Clearly, it makes the spooks' jobs easier if they can act quickly to monitor suspicious calls.
And, given the immensity of their failures, remarkably few senior spooks have been removed or punished.
If Russia's spooks know anything, it is how to keep unpopular regimes in power.
Two centuries on, Japanese spooks have become more modernised and westernised, just like Japanese society itself.
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Now, you said that there is no truth to the idea that right-wing media spooks this administration.
But if judges, elected politicians and voters do not have confidence in their spooks, the system unravels.
That may dent the spooks' reputation with the public, but it lets Mr Blair off that hook.
The American budget deficit spooks China, but appears to make little difference to its willingness to lend.
But nobody, not even the spooks, believes wiretaps and infiltrators alone are enough to defeat Islamist extremism.
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Other shows returning to BBC One this year include hairdressing drama Cutting It and the spy drama Spooks.
If he is busy planning the next attack, American and British spooks had better be on good terms.
And later today on Marketplace, we'll find out why intelligence agencies are having a tough time recruiting spooks.
Under the rule of the authoritarian populist, Vladimir Meciar, Slovakia had become a playground for crooks and spooks.
Outside it, squadrons of ex-spooks and retired generals hold conferences on the future of a polynuclear Middle East.
But as the spooks well know, once a secret is out it is hard to cover it up again.
It's a nice enough sounding name pronounced in the French way--gren-AHHSH--but apparently it spooks wine buyers around the world.
The generals and spooks will also be watching Sharif closely as he continues his promising diplomatic dance with India.
America's spooks stand by their 2007 assessment that Iran had such a programme, but called a halt in 2003.
The next time American spooks want some secret help, they may find their allies less handy, an official notes.
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Whether it does so may depend on whether it believes its own spooks.
Spooks, Doc Martin, Doctor Who and Lark Rise To Candleford are also nominated.
But it is hard to know what else the spooks could have done.
The 15-minute film features Mr Oyelowo, who appeared in the film Last King of Scotland and the BBC drama Spooks.
In France spooks have been called in to investigate whether China was behind the espionage that targeted Renault's electric-car technology.
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Think of this: a secret-service boss in Berlin spends years trying to frustrate the activities of spooks run by another spymaster.
The extent to which Soviet spooks sponsored terrorists and spread lies about the West is known, but is not common knowledge.
After a long career as one of Russia's top spooks, he's now at the top of the Kremlin's most wanted list.
But for some soldiers and spooks, the manipulation of the jihadists on Pakistan's soil remains a rational instrument of foreign policy.
Donnelly's recent credits include Philadelphia Here I Come at the Donmar, while Raison played Jo Portman in the BBC drama Spooks.
The sweep and power of Russia's spooks have grown under Mr Putin: one was allegedly caught trying to leave Canada last week.
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