Opinion Roundup: Russian Spy Story 'Like a Blast From the Past'

(June 29) -- The news that 10 people were charged with being Russian spies sparked plenty of commentary on the Web. AOL News gathered up some of the perspectives.

Deep Cover
The spies were so deeply embedded in the United States (and each other) that many of them were paired off to have children and live as yuppie families. They even did their information exchanges using wirelessly networked laptops at coffeehouses. If only the 11 spies had grown fat and covered themselves in tattoos and constantly threatened to kill the president and blow up Congress, nobody would've ever noticed them. -- Ken Layne, Wonkette

A Blast From the Past
The Russian spy story really is a blast from the past. It's like all the participants had been watching a lot of Cold War movies and reading Le Carre thrillers and thought, Hey, we should bring spying back home. All this modern satellite stuff, this talk of data encryption, is dull and dehumanizing. Let's stand up for the old ways! Let's rage against the machine! -- Ian Leslie, Marbury

Wasted Effort
News accounts don't make clear when Russia first placed these agents. But from today's perspective we can say: What a waste! The Russians thought they needed spies with "ties in policymaking circles" to gain intelligence about American policy, or, best case, possibly even influence it in a direction adverse to American interests. Those were the good old days. In today's America, our "policymaking circles" are as antipathetic to American interests as the Russians could possibly have hoped to make them through spycraft. -- John Hinderaker, Powerline Blog

If They Are Spies, What Are We?
This espionage case raises the question: If the behavior of Russian agents is outwardly no different from people who are practicing the "highest form of patriotism," what is the difference between the two? When the question "Whose side are you on?" ceases to be a legitimate test of patriotism, how is treachery defined? -- Richard Fernandez, Pajamas Media

Get With the Times
This is creepy, but we're suddenly less afraid of spies because we knew they did all of that stuff already! Really, short-wave radio? Invisible writing? Morse Code? Guys, that went out with magic decoder rings and camera cigarette lighters. Come on, even China is onto the hacking game. Still, maybe in some small way it's nice to hear that Russia still considers us worthy of being spied on. -- Jen Doll, Village Voice Blog

They Spied When They Could Have ... Googled?
I'm not sure offhand who should be more embarrassed: the Russians for engaging in such an elaborate scheme to access information easily available in open sources or the United States for taking so long to put an end to the farce. -- James Joyner, Atlantic Council

Poor Timing

If Obama is picking up the phone right now to holler at [Russian President Dmitry] Medvedev, it won't be to express anger that Russia sent spies, but rather to vent frustration that the Russians were careless enough to get caught while Obama was still in the middle of his dangerously naive "reset button" charade. -- Doug Powers, The Powers That Be

They're Not Looking for Nukes
What type of information is valuable to Russia these days? It's no longer nuclear weapons information, really, or war plans: It's proprietary information, trade secrets, technical specifications of satellite and ballistic missile technology ... also political intelligence and economic intelligence. -- Marc Ambinder, The Atlantic

Why So Serious?
Another big question remains unanswered: Why bother to set up such elaborate long-term undercover plants when the Russians arguably could buy as much influence as they want in Washington by simply hiring the right consultants, lawyers and lobbyists? -- Mark Hosenball, Newsweek

What This Means for the "Reset"
Plot or no plot, Medvedev now has to weigh up whether he is willing to jeopardize the new and genuine rapprochement he has built up over the past year with the Obama administration. -- Luke Harding, The Guardian

Patience Reaps Rewards

Spycatchers are normally like salmon fishermen, using time, skill and patience in prodigious quantities to reap rare rewards. The latest haul for the FBI looks more like a duck shoot: 10 arrests, and one fugitive mastermind, all part of what appears to be the biggest Russian spy ring uncovered in the United States since the 1950s. -- The Economist

Compiled by Christopher Foeckler, a student at Christendom College and National Journalism Center intern with AOL News.

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