Right or wrong, this question can be applied to almost every decision you make throughout the day. For most decisions made in a day, the answer to this question is usually simple, but every now and then we come across crossroads where the path to take is unclear. This could be a small decision, such as choosing to pay back the money when you have been overpaid, to larger decisions such as whether abortion, when the mother is not at risk, is right or wrong. In the intelligence profession these ethical decisions can present themselves in various ways. In the article we will discuss two fictitious case studies presented in the book Fair Play by James Olson, former director of counterintelligence of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA). Both scenarios will present plausible ethical dilemmas that may be encountered in modern espionage. Scenario 1, Trojan Horse: China's foreign intelligence service, the Ministry of State Security (MSS), has as one of its primary operational objectives to steal defense-related technology. from the United States. The Cox Report, published in 1999, documented for the first time the extent of such technological theft by MSS and analyzed the implications for US national security. The MSS uses a variety of illegal mechanisms and cutouts (clandestine intermediaries) to acquire embargoed US technology. The CIA learns from a sensitive intelligence source that the MSS is using a French aerospace company as a front for illegal acquisitions. The French company purchases the items from a trading company in Long Beach, California, and then secretly transfers them to the Chinese. The same CIA source indicates that the MSS has just instructed its French... of middle paper... they were taken to prevent it from becoming a "loss mine". As we see, the answers to the questions are not always black and white. Sometimes they are shades of grey. In the world of intelligence and national security in general, the answer may not be easy at all. The lives of several hundred or thousands of people could be at stake. This can lead to proposing several different solutions, where none represents the ideal answer to the problem. This is often the case with many difficult decisions, and ultimately, the answer to the question will depend on your belief system. Works Cited Gert, B. (2005). Morality: its nature and justification. Oxford: Oxford University Press.Olson, J. M. (2006). Fair Play: The Moral Dilemmas of Espionage. Dulles: Potomac Books.Velaquez, M. G. (2006). Business ethics: concepts and cases. New Jersey: Pearson/Prentice Hall.