A report by Foreign Policy magazine said that the world of espionage is no longer subject to the dominance of the great powers, as the intelligence services of the middle powers – especially those in the so-called Global South – are no longer only active in the West, but are also likely to work to expand the scope of their activities. And her ambition.
The report explained that three recent cases provide a quick overview of the capabilities of middle-power spy systems, and suggest some ways in which Western countries can better anticipate these threats – and even prepare to thwart them – in the future.
She indicated that the first case concerns Egypt, which may have penetrated the highest levels of the decision-making process in the United States by seeking the assistance of the former Chairman of the US Senate Committee on Foreign Relations. Bob Menendez. Federal prosecutors accused Senator Menendez and his wife, Nadine Arslanian Menendez, of conspiring and working for the Egyptian government by using the senator’s powerful position to promote military sales and aid to Egypt.
An indictment filed last month said Menendez and his wife accepted more than half a million dollars in bribes, gold bullion, a Mercedes-Benz convertible and other valuables from the Egyptian government.
The superseding indictment, detailing various bribery and corruption schemes, alleged that Menendez provided Egypt with sensitive, nonpublic information, including a list of employees at the U.S. Embassy in Cairo — a document that could be useful for counterintelligence — and that he wrote “a letter seeking to persuade members of “The Senate and others agreed to release $300 million in aid to Egypt.”
The second case concerns Ethiopia; In late September, the US Department of Justice arrested Abraham Teclo Lima, an information technology contractor for the US State Department, on charges of espionage. The charges allege that Lemma, an Ethiopian-American citizen, copied “top secret” information from intelligence reports, deleted its hashtags, removed it from the State Department, and “used an encrypted application to transmit classified national defense information to a foreign government official associated with an intelligence agency.” Foreign country”.
These incidents show that middle powers conduct a wide range of intelligence activities, including influence operations, deniable covert action, and classic espionage aimed at accessing classified, non-public information.
Although the Justice Department did not name the foreign force, the New York Times reported that Lemma was accused of spying for Ethiopia, a country that has long been receiving huge amounts of American aid.
The third case concerns India: while it may be closer to a superpower, its espionage activities have traditionally been under surveillance. Last September, the Canadian Prime Minister expressed, Justin Trudeau, publicly expressed his suspicions that agents from New Delhi’s external intelligence agency, the Research and Analysis Wing, were connected to the assassination of Hardeep Singh Nigar – a Sikh separatist leader and Canadian citizen previously designated by New Delhi as a “terrorist” – in British Columbia in June. Since then, diplomatic friction between India and Canada has increased.
Middle powers
Overall, these incidents show that middle powers conduct a wide range of intelligence activities, including influence operations, deniable covert action, and classic espionage aimed at accessing classified, non-public information.
A report by Foreign Policy magazine said:Western powers must come to terms with this reality and adopt a more balanced approach to counter-espionage by not neglecting the middle powers and countries of the Global South. Western countries are currently using most of their resources in great power competition, but focusing too heavily on any one intelligence direction raises problems.
The report concluded that middle powers that outperform other countries will try again, looking for agents who are gullible, venal or share their ideologies. Western policymakers and observers should not underestimate the ambition, intentions, and intelligence capabilities of these countries.
