Amir-Ali Mohamed was born into a family whose most prosperous
days were behind them in Nemeyistan. His father was an opium addict
who slowly squandered the family savings on opium and several
failed business ventures. Mohamed’s’ mother came from money, but
her inheritance was largely gone by the time he was a youth. After
her death, the family’s financial circumstances became so bad that
Mohamed was forced to leave school before graduating in order to
find fulltime work to support the family.
Like other young men in similar circumstances, Mohamed joined
the Nemeyistan Army to escape his misfortunes, to seek adventure,
and to build his own life. He served honorably in the Nemeyistan
Army for several years and then returned home. Shortly thereafter,
his father died, leaving him as the head of the family. Now older
and more mature, Mohamed became a successful executive and
eventually set up his own company. He became active in the
community, and remained active in the army reserve, reaching the
rank of captain.
While Mohamed was establishing himself in business, a new wave
of political anger was spreading through parts of the Nemeyistan
population. This began to take the form of active opposition to the
government. Some called for the overthrow of the current government
via armed rebellion because of what they considered unfair
restrictions on their political freedoms and rights. Others did not
share these views and remained loyal to the Nemeyistan government,
which had governed them for generations. While Mohamed was
sympathetic to the opposition, first priority was on his family and
business, so he stayed out of politics and did not join the
opposition and their protests against the government.
At the age of 26, Mohamed married the daughter of a wealthy
area family. By age 30, he was clearly a young man on the path of
success. His business travels gave him contacts and exposure to a
wide range of people and interests; his military reserve duty and
activities in the community gave him access to leaders across the
country.
At the same time, Mohamed was prone to sense insult, real or
imagined, and was easily annoyed by people. This led to several
legal claims against him. He was involved with several businessmen
of questionable legality. While he himself never actually violated
any laws, he often pushed the boundaries of his business operations
to the legal limit.
The Nemeyistan government made some apparent miscalculations
and clumsy efforts to crush the growing public opposition. This
only led to increased political opposition and stepped up responses
by the public in the form of more protests by the people. When
civil war finally broke out, Mohamed joined the opposition and
volunteered for a military leadership role with the rebels. He
quickly established a reputation as an outstanding combat officer.
Brave and resourceful, he gained the confidence of the younger
officers and others who served with him. Opposition leaders began
to select Mohamed for missions that were dangerous, and he
succeeded brilliantly.
While his abilities as a combat officer were widely
acknowledged and admired, Mohamed often argued with his peers and
was viewed by many to be a difficult man to deal with. His handling
of finance and supply issues for the rebel army was not good, with
money and supplies missing, leaving him open to accusations or
allegations of corruption and theft.
After several months of fighting with the opposition, Mohamed
was given an important combat role that involved going deep behind
enemy lines to attack the enemy. His raid was unsuccessful and many
of the members of his unit were captured or killed in the failed
operation. Mohamed was wounded in the process, but still managed to
get himself and his surviving fighters back to safe territory, in
spite of heavy government attack. Following this effort, Mohamed
learned that he had been passed over for a new, more senior role by
the opposition or rebel leadership. He blamed this on the previous
accusations or allegations made against him of corruption and
theft. While away on raids, Mohamed learned that his wife had died
suddenly during his absence. He was extremely discouraged and
reacted bitterly to news of his being passed over for the
promotion, feeling under-appreciated for his talents and
sacrifices.
Despite these personal setbacks and difficulties, Mohamed
sought out more chances for combat and active involvement in the
armed rebellion. His wound had healed to the point where he could
fight again. He was given another command and again proved himself
as an outstanding officer, successfully completing several raids
and battles against the government. He was finally promoted by the
rebels to the rank of Major.
His patterns of behavior, however, had not changed. While
successful in combat, he made many enemies among the rebels. The
allegations of corruption and theft continued to follow him. Now,
additional rumors surfaced of his being involved with black
marketeering and possibly even looting. Mohamed suffered a second,
more serious wound and was sent away to recuperate. During his
recovery from his injuries, he met a wealthy woman 20 years younger
than him, from a socially powerful family, and they got
married.
As soon as Mohamed was deemed medically fit, he returned to
fight for the opposition. He was put in charge of command over one
of the areas of Nemeyistan taken from government forces. He was, in
effect, the military governor of that area. He took over a mansion
that had previously belonged to the government and used it as his
headquarters, furnishing it with expensive furniture. These actions
sparked resentment among many of the rebel fighters who believed he
lived in luxury as the rebel head of government in that area. Some
of the rebels who worked for him complained about his lifestyle.
The rumors continued to circulate about his acquisition of
expensive or luxury goods under suspicious circumstances. Added to
this, his wife’s spending was a heavy financial burden and her
expectations could not be met on his rebel income.
At this point, the continuing rumors and allegations against
Mohamed for corruption and theft led to formal charges against him.
He learned that the rebel government would require him to face a
court-martial or a military court. He would be charged with
falsifying accounts and using his position to enrich himself by
corruption and theft.
As Mohamed faced his court-martial, he felt confident of being
found not guilty, believing he could answer every allegation and
attributed the charges to the jealousy and hatred he had received
as a result of his many arguments with his colleagues in the
opposition. He also believed his bravery and dedication to duty
that he had shown in combat should invalidate or make false the
charges against him.
To his shock and outrage, Mohamed was found guilty of
corruption and theft. He was allowed to remain on active duty, but
was given a letter of reprimand and reduced in rank from Major to
Captain and no longer remained military governor. He was also told
that he would not be reimbursed for the money he claimed the
opposition or rebels owed him. He also would no longer be handling
supplies or money for the rebels. Finally, during his involvement
with the opposition or rebels, Mohamed had delegated the running of
his business first to his sister and then to his new wife, but as a
result of the war, his business had suffered significant losses and
he was in even more debt now.
Discussion Questions
Please answer these questions below. This is not a group
project, do you own work, and you are not allowed to refer to any
other sources for this assignment except the lecture from two weeks
ago (Chapter Seven) where I discussed MICE (money, ideology,
compromise/coercion, and ego). You will submit your assignment as a
Word document in the folder labeled “Counter-Intelligence Project
Submission Folder”. Please be sure to explain your answers.
1. Would Amir-Ali Mohamed be a good target for recruitment by
the government as a double agent? Why or why not? Please explain
your answer.
2. What concerns might you have about recruiting him to be a
double agent for the government? Please explain your answer.
3. Could he be a triple agent? If you do not remember what a
triple agent is, consult the Chapter Seven lecture, note number
two, at the bottom of pages 4 and 5 of the lecture.
4. Using the MICE (Money, Ideology, Coercion/Compromise, and
Ego) framework, what might be his motive for spying for the
Nemeyistan Government? Explain your answers. In other words, in
discuss why or why not, he could or could not be recruited
according to money.
5. What about ideology. Could he be recruited according to or
for reasons of ideology? Why or why not? Explain your answer.
6. What about coercion or compromise? Could he be recruited
according to or for reasons of coercion or compromise? Why or why
not? Explain your answer.
7. What about ego? Could he be recruited according to or for
reasons of ego? Why or why not? Explain your answer.
8. Should the rebel government be concerned that Amir-Ali
Mohamed might decide to spy for the Nemeyistan Security Services?
Why or why not, explain your answer.
9. As an intelligence agent, based on what you have read about
Amir-Ali, what do you see as his biggest strength as a possible
spy? Please explain your answer.
10. As an intelligence agent, based on what you have read
about Amir-Ali, what do you see as his biggest weakness as a
possible spy? Please explain your answer.