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An Astounding Tale of CIA Ops Against Iran
Kevin Chalker, aka Fred E. Snappleton, in a 2022 company photo
Most espionage aficionados are quite familiar with spy jargon like dead drops, brush passes, secret writing, and so forth. Experts and former practitioners, though, are familiar with a lesser-known element of the spy business, summed up in the acronym “MICE.” It stands for the various reasons that officials—say, Iranian nuclear scientists—turn coat: Money, Ideology, Compromise, and Ego. After reading an extraordinary piece about spy ops in The New Yorker magazine this week, I propose adding another letter—D, for death threats.
The idea came to mind about two-thirds the way through reporter David D. Kirkpatrick’s compelling deep dive into the tumultuous life, career, and travails of one Kevin Chalker, a former CIA operations officer who once played a key role in persuading Iranian nuclear scientists to defect—or be killed.
And he was very good at it, Chalker told Kirkpatrick, an assertion the writer corroborated with other sources.
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By Jeff SteinKevin Chalker, aka Fred E. Snappleton, in a 2022 company photo
Most espionage aficionados are quite familiar with spy jargon like dead drops, brush passes, secret writing, and so forth. Experts and former practitioners, though, are familiar with a lesser-known element of the spy business, summed up in the acronym “MICE.” It stands for the various reasons that officials—say, Iranian nuclear scientists—turn coat: Money, Ideology, Compromise, and Ego. After reading an extraordinary piece about spy ops in The New Yorker magazine this week, I propose adding another letter—D, for death threats.
The idea came to mind about two-thirds the way through reporter David D. Kirkpatrick’s compelling deep dive into the tumultuous life, career, and travails of one Kevin Chalker, a former CIA operations officer who once played a key role in persuading Iranian nuclear scientists to defect—or be killed.
And he was very good at it, Chalker told Kirkpatrick, an assertion the writer corroborated with other sources.
Read more