, because at the moment the British
government is not giving out many details.
