Let's say a Soviet exchange student back in the '70s would go back and tell the KGB about people and places and things that he'd seen and done and been involved with. This is not really espionage; there's no betrayal…

Quote by Aldrich Ames

Topics: Aldrich Ames Quotes

The betrayal of trust carries a heavy taboo.

The betrayal of trust carries a heavy taboo.

The difficulties of conducting espionage against the Soviet Union in the Soviet Union were such...

The difficulties of conducting espionage against the Soviet Union in the Soviet Union were such...

Perhaps my information hurt the Soviet Union more than it helped. I have no idea....

Perhaps my information hurt the Soviet Union more than it helped. I have no idea....

I knew quite well, when I gave the names of our agents in the Soviet...

I knew quite well, when I gave the names of our agents in the Soviet...

An espionage organization is a collector: it collects raw information. That gets processed by a...

An espionage organization is a collector: it collects raw information. That gets processed by a...

When I handed over the names and compromised so many CIA agents in the Soviet...

When I handed over the names and compromised so many CIA agents in the Soviet...

The FBI, to its credit in a self-serving sort of way, rejects the routine use...

The FBI, to its credit in a self-serving sort of way, rejects the routine use...

We had periodic crises in this country when the technical intelligence didn't support the policy....

We had periodic crises in this country when the technical intelligence didn't support the policy....

I found that our Soviet espionage efforts had virtually never, or had very seldom, produced...

I found that our Soviet espionage efforts had virtually never, or had very seldom, produced...

I said in court a long time ago that I didn't see that the Soviet...

I said in court a long time ago that I didn't see that the Soviet...

When Reagan was elected, I felt that the Agency had gone much more into the...

When Reagan was elected, I felt that the Agency had gone much more into the...

Espionage, for the most part, involves finding a person who knows something or has something...

Espionage, for the most part, involves finding a person who knows something or has something...

The resistance of policy-makers to intelligence is not just founded on an ideological presupposition. They...

The resistance of policy-makers to intelligence is not just founded on an ideological presupposition. They...

I'm a traitor, but I don't consider myself a traitor.

I'm a traitor, but I don't consider myself a traitor.

I came into the Agency with a set of ideas and attitudes that were quite...

I came into the Agency with a set of ideas and attitudes that were quite...

Our Soviet espionage efforts had virtually never, or had very seldom, produced any worthwhile political...

Our Soviet espionage efforts had virtually never, or had very seldom, produced any worthwhile political...

Historians don't really like to carry on speculative debates, but you could certainly argue that...

Historians don't really like to carry on speculative debates, but you could certainly argue that...

History had its own way of explaining things. The way historians explain things is by...

History had its own way of explaining things. The way historians explain things is by...

You're not a historian, but most historians will tell you that they make very discrete...

You're not a historian, but most historians will tell you that they make very discrete...

Historians will have to face the fact that natural selection determined the evolution of cultures...

Historians will have to face the fact that natural selection determined the evolution of cultures...