Expulsions will hurt U.S. intelligence gathering, officials say

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Since the Russians have many more spies working in the United States than America has in Russia, the tit-for-tat expulsions of suspected spies from the two countries will hurt U.S. intelligence-gathering abilities more, U.S. officials said.

But one official added, "It's worth it."

"You've got to get their attention," said a knowledgeable U.S. official, "sometimes that requires taking a little pain yourself."

Four Americans were expelled from Moscow on Friday. An additional 46 probably will be forced to leave by the summer, according to U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell.

AUDIO CNN's Major Garrett: Symmetrical Russian expulsions 460K/42 sec. AIFF or WAV sound CNN's Steve Harrigan: A sign of worsening relations 328kb/30 sec. AIFF or WAV sound Political analyst Sergie Karaganov: "A quasi-crisis" 205kb/19 sec. AIFF or WAV sound     IN-DEPTH The case against Robert Hannsen  • Hanssen profile  • Espionage glossary  • Intelligence community  • Recent spy cases  • Cold War in-depth  • Message board  • Search for latest news     ALSO Bush defends Russian expulsions White House plays down Russia expulsions David Ensor: Putin might take spy expulsions personally     MESSAGE BOARD National security

Four Russians assigned to the Russian Embassy in Washington were ordered on Thursday to leave within 10 days. Two others, also linked to former FBI agent and accused spy Robert Hanssen, had already left. And 46 other Russians assigned to the embassy and to Russian consulates across the United States were told to depart by July 1, U.S. officials said.

FBI counterintelligence officials have been complaining for several years that there were so many Russian intelligence officers operating in the United States that resources for keeping track of espionage activities were stretched.

Former FBI counterintelligence official David Major said the alleged espionage of former FBI agent Hanssen might have been discovered sooner if the FBI had fewer Russian spies to watch.

The Clinton administration repeatedly asked Moscow to reduce the number of Russian intelligence officers in the United States, the officials say, but was ignored.

But the losses to U.S. intelligence-gathering abilities from the expulsions are lessened by a number of factors:

 • The breakup of the Soviet Union means the United States now has embassies and consulates in the Baltic states, Ukraine, Armenia, Georgia, Tajikistan and the other former Soviet republics, as well as in the Russian cities of Moscow and St. Petersburg. As a result, there are many more places for CIA officers to operate from, and many more of them in the region.

 • The high level of corruption of many Russian officials coupled with the bad economic situation has offered opportunities for the U.S. intelligence community to buy secrets,

 • The United States did not expel Russia's "resident" -- its top intelligence official in Washington -- and expects Russia will show similar restraint with the U.S. "station chief" in Moscow. Those top officials are regarded as useful by their hosts because U.S. and Russian intelligence sometimes cooperate, for example, against terrorism and drug smuggling.

 • Former CIA officials note that neither side has so far publicly identified the names of the diplomats they are expelling. That means the officials can still work as undercover intelligence officers in third countries. "That's a tacit agreement, usually honored," said a former CIA official.

CNN National Security Correspondent David Ensor and The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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