NineMSN has the depressing news of another loser in ASIO embarassing the nation:
The Canberra-based man, who cannot be identified, was four years into his career at the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation in 2011 when he met a foreign diplomat who would later become his wife, the Canberra Times reports.
When he became aware the woman was lodged in Canberra with her foreign nation’s military attaché, he followed ASIO’s rules and made a “contact report” to his superiors.
But his bosses were unhappy that the woman had already learned the man’s identity as an ASIO operative.
They accused him of breaching security protocols by revealing his secret job too early in the romance and, by late 2011, his top-secret status was withdrawn and he was sacked.
He’s threatening to take the case to the Federal Court despite having been knocked back by the Inspector-General of Intelligence and Security, Fair Work Australia, and ACAT.
It’s pretty bloody simple. If you’re working in intelligence you don’t get to go out with the military attaché of a foreign power. Unless you’ve been assigned to do just that.
A couple of weeks ago the BBC’s Adam Curtis published an excellent piece on all that goes wrong in Intelligence services that’s worth a read.
As for ASIO’s inglorious past the I, Spry documentary is worth remembering. Although in Australia it’s worth noting our spies seem to have had a better record of success.
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