People aren’t always as they seem.

Jim Olson, ex-CIA Officer in Residence at the Bush School of Government and Public Service in College Station, Texas, spoke to a packed audience in the Campanile room in the Memorial Union Thursday night about his experiences during his time as a CIA spy.

Olson and his wife, during their 31 years as spies during the time of the Russian KGB, viewed his job as one of the “greatest services” to his country.

“I believe that the greatest and most powerful country in the world needs the best intelligence,” Olson said.

Among the many places and people Olson encountered, he met some people he described as so evil it was hard for him to understand “how someone could be so evil.” Olson, who is originally from Iowa, said that, before joining the CIA it was hard for him to imagine what treason and betrayal was. But once he became a spy, he quickly discovered their exact meanings.

One of the traitors Olson first came across was Edward Lee Howard, who was the top recruit in all his training programs when Olson met him and had not received an offer to work for the CIA. He was so smart, educated and well-liked by everyone around him that, when Olson inquired at the training camp who would be the best person to work with on a top secret mission in Moscow, Howard was unanimously voted as the top candidate, he said.

After completing the numerous physical and psychological training programs, Howard and his wife were asked to take one last polygraph test to prove their worthiness.

At this time, however, Howard “completely bombed” his exam. Results showed that he had a “vindictive, inappropriate mentality” as well as alcohol and drug problems, and he was immediately fired from his assignment and from the CIA, he said.

Howard returned to New Mexico with his wife and worked for the state of New Mexico government, but grew angry with the CIA for firing him from his position, he said. As a way to deal with his seething rage, Howard contacted the KGB in the Soviet Union and revealed top secret information to them, including a primary-source tap in their headquarters.

“Losing the tap was an incredible loss to CIA intelligence,” Olson said.

The rest of the lecture included stories, such as this one, in which traitors caused catastrophic things to happen to the CIA. Among some of these were the deaths of “brave and courageous men” who were secret spies to the United States in the KGB government.