Anyone who has heard of Jonathan Pollard and about the EU-US clash on Echelon will know that friends do indeed spy on friends. The challenge is to prevent this from happening, as well as to keep the embers of amity glowing. One way to deter friendly spies is to send a clear message that there will be no ‘friendship’ punishments for those caught doing wrong. This is where the US scores and India fails. Despite the best efforts of the Jewish lobby in the US and various Israeli prime ministers, the US has refused to release Pollard who was sentenced to life imprisonment in 1986. On the other hand, India’s record in this front is lamentable. Two brothers, a retired major-general and a retired air vice-marshal were convicted for spying for the US around the same time Pollard was. In the old days they would have been shot, or jailed for life. Instead, after serving a small portion of their sentence, they migrated to Australia and are presumably living off their American pensions, as is Rabinder Singh, formerly of the Research & Analysis Wing. A top Intelligence Bureau official who was involved with another American lady spy was merely compulsorily retired and occupies himself playing golf in one of the capital’s suburbs. While the IB has been very effective in managing to block and deflect attempted US penetrations, the courts of the land and the antiquated Official Secrets Act haven’t proved a deterrent against those who seek to betray the country.
Sometimes the fault is inadequate respect for technology. The Navy war room case shows how the authorities were unaware of the potential pitfalls of something as trivial as a pen-drive. As India develops closer military-to-military ties, and opens its armed forces and security agencies to international cooperation, there is need for iron-clad procedures that are proof against modern technology, as well as sufficient deterrence in the form of condign punishment.