It sounds like a spy novel. A former CIA case officer joins a cabal of pro-Russian rebels attempting to kill the prime minister of a small Balkan country. The coup fails, the officer returns to the U.S. – and now authorities in the Balkans want the former spy for questioning.
Last week Montenegro announced it is seeking extradition of the retired U.S. spy, Joseph Assad, for his role in an attempted coup there in 2016. If the allegations are true, this story has a twist worthy of an airport-bookstore thriller: The U.S. and Russia may be rivals, but when it comes to Montenegro, they are secret collaborators.
