US official says Russia ramping up espionage
WASHINGTON -- Russia has fully restored its espionage capabilities against the United States after a period of decline following the Cold War, a senior US counterintelligence official said yesterday.
Joel Brenner, the head of the Office of the National Counterintelligence Executive, said the United States is concerned that Russia is continuing to ramp up its operations.
"The Russians are now back at Cold War levels in their efforts against the United States," he said at an event hosted by the American Bar Association. "They are sending over an increasing and troubling number of intelligence agents."
Tension has risen between the two countries, as Russian officials have expressed frustration at what they see as US foreign policy unrestrained by consultation with other world powers, including Russia. They have criticized the expansion of NATO into the former Soviet sphere of influence and US plans to install radar and interceptors in Eastern Europe as part of a missile defense program.
In turn, US officials have warned that Russia's increased assertiveness in challenging US policy is complicating cooperation on foreign-policy goals, including counterterrorism, nuclear nonproliferation, and the promotion of democracy in the Middle East.
In angry comments at a conference in Munich last month, President Vladimir Putin of Russia said that the United States "has overstepped its national borders in every way," and that "the almost uncontained . . . use of force in international relations" was prompting countries opposed to Washington to seek to build up nuclear arsenals. 