Talk:John Anthony Walker

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According to this military historian's master's thesis [1], CWO John Walker was probably lying about walking into the Soviet embassy in Washington DC and that he probably walked into a different embassy when he was abroad with the navy. This inaccuracy should be removed from the article. (but not by me--I have poor writing style.) 24.43.87.201 00:31, 27 November 2005 (UTC)

We should be careful: I've heard that this student's master's thesis is "fraught with errors" (from a crypto history group). At least, I'd recommend we try to find a source for this information either way. — Matt Crypto 01:02, 27 November 2005 (UTC)

The Mitrokhin Archive disagrees with this master's thesis, e.i., states firmly that it was the Soviet embassy in Washington D.C. The name of the rezident is given, and the account is within a section about walk-ins to Soviet rezidentny in the United States. Now, there are criticisms of Mitrokhin, but by and large he is a reliable source. The account of the Walker spy ring can be found on pp. 205-6 of The Sword and the Shield, the first volume of the archive. -Fsotrain⁰⁹ 03:38, 7 December 2006 (UTC)

I've readded the article, properly attributed -- it's a line of argument, it comes from a reliable source, and vague comments about its accuracy from unreliable sources need not be given weight. If there is a refutation using facts or even just argument, that could be written into the article, too. We are not bound to present only one version of events. --Dhartung | Talk 23:12, 9 April 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Possible sources

I served in the Navy when the Walkers were caught, and I still remember just how despicable this man was. I think if this article was revamped, two sourse to use would be the books Family of Spies (I forgot the author's name) and Spy Hunter, by Robert W. Hunter, who was the FBI agent formaly introduced, with credentials, to the Walker boy just getting off the plane while wearing handcuffs. Also, what is the policy concerning photographs of these individuals for the site, if the photos happen to be taken by news organizations? Carajou 04:26, 28 December 2006 (UTC)

What exactly happened to the guy? is he still alive and kicking? where is he being held? the biography seems to come to an abrupt halt once he is sentenced.

[edit] Walker and KAL007?

I don't understand what John Walker has to do with the shootdown of KAL 007. If the claims cannot be substantiated, I think they should be removed. —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 76.17.185.154 (talk) 00:56, 4 February 2007 (UTC).