Saving Ryszard Kuklinski -- Hosted by Peter Earnest

In 1972, Polish Colonel Ryszard Kuklinski volunteered to spy for the United States. His self-appointed mission: to undermine his country's Soviet-dominated leadership to save Poland from nuclear destruction. Over the next nine years of high-risk, clandestine exchanges, he copied tens of thousands of secret documents and covertly passed them to the CIA-including plans to crush the Solidarity movement. Learn the inside story of this extraordinary case and of Kuklinski's last-minute, daring escape from International Spy Museum Executive Director, Peter Earnest, a former CIA officer who did unprecedented research into Agency records for Benjamin Wesier's A Secret Life: The Polish Officer, His Covert Mission, and the Price He Paid to Save His Country. Former CIA officer, Sue Burggraf, who worked with Kuklinski in Warsaw will also comment on the heroic Pole.
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[@Erritae]

The cameo by Oleg Kalugin was very cool.

[@MaxMegaProductions]

Thank you for a great program on hero Kuklinski!

[@bethluther3950]

These are fascinating to hear from those who really know the truth!!! Thank you!

[@lucsilvert5255]

Kuklinski is very big Hero of XX

[@run2fire]

It was mentioned that David Forten had to learn Polish. If true, that is a very hard skill to acquire as an English speaker! No mention of Jack Strong? Fantastic movie about Kuklinski.

[@PeterJ-cb3vk]

I would encourage everyone to view the recently (2014) released film "Jack Strong". This is a very dramatic movie on Ryszard Kuklinski. "Jack Strong" was Kuklinski"s pseudonym. Excellent movie.

[@Ecosse57]

+Peter J i just watched it and my interest in learning more brought me here.

[@xusmico187]

Hi Susan. remember you well. Tom RIP. Dave? The new guy who came in just before martial law, saw him at the school house. Well done on the 11/10 op. missed all of you at the USMC Ball.

[@Impedancenetwork]

Wow! That was fantastic!

[@LivingDead53]

He was dominated by his morals. Glad you saved him. We eventually realize we're dumb. Whether we can take the ego hit is another thing.

[@robertalpy9422]

We have always loved the Polish. Roosevelt and at first Eisenhower were so naive when it came to commies. Churchill and Patton had the commies dead to rights and knew exactly what they were all about. Patton deserved better than to have the third Army taken from him. He was after all right about the Soviets. Now that we have the Polish in NATO we are never giving them up. We would start ww3 to protect Poland if not the Ukraine. The Russians would be making a huge mistake if they act towards Poland as they did the Ukraine. We love the Polish like an Older brother loves his hopefully and young little brother. The Polish are young in their freedom and we love to see how they grow in freedom. It reminds us of our growing pains and we never forgot the Polish officers and nobles who came to help us win our freedom when Britain was trying to keep us in the Empire. Men like Thaddeus Kosiskusko. We have regained our love for the mother country but we never forgot the brave Poles who helped us when their own situation was so dire. Europe has consistently tried to keep Poland down. Well she is NATO now and we love her so if she can't depend on Germany or France, she can depend in us and I think Britain too.

[@michaelshaw2133]

I appreciate you and your comment. There is a lot why's there. Some of those why's? 1. Why Great Britain did not allow Polish Armed Forces to participate in London parade ? Not to offend Soviet Union 2. Why Churchill and Roosevelt Western Power's allow Soviet Russia to keep Latvia, Estonia Lithuania and the Polish territory that they occupied together with Germany in 1939? Today's world knows it as Molotov - Ribbentrop Pact. 3. consequences of Yalta agreement were felt until 1991 4. 3 Why French leader was not there 4 Katyn massacre? I can keep on and on

[@aj2080xy6]

The Brits weren't trying to keep you in the Empire. The Polish Guarantee given by Attlee and Clemenceau was a dual containment of Hitler/NSDAP and Stalin/Communism. Turns out they were writing cheques was a cheque Poland couldn't cash. Post WW2 it was a buffer for Stalin against NATO esp Churchill

[@aj2080xy6]

The Poles are now the ones to watch setting the example for NATO cos of Putin's expansionism

[@Gregory98]

Communists will say a traitor, Polish patriots will say a hero

[@kewdo1137]

I don’t know how you could be a communist patriot if you had ever been to the USA

[@franksmith6297]

He wasn't traitor of communism, he was a traitor of Polish state, whatever it was because of it. His betrayal directly threatened the lives of millions of Poles.

[@ulkas.6406]

Super!

[@saulcastiel6381]

i know I'm pretty randomly asking but does anybody know of a good website to stream newly released series online?

[@callenkoa2574]

@Saul Castiel flixportal :P

[@matsontario8480]

great human big hero R.I.P.

[@robertpeston6692]

We owe everything to America and Americans; Kuklinski was doing what all Poles would want, to leave a country occupied by a people who are very different from us. Russians are great - but the communist regime was barely russian and very cruel to Russians and all Bloc members. Thank you, CIA, State Dept, DOD, NSC etc

[@Antonio-nv8eu]

One of the Best ever

[@wendymills1274]

Rest in peace, George, Anna, Alex and Robert.

[@Acta-nonVerba]

🇵🇱❤🇺🇲

[@markbackus1449]

Captions or transcripts please.

[@alswann2702]

Great story. To bad I couldn't hear significant portions due to the inconsistency inherent in your posts. I hope someone there will eventually shell out the big bucks for multiple microphones and an audio engineer.

[@victorvictor8587]

People with Photographic Memory can Hold Even More Document in Memory they're Far More Dangerous .

[@slappy8941]

wHY dO yOU cAPITALIZE eVERYTHING?

[@pinklady7184]

That used to be me. I did photo-reading formerly. I am an artist and portraitist. In the past, my photographic memory used to be vivid and pin-sharp. Mine was formerly impeccable. On my mind's screen, I saw paragraphs from thick tomes, even page numbers, stains on papers, picture, etc. Photographic memory enabled me to hold log tables, books of mathematical formulas. Today, years after a head injury, my photographic memory is now reduced to selective memory. I forget some days of the week. In a shop where I work, I forget customers I have serviced in a day. Sometimes, my memories return. I just need something to trigger off my memory.

[@christiancloquet8231]

Very interesting. While so many articles and books have been written (and movies made !) about Col. Kuklinski the achievements (if any) and fate of his friend and neighbour Col. Ostaszewicz are a mystery. Weren't they both sentenced to death by the Jaruzelski/Kiszczak gang of hoodlums .. ?.. , And while one of them climbed to the stardom being admired by half of the Poles and hated by the other half (hopefully every year those proportions are shifting in Mr. Kuklinski favor), the other one seems to be ignored. Any comments? While having about a year ago a discussion with my Polish friends on this particular subject, one of them told me the difference could be on religious grounds - both colonels being Polish, Mr. Kuklinski supposedly was coming from a catholic family and Mr. Ostaszewicz from from a Russian-Orthodox one .. I thought he was joking, but he wasn't..

[@vibovitold]

I really doubt that's the real reason. In contrast to the famous case of Kuklinski, hardly anyone in Poland even knows someone like col. Ostaszewicz ever existed, let alone know the religious affiliations of his family, whatever anybody's opinion on them might be. So there is no way this alleged bias could be involved. There were many other defectors beside these two, such as mjr. Suminski, and their names are not recognizable by an average Pole, either. As a side note, if you joined communist secret service ranks, particularly in the dark era of 1950s / 60s (whatever your later choices in life), you couldn't have been very religious to start with. On what grounds does your friend claim there's such a hostility towards Orthodox church in Polish society anyway? It seems like a very subjective opinion and I'm not aware of any facts that would validate it. Kuklinski had access to more important information than the others, that's why he overshadowed the rest.

[@christiancloquet8231]

I know.. that is what I told my Polish friend.. He is a member of an Orthodox church and sees bias everywhere.... So yes, I do share your opinion .. And I was essentially playing devil's advocate.. Both Ostaszewicz and Suminski were working (I think) for the polish intelligence service and as such (again - I guess) more accustom to the life in the shadows than Col. Kuklinski.. I wonder if the public stance and - pretty soon - the publicity surrendering the later did not (at least initially) go against the better judgement of his CIA handlers .. And if it could contribute to his sons demise..

[@danielgregg2530]

You mean that the premise of MISSION IMPOSSIBLE was basically real?

[@howardleekilby7390]

❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️

[@hackerman7835]

43:55 :)

[@waynethorpe9384]

Why does Amanda talk like she is talking to 5 year Olds. Terrible

[@dustinandtarynwolfe5540]

No joke

[@alexwelts2553]

So at the risk of attracting negative attention, more gaslighting, and sounding crazy to people who have not experienced non linear time and dimension. The gates fellow mentioned in the beginning, any relation to the gates that marketed Oracle essbase? Take a closer actually meticulous look at the programs, how they are made, what they are made of, what happens when it's mapped, though I find it hard to believe that you aren't aware of the human mind mapping and human capital.

[@alexwelts2553]

Top secret information stored in the consciousness of non consenting people aren't data breaching. Rather trespassing.

[@LivingDead53]

Do you really want our psych ward patients?

[@alexwelts2553]

Trick question? I get so pissed because here these people are talking about the best guy they ever knew, and how he was just on the hunted list at a moments notice. And some affiliated groups have been hunting and handling me to the extent of always appearing like a loser without ambition or resources, and a critical missing portion of brain. Who's brain do they have to steal for it to matter.

[@alexwelts2553]

I don't have any friends, or people I trust, I'm not sure who you are or why I have seen you like 4 times in a couple days, but hey I'm Jessica.

[@LivingDead53]

@@alexwelts2553 I'm Kaela. My brain is useless now. All it was, was a TV show. I went into the army for 3 years, had fun for 2. It's inevitable that I'll be hunted down, as Shantelle Campbell goes, I'm so "intriguing." I'm schizophrenic and a low status female with no ability to protect myself from their freedom.. It's like, great. They have these visions for me that would make me even more desperate. He said he was in my wall. He doesn't like cool, cat videos. My camera broke but they can be anywhere. He is my secret weapon. My secret is not a secret. you have made my life miserable for stupid reasons. I hate you. Just smile U

[@LivingDead53]

@@alexwelts2553 As the rich guru said, "Why would you bother them? You did it to them. Leave them alone.

[@alexwelts2553]

@@LivingDead53 what are you talking about? I don't tresspass against anyone. You might be mistaking me for someone else. I'm a 44 year old single mother who has been fighting the current my whole life while they are trying to bury me. And inefficient since the mathematics area is missing from my brain. So I perceive all this crazy interdimentional stuff and can't tell left from right.

[@pralkatv3485]

traitor, renegade, betrayer - never hero

[@MrWonszBoa]

true

[@njswampfox474]

Spoken like a true Soviet stooge and commie lover of slavery

[@Acta-nonVerba]

Shut UP comrade!