Copyright 2006 T. Sheil & A. Sheil All Rights Reserved
Growing up watching The Man from Uncle, Mission Impossible and James Bond, I was interested in the wild side of spycraft. We were kids in the 1960s, watching shows where spies used all kinds of gadgets and subterfuge. Nowadays, it is easy to learn about the glory days of espionage. Plenty of the old materials from World War II have been declassified.
The Office of Strategic Services (OSS) was the American spy agency of World War II. Its British counterpart and al laws the Special Operations Executive (SOE). The opposition included Japan’s Kempeitai and Germany’s Abwehr, S.S.and Gestapo. Many OSS and SOE documents have been decalssified, as have plans for the old-fashioed spy gear.
The average SOE and OSS operative was an intelligence-gatherer. His job was to “fit in”, remain unobserved, and to transmit his information with a clandestine radio. Paramilitary types, such as the Jedburgh group, established contact with indigenous resistance gr4oups. They provided training, expertise and equipment. Paramiltiaries were frequently involved in sabotage operations.
The work of espionage is dirty business. “Truth” is an abstract concept in that world. The only way to survive is to trust nobody. Espionage is the world of cross and doublecross. One need only do a brief study of the OSS to understand what an awful business it is.
There are several types of spy. Most are involved in sorting and evaluating intelligence. A few are “field agents.” They go out and actually do the close work. Most field agents are covert operators. They gather information. The covert operator’s work depends on his remaining undetected. He normally assumes a persona that puts him in a good position to get the information he wants. The persona is designed to make him inconspicuous. A covert operative is only useful if he can avoid scrutiny.
The provocateur is a covert operative whose mission is to sow discord and confusion. His role includes providing false reports and spreading rumors. He is an agent of “disinformation.”
Paramilitaries are agents with commando-type training. They are trained to enter by force or by stealth. They can be used from anything from burglary-type operations to raids to sabotage. Assassination is usually done by paramilitaries.
The saboteur is a spy whose mission is to disrupt the enemy by causing damage. He might be sent to disrupt communications, blow up a bride or otherwise impede the enemy. Saboteurs can be moles or paramilitaries.
Assassins are sent to kill specific targets. Most are paramilitaries, though moles and covert operatives have also been used. Assassins must not only remove their targets, but do so in an appropriate way. In modern spycraft, assassination is called “wet work.”
Mole: A mole is a spy who assumes a persona that lets him abide among the opposition. He lives and works among them, remaining unobserved. To all intents and purposes, he IS one of them. He does not gather intelligence or have any regular contact with those for whom he works. The mole remains in place until he is needed. For instance, a mole might be emplaced and instructed to take low-level employment with the enemy government. The mole could work there for years, until he received orders to perform an act of sabotage, assassinate an enemy target or steal a key piece of information.
The average spy looks less conspicuous than the average fellow. You can be certain that the real Ninja was much the same.
Most people in English-speaking nations are familiar with the character of James Bond, a.k.a. Agent 007 of the British Secret Service. Bond was a character in the books of Ian Fleming. The literary character was a cold, ruthless field agent whose specialty was assassination. The movie version was a suave, high-rolling playboy who specialized in lethal tactics. The movies are a genre unto themselves. They are amusing and totally fictitious.
How much is the movie character James Bond like the real thing?
1) Bond usually gets noticed the minute he walks into a casino. He stands out. A real spy would be unnoticed. In espionage, “invisibility” is the skill of being totally innocuous and un-memorable.
2) James Bond uses his real name and has a reputation as a formidable agent. Real spies tend to favor fictitious names. They avoid making a reputation at any cost. Anonymity is their goal, not Fame or Notoriety.
3) James Bond frequents fancy resorts, posh casinos, first-class hotels and elegant nightclubs. These are places where he makes contact with informants, agents and adversaries. They are high-profile places where people get noticed. In other situations, movie spies might meet in train stations, airport terminals and seedy gin joints. (Nothing stands out more than a couple of average-looking strangers in a bummy tavern.) They are all high-profile places where people can be observed. For that very reason, spies prefer to meet in places where they will not be noticed. They use quiet parks, safe houses, and other average places. A real meeting between spies would be too boring to replicate in movies!
4) James Bond tends to check into hotels where they not only know him: they also know what perks he likes. A real spy goes to places where he is not known, and he makes darn sure the hotel staff has no cause to remember him at all.
5) James Bond uses his pistol frequently. He usually kills seven or eight adversaries in face-to-face confrontations. In each movie, not to mention the groups wiped out in the bigger gunfights. A real spy avoids killing unless it is absolutely necessary. Only an assassin agent kills with deliberate intent. Other agents only kill if there is no other way to accomplish the mission, or remain undetected. Killing of a human being always draws attention. Any death not attributed to old age or an abiding ailment will attract plenty of attention. A death by violence raises intense and lingering attention. A spy wants to avoid that!
6) James Bond has a way with the ladies. In the course of a single operation (movie), he might have several intimate moments with several women. Real spies are not so indiscreet. Sex is one of the oldest ruses in the spy game. Seduction is one of many ploys to place an enemy agent in an uncompromising position. While there may be occasions where an agent can use sex to manipulate an individual, these are rare. In the annals of spycraft, many a dalliance has led to demise. Agents avoid the temptation.
7) In almost every operation (movie), Bond gets involved in a large-scale gunfight involving his allies and enemy agents. Both sides are identifiable by their clothing. James Bond is always at the center of the gunfight. In real life, the covert operative would not be involved in an attack. He would be extracted. The actual assault would be turned over to paramilitaries if it were a covert assault. If not, regular military personnel or law enforcement would handle the attack.
8) In every movie, Bond gets captured and put into confinement of some sort. The captor always reveals the plan. Bond escapes and foils the enemy, using this information. In real spycraft, a captured spy would be told nothing. If captured by enemy government forces, be they soldiers, police or spies, he would be restrained and taken to a secure facility. Of course, they might shoot him on the spot, instead. Usual practice is to hand captured spies over to interrogators. Afterward, he would either be executed or used to trade for one of their own captured spies. If the spy was captured by criminals running an operation, he would likely be killed on the spot.
9) Bond drives around at excessive speeds in fancy cars. Real spies tend to drive the speed limit, using common cars which do not get noticed. Spies stay within the limits of the law, so as to avoid the attention of the police.
The main thing is that spies work very hard to remain unnoticed. They are unremarkable in appearance and movement. Genuine spies avoid anything that might bring attention to them.