Byzantine Blog

It Takes An Army...

At times, trying to catch the important bits and pieces of information that fell through the cracks and went either unreported or under-reported becomes virtually impossible — one just needs to take a look at Julia Gorin’s articles for the past week, or even only her latest entry to realize an army of journalists, analysts, and political experts is needed to cover THIS.

So, instead of scrambling to pick up every thread and tie it in, today I give you a juicy spy love-story that AP, Reuters and the rest have unfortunately hacked down to bare bones once again but, thankfully, we have other sources to piece it together—Serbian and Swedish this time around.

Love Has Blinded Me

“I was madly in love with him, love has blinded me...” — said 35-year-old Swedish officer at the beginning of her confession to the army disciplinary commission trying to establish how did she, as a lieutenant commander of the Swedish military contingent under NATO command in Kosovo-Metohija province, give up top secrets and confidential NATO documents to a Serbian spy employed as a translator in the UN administrative wing stationed in the Serbian province. This is how Vecernje Novosti opens its article about the affair that has gripped the public attention in a number of European countries these days.

Swedish KFOR officer and “a tall, handsome Serb” have met soon after she arrived to Kosovo-Metohija, in the fall of 2005, during the friendly football game played in Pristina between NATO administration and soldiers. According to the media reports, the charm oozing from the Serbian translator did not go unnoticed among the rest of NATO officers either, so no one was surprised when he got both the phone number and email address from the Swedish lieutenant right after the game.

A month later, the love-struck Swede started providing sensitive military data to the Serb through emails, totaling to over 35,000 documents. Although Serbian “translator”—who disappeared without a trace after being questioned by the KFOR representatives—erased his computer data, investigators unlocked the hard drive finding, to their dismay, he had obtained 35,109 documents, among which 21,404 zipped and 1,258 encrypted files, some of which have still not been deciphered.

According to the Swedish media, highly skilled Serbian spy was passing all the information he received to his superiors and was continually guided, asking for the information his superiors requested.

My Name is Smith... John Smith

Although she knew the love of her life is a Serb, the Swedish officer apparently didn’t question the fact he told her his name is John Smith.

I met John on October 14, 2005. We enjoyed being together and our feelings were growing stronger all the time. Already after the New Year holidays I realized I’m in love and that I want to spend my life with him.

The unnamed officer told investigators “John” told her he worked for the intelligence before and she thought he was talking about the CIA. “He lived in States [for few years] and this made me think he was spying on Serbs for the Americans,” said the Swede, explaining the message in which he told her he is “not a spy, but a doer of good.”

According to the exchanged emails, the Swede hinted early on she expects more than coffee: “I too enjoy our little meetings and not just for the cappuccinos...” which quickly erupted into passionate pleas around Christmas: “What you said was right, I just didn’t want it to end. Maybe you understood that at the car park by the gate. I just didn’t want to let you go.”

She told investigators their affair did not go further than “a kiss,” while the man played the whole thing down during the only time he was available for questioning, acting as nothing more than a hormone-driven womanizer and said it was all about sex.

Spy or Patriot?

Sweden’s Military Intelligence and Security Service (MUST) calls the Serb “Z,” leaving the question of his employer open, with the Western media taking it as a signal that it is “unknown on whose behalf was the Serb collecting data.” Swedish press, however, concludes there can be no doubt Z was spying on behalf of his homeland, Serbia.

Meanwhile, Serbia remains entirely silent regarding the issue, with no one volunteering to comment either officially or unofficially the case of a Spy Z. According to Vecernje Novosti, there is even lesser chance to learn the identity of “a tall, handsome man” Serbian intelligence has allegedly sent to infiltrate UNMIK and NATO in Kosovo-Metohija province. “Even if the story was true, does anyone really expect any state organization to publicly admit it was piercing NATO in Kosovo?,” said one Serbian intelligence officer to Vecernje Novosti reporter.

And, before the comments brimming with disgust and accusations start pouring in, let me just remind that the presence of foreign troops on Serbian soil is not exactly considered the proof of undying love and eternal friendship by the Serbs. Foreign army equals occupation and the West should know best that “all is fair in love and war.” Knowing that makes it easy to fully understand what Z meant when he said he’s not spying, but doing good—for his country. The man indeed is not a spy, merely a patriot.

As an aside comment, one of the Swedish articles notes that Z was passing all the information to “Matty.” Pronounced the same way, Mati is a highly emotionally charged Serbian word that means Mother.