[…] exact opposite of the picture given by Peter Wright on p. 359 of Spycatcher, of the 1970s expansion of the counter-subversive F-branch at the expense of counter- espionage K branch. But there are lots of things missing. This is the list I compiled on first reading. Missing are: his failed Freedom Blue Cross venture; […]
[…] to get it so wrong, or offer explanations for their false statements to Parliament and public. To this extent, by not sufficiently documenting a proven case of espionage against the late Princess, when its remit specifically included claims of surveillance mounted by the intelligence agencies against the late Princess, Operation Paget may be regarded […]
[…] to assert that, excisions notwithstanding, it is ‘a comprehensive history’ and ‘a candid chronology’ which reveals ‘the grisly truth’ about still unexplained failings in operations against Soviet espionage. These supposed failings exist largely in Mr West’s imagination and are a hangover from all the tosh written in the 1980s about an undetected ‘super-mole’ at […]
[…] and finally, in desperation, to ‘reaching’ them. The authenticity juggernaut is causing huge problems in the most unlikely places, including British spooks. Reasons include: dilution of the espionage profile – even the McLaren Formula One team appear to be at it;(5) believing media-friendly populism to be the same as authenticity; and losing control of […]
[…] in British embassies, under what is often known as ‘light’ cover. The term serves as a reminder that it is a simple task for the local counter- espionage outfit to determine which embassy staff are genuine diplomats. Nevertheless the embassy has several advantages over locations outside: access to embassy facilities (archives, communications etc), diplomatic […]
[…] Guardian 30 April 2007, about opposition parties being alerted to an upcoming scoop. Particularly worrying is the increasing trend to target children; e.g. and however exciting, an espionage exhibition at a national London museum. The tactic is straight out of the marketing manuals. See ‘Ex-BBC and Blair aides hired’, The Independent 1 July 2006. […]
[…] In a long review essay of both books in Commentary, Michael Ledeen (16) announced that: “the real spectacle has been the discrediting of any concern over Communist espionage and subversion in the United States. Indeed, the concern has been turned inside out; the real threat – according to the fashionable mythology – was a […]
[…] laws and regulations against NGOs are not enough, they resort to extralegal forms of intimidation or persecution. Often these regimes justify their actions by accusations of treason, espionage, subversion, foreign interference or terrorism. These are rationalizations; the real motivation is political. This is not about defending their citizens from harm, this is about protecting […]
[…] part of the world, it has created a separate world.’ Unhappy with its lack of respectful representation in Hollywood movies, Turkey has put its own spin on espionage and made its most expensive movie ever – Valley of the Wolves – which follows an intelligence agent as he travels to Iraq to avenge the […]
[…] War, Princeton University Press, Princeton, 1973, or the post-revisionist work of John Lewis Gaddis. D. Cameron Watt, ‘Intelligence and the Historian: A Comment on John Gaddis’s ‘Intelligence, Espionage, and Cold War Origins’, Diplomatic History, Vol.14 No.2, Spring 1990, p.200. This is the line of critique that will be followed here in relation to the […]
