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)

Pete Earley, a former Wash. Post reporter, is author of Family of Spies. He was on the History Channel years ago when it ran the movie based on his book. There was also a BBC documentary (I've forgotten the name) I saw with a Navy reserve unit, which cited one of Walker's chiefs-of-the-boat (senior enlisted on a sub) as Bill Wilkinson, who was later a senior honcho (Grand Dragon?) in the KKK, so Walker learned early on how to use a subversive org. as a front (joining Birch Society, KKK): Wilkinson was an FBI informant.—BubbleDine 18:20, 21 May 2007 (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.

I'm certain he got life in prison, although you're right, bio. doesn't say. BTW, the Rockville hotel where Walker was nailed is still there, but it's no longer a Ramada Inn.—BubbleDine 18:20, 21 May 2007 (UTC)

[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).

It'd be a neat trick for Congressman McDonald to blame Walker for the KAL 007 shootdown, considering that McDonald died on that flight. Unless someone cites evidence for this accusation from beyond the grave, it should be removed. ANTPogo 05:31, 3 June 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Andropov

Though he was head of the soviet union he never held the office of premier.

[edit] WP:BLP

This article really needs some attention, as it is quite full of violations of the WP:BLP policy. Passages such as: "However, before long, the marriage became very troubled due to the couple's long separations. Walker was a flamboyant, hard-drinking womanizer and there were reports that he neglected his wife and children.", are POV, and in addition, not cited with sources. Two references for such a controversial topic (a spy) is insufficient. There needs to be sources for statements like: "Walker was born in Scranton, Pennsylvania. Coming from a broken home, he had various problems with the law as a teenager. A high school dropout, Walker committed a string of petty thefts and was arrested for one of them in the summer of 1955. John's older brother Arthur Walker (already serving in the Navy) talked the judge into letting John join the Navy instead of going to prison.", that is unacceptable to have in an article without verification. Additionally, the article uses many words to avoid, such as "allegedly": "Initially, Walker maintained a defiant attitude, allegedly telling his interrogators "If I had access, consider it gone!" " It also has original research in it, such as: "Some researchers believe Walker's nearly two decades of spying contributed strongly to the unprecedented accession of then-KGB director Yuri Andropov (whose agents had overseen Walker's activities) to become head of the Soviet Union after the November 1982 death of Leonid Brezhnev." I'm going to place this article on the noticeboard for BLP issues, as these are fairly serious issues that will need to be resolved. I'm unfamiliar with the subject, so I'm hoping another editor will be able to address these very serious issues. Thank you for reading! Ariel♥Gold 09:29, 16 November 2007 (UTC)

I have removed much and sourced everything except a couple of claims which are now tagged citation needed which I do not believe constitute substantial BLP violations. Given the similar language, I suspect that much of the above was sourced by the CourtTV article, which does have a substantially more lurid tone than Wikipedia articles are meant to. :) --Moonriddengirl ^(talk) 15:13, 16 November 2007 (UTC)