--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I handed over names and compromised so…" description: "\"I handed over names and compromised so many CIA agents in the Soviet Union.\" — Aldrich Ames" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/789/aldrich-ames-16838_agents_i-handed-over-names-and-compromised-so-m_3214556.png" --- # I handed over names and compromised so many CIA agents in… ![“I handed over names and compromised so many CIA agents in the Soviet Union.” quote by Aldrich Ames](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/789/aldrich-ames-16838_agents_i-handed-over-names-and-compromised-so-m_3214556.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/789/aldrich-ames-16838_agents_i-handed-over-names-and-compromised-so-m_3214556.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/789/aldrich-ames-16838_agents_i-handed-over-names-and-compromised-so-m_3214556.png) > “I handed over names and compromised so many CIA agents in the Soviet Union.” [Aldrich Ames](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aldrich-ames/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. He reveals betraying his agency by exposing agents, causing severe damage to intelligence operations. **In simple terms:** He betrayed CIA agents, causing great harm. Key Takeaway Beware of betrayal in trust. Themes betrayal trust espionage Mood cautious serious Type historical warning When to use this quote - agency security - counterintelligence - policy reform Key Concepts Cold War intelligence failures Questions to Reflect On - How can organizations detect insider threats early? - What safeguards protect against espionage? A Different Perspective Such betrayals can cripple national security. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Agents](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/agents/) [Agents Soviet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/agents-soviet-5104699/) [Cia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cia/) [Cia agents](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cia-agents/) [Compromised](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/compromised/) [Compromised Cia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/compromised-cia-5452697/) [Names](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/names/) [Names Compromised](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/names-compromised-6019406/) [Soviet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/soviet/) [Soviet union](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/soviet-union/) ## Related quotes > [When I handed over the names and compromised so many CIA agents in the Soviet Union, I had come to the conclusion that the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aldrich-ames/when-i-handed-over-the-names-and-compromised-so-many-cia-agents-in/) [Aldrich Ames](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aldrich-ames/) > [I knew quite well, when I gave the names of our agents in the Soviet Union, that I was exposing them to the full…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aldrich-ames/i-knew-quite-well-when-i-gave-the-names-of-our-agents-in-the-soviet/) [Aldrich Ames](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aldrich-ames/) > [The fact is, psychiatric help is not widely available to CIA agents - and as in the military, there is a stigma attached to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-hastings/the-fact-is-psychiatric-help-is-not-widely-available-to-cia-agents/) [Michael Hastings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-hastings/) > [People went out there and they wrote articles and went on television shows saying that I am an operative that the CIA who used…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bassem-youssef/people-went-out-there-and-they-wrote-articles-and-went-on-television/) [Bassem Youssef](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bassem-youssef/) > [It used to be just CIA agents with ear-pieces who walked round with preoccupied, faraway expressions, and consequently regarded all the little people as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lynne-truss/it-used-to-be-just-cia-agents-with-ear-pieces-who-walked-round-with/) [Lynne Truss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lynne-truss/) > [“For many years there have been rumours of mind control experiments. in the United States. 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And you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-seagal/you-can-say-that-i-lived-in-asia-for-a-long-time-and-in-japan-i/) [Steven Seagal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-seagal/) > [“Some writings spotted U.S. history said that the CIA agents who were watching the Communists, in the period after the Second World War, more…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mohamed-addakhakhny/some-writings-spotted-u-s-history-said-that-the-cia-agents-who-were/) [Mohamed Addakhakhny](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mohamed-addakhakhny/) > [By the late '70s I had come to question the point of a great deal of what we were doing, in terms of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aldrich-ames/by-the-late-70s-i-had-come-to-question-the-point-of-a-great-deal-of/) [Aldrich Ames](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aldrich-ames/) > [I imagine like most of us that I'd like obscene amounts of money but the people I met and worked with who have those…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jason-isaacs/i-imagine-like-most-of-us-that-i-d-like-obscene-amounts-of-money-but/) [Jason Isaacs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jason-isaacs/) > [“A sudden flash of his partner Wyte, telling him he was compromised, him replying, "I don't have an opinion on that.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeff-vandermeer/a-sudden-flash-of-his-partner-wyte-telling-him-he-was-compromised-him/) [Jeff VanderMeer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeff-vandermeer/) > [“There was an intruder on a forbidden part of the island, and the security system was compromised." Another image of Archer's sword slicing through…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-hawkins/there-was-an-intruder-on-a-forbidden-part-of-the-island-and-the/) [Rachel Hawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel-hawkins/) > [ I felt really compromised. I think legal marriage is unnecessary and I would not have formalised the relationship \[with husband Peter Davis\] except for… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/helen-clark/i-felt-really-compromised-i-think-legal-marriage-is-unnecessary-and-i/) [Helen Clark](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/helen-clark/) ## More by Aldrich Ames > [I said in court a long time ago that I didn't see that the Soviet Union was significantly helped by the information I gave…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aldrich-ames/i-said-in-court-a-long-time-ago-that-i-didn-t-see-that-the-soviet/) [Aldrich Ames](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aldrich-ames/) > [The U.S. is, so far as I know, the only nation which places such extensive reliance on the polygraph. It has gotten us into…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aldrich-ames/the-u-s-is-so-far-as-i-know-the-only-nation-which-places-such/) [Aldrich Ames](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aldrich-ames/) > [I came into the Agency with a set of ideas and attitudes that were quite typical of people coming into the Agency at that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aldrich-ames/i-came-into-the-agency-with-a-set-of-ideas-and-attitudes-that-were/) [Aldrich Ames](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aldrich-ames/) > [When I got the money, the whole burden descended on me, and the realization of what I had done. And it led me then…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aldrich-ames/when-i-got-the-money-the-whole-burden-descended-on-me-and-the/) [Aldrich Ames](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aldrich-ames/) > [The FBI, to its credit in a self-serving sort of way, rejects the routine use of the polygraph on its own people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aldrich-ames/the-fbi-to-its-credit-in-a-self-serving-sort-of-way-rejects-the/) [Aldrich Ames](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aldrich-ames/) > [The Soviet Union did not achieve victory over the West, so was my information inadequate to help them to victory, or did it play…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aldrich-ames/the-soviet-union-did-not-achieve-victory-over-the-west-so-was-my/) [Aldrich Ames](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aldrich-ames/) > [The human spy, in terms of the American espionage effort, had never been terribly pertinent.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aldrich-ames/the-human-spy-in-terms-of-the-american-espionage-effort-had-never/) [Aldrich Ames](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aldrich-ames/) > [Our Soviet espionage efforts had virtually never, or had very seldom, produced any worthwhile political or economic intelligence on the Soviet Union.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aldrich-ames/our-soviet-espionage-efforts-had-virtually-never-or-had-very-seldom/) [Aldrich Ames](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aldrich-ames/) > [The national security state has many unfair and cruel weapons in its arsenal, but that of junk science is one which can be fought…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aldrich-ames/the-national-security-state-has-many-unfair-and-cruel-weapons-in-its/) [Aldrich Ames](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aldrich-ames/) > [In my professional work with the Agency, by the late '70s, I had come to question the value of a great deal of what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aldrich-ames/in-my-professional-work-with-the-agency-by-the-late-70s-i-had-come-to/) [Aldrich Ames](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aldrich-ames/) > [My little scam in April '85 went like this: Give me $50,000; here's some names of some people we've recruited.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aldrich-ames/my-little-scam-in-april-85-went-like-this-give-me-50-000-here-s-some/) [Aldrich Ames](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aldrich-ames/) > [There are so many things a large intelligence espionage organization can do to justify its existence, that people can get promotions for, because it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aldrich-ames/there-are-so-many-things-a-large-intelligence-espionage-organization/) [Aldrich Ames](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aldrich-ames/) > [Foreign Ministry guys don't become agents. Party officials, the Foreign Ministry nerds, tend not to volunteer to Western intelligence agencies.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aldrich-ames/foreign-ministry-guys-don-t-become-agents-party-officials-the-foreign/) [Aldrich Ames](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aldrich-ames/) > [I knew quite well, when I gave the names of our agents in the Soviet Union, that I was exposing them to the full…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aldrich-ames/i-knew-quite-well-when-i-gave-the-names-of-our-agents-in-the-soviet/) [Aldrich Ames](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aldrich-ames/) > [When I handed over the names and compromised so many CIA agents in the Soviet Union, I had come to the conclusion that the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aldrich-ames/when-i-handed-over-the-names-and-compromised-so-many-cia-agents-in/) [Aldrich Ames](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aldrich-ames/) [Explore all 38 Aldrich Ames quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aldrich-ames/) ## More Agents quotes > [The image of blacks usually is one of people who are suffering from hunger, unemployment, and poverty. 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