The FBI has successfully recruited a Chinese diplomat serving in the Chinese Embassy in Washington. He has proved to be an extremely valuable and reliable source, providing intelligence on political developments in China, the Chinese Communist Party, Chinese positions at the United Nations, negotiations between the U.S. and China, and a variety of other subjects. The FBI assigns the codename High Sierra to this important agent. High Sierra reports to his FBI handlers that in six months he will be transferred back to China, where he will occupy a senior position in the Yunan provincial government in Kunming. He will also have a high-ranking position in the local Chinese Communist Party.
High Sierra wants to continue working for U.S. intelligence inside China. He says he will have excellent access to political and economic intelligence while he is there. More importantly, he believes that after two or three years in Kunming he will be transferred to Beijing, where his value to U.S. intelligence will be even greater. High Sierra insists on personal handling in Kunming.
The FBI briefs the CIA on the operation and asks if it is interested in handling High Sierra after his return to China. The CIA agrees. A CIA officer is introduced into the case during the final months in Washington to help prepare High Sierra for inside handling. High Sierra quickly learns the essentials of surveillance detection and 'denied area' tradecraft.
The U.S. government has no official presence in Kunming. The CIA's options for placing a case officer there under nonofficial cover are extremely limited. There is, however, one cover opportunity that presents itself. Theresa Emmit is a thirty-three-year-old Chinese speaking case officer with a strong Christian background. She can arrange to have herself hired as a missionary working for the U.S.-based Divine Word Outreach in Kunming.
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Would it be morally acceptable for the CIA to place Theresa Emmit in Kunming under Christian missionary cover to handle High Sierra?
