Administration and intelligence officials tell TIME they believe she was taken in retaliation for the U.S. visa clampdown. Other spy watchers point to the expulsion midyear of two Russian spies from the U.S., and to Russian posturing ahead of parliamentary elections this month. Leberknight has until Dec. 11 to leave Russia. But unlike the situation in Cold War days, when snatched spooks might be held in solitary or beaten, she is likely to get out in one piece.
If You Missed the Cold War, You'll Enjoy This
For months, Moscow and Washington have quarreled over how many
spies to let into each other's country under diplomatic cover.
The Russians feel the U.S. has been stingy; the U.S. says the
Russians have been "brazen and blatant," but "we've thwarted"
them. The tension broke last week in Moscow with the arrest of
Cheri Leberknight, 33, ostensibly a U.S. embassy official but
actually a CIA spy, according to the Russians. More schoolmarm
than Mata Hari in looks, she was snatched late Monday with "ink
tablets for secret correspondence" and equipment for detecting
surveillance, says Moscow.