With finals in full swing, LEAP Ambassadors and friends stole away to The Woodlands for a few hours to attend another wonderful World Affairs Council event, this time with Jim Olson, former Director of Counterespionage for the CIA.
As always, it was an entertaining and educational event, with Olson and his wife, Meredith (who was also in the CIA), particularly enlightening.
In a particularly nice touch the WAC’s Sandija Bayout asked, Morgan Robertson, President of the LEAP Ambassadors, to introduce Mr. Olson.
Olson discussed four spies he met and encountered during his career: Aldrich Ames, Clayton Lonetree, Eddie Howard, and Felix Bloch. Olson went in-depth into the threat posed by spying, and he had great contempt for the men he profiled. His greatest contempt was reserved for Aldrich Ames, who was one of the costliest spies in agency history. His wife, Rosaria, was complicit in his crimes, and she is out of prison, having served only five years.
Olson had less contempt and more pity for Clayton Lonetree, whom, according to Olson, never should have been in the position he was in. He had alcohol problems and was psychologically unstable and, in fact, didn’t originally make the cut as Marine Security. His crimes ultimately didn’t affect US Security much, and he has completed his prison sentence. Olson seemed to agree with General Alfred Gray, who during sentencing, indicated that Lonetree’s crimes were not the result of “treason or greed, but rather the lovesick response of a naïve, young, immature and lonely troop in a lonely and hostile environment.”
Meredith Olson also took the floor, discussing her career and the familial difficulties of a two-CIA family.
The Olsons told their children about their profession after receiving a death threat at their home. Their children were in their teens when they learned about their parents’ profession and, by extension, that their lives could be in jeopardy as a result. That’s a lot of weight to carry around, and that sort of helped us put our finals in perspective.
We had the chance to speak with the Olsons afterward, and a few of us purchased his book (and some of us already had it) and had him sign it. As usual, it was a wonderful event hosted by the World Affairs Council and a great way for us to cap the end of the semester.
Center for Law, Engagement, and Politics 