The Press TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 13, 1962. Spy Exchange Mystery

Press, Volume CI, Issue 29746, 13 February 1962, Page 12

The Press TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 13, 1962. Spy Exchange Mystery

Why did the United States agree to release Colonel Rudolph Abel, one of the most notable spies in history in exchange for the unlucky Francis Gary Powers, whose one venture into reconnaissance or espionage was an unsuccessful aeroplane flight? We shall probably never know the real answer. It may be that the Central Intelligence Agency of the Unitea States believes that Powers will be able to give valuable information on how the Russians captured him alive and his U-2 aircraft sufficiently intact for public exhibition. One rumour has it that sabotage at a base visited by the U-2 on the unlucky mission was responsible for the fiasco If Powers could throw any light on such an incident the C.I.A. might be able to follow a trail to spies vet undetected; and that might be more important than the retention of Colonel Abel Or possibly Colonel Abel, whose lawyer appeared to play a leading part in the exchange, may be deemed a useful witness to the peaceful intentions of the United States. It is, howeve’, rather more likely that the exchange was arranged for no better reason than a passion for protecting American citizens who get into ideological trouble abroad The Russians, for their part, would have no reason to hesitate about making the exchange, though it is hard to believe that they would have been sufficiently

optimistic to suggest it themselves. Powers had served his propaganda purpose and Russia had no further reason for keeping him. Also, he might conceivably be a cause of

embarrassment when he returned to the United States. In fact, some evidence of the political trouble that the exchange can cause has already been seen in Washington. What Moscow has gained in return for a wasting asset is the return of a brave, clever, and industrious man with who knows what American secrets still to reveal. Colonel Abel, after he slipped across the Canadian border in 1948. built up an elaborate espionage apparatus behind the cloak of a photographic business. He transmitted the information he gathered by his own short-wave radio and by microfilms concealed in hollow pencils, coins and even nails. He was finally detected in June, 1957, apparently because he had no papers to establish that he had entered the United States legally. Colonel Abel learned a great deal about the United States and about how a spy might evade detection there. The advice and training he could give t.; other agents would alone be of incalculable value to Russian intelligence. Politically, too, his knowledge of American men and affairs could be most useful to his Government. In this affair Colonel Abel seems to be the mackerel.