Final Word from Wednesday, November 11, 2020
The main theme over five seasons of The Bureau (Le Bureau des légendes) on Canal+ is the treachery of a high-level French spy. It's not money, ideology or adventure that drives Guillaume Debailly, code named Malotru (lout, brute), to betray his country. It's good, old-fashioned love. And it's not China or Russia that turns him, but rather the United States of America, one of the biggest allies of his country and of his intelligence agency. Malotru knows that he has wronged, and he is eager to make it right. According to Gen. Michael Hayden, who was appointed by George W. Bush to head the CIA, the current head of that U.S. spy agency, Gina Haspel, is a "good woman, but she would have to go" under a Joe Biden presidency. Politico wrote that she was seen at times as being too eager to please Donald Trump. What does this mean for the top brass over at the BIS counterintelligence agency, which insiders say has been answering more to Langley than to Straka Academy? If Michal Koudelka sat through The Bureau, he would probably be confused. Is it even possible for a spy to betray his country to an ally? [ Czech Republic USA general France Canal plus ]
Glossary of difficult words
treachery - betrayal of trust;
to turn (someone) - to cause (someone) to switch sides;
top brass - people in authority or of high military rank;
Straka Academy - headquarters of the Czech government; cabinet office.