The Secret State

by John Hughes-Wilson

Overview

From the ancient Greek and Roman origins of human intelligence and its use in the Catholic church to Francis Walsingham's Elizabethan secret service to the birth of the surveillance state in today's digital hi-tech age, Colonel John Hughes-Wilson, author of the highly successful Military Intelligence Blunders, gives an extraordinarily broad and wide-reaching perspective on espionage and intelligence, providing an up-to-date analysis of its importance of intelligence and in the recent past. Drawing upon a variety of sources, ranging from first-hand accounts to his own personal experience, Hughes-Wilson covers everything from undercover agents to photographic reconnaissance to today's much misunderstood cyber welfare.Authoritative and analytical, Hughes-Wilson searches for hard answers and scrutinizes why crucial intelligence is so often ignored, misunderstood, or spun by politicians and seasoned generals alike. From yesterday's spies to tomorrow's cyber world, The Secret State is a fascinating and thought­-provoking history of this ever­-changing and ever­-important subject.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781681773698
Publisher:	Pegasus Books
Publication date:	01/10/2017
Sold by:	SIMON & SCHUSTER
Format:	eBook
Pages:	528
File size:	6 MB

About the Author

Colonel John Hughes-Wilson is one of Britain’s leading military historians and lectures for a number of international, governmental, and academic organizations. Hugh-Wilson’s previous works include Military Intelligence Blunders and A Brief History of the Cold War. He lives in Cyprus.
Colonel John Hughes-Wilson is one of Britain's leading military historians and lectures for a number of international, governmental, and academic organizations. Hugh-Wilson's previous works include Military Intelligence Blunders and A Brief History of the Cold War. He lives in Cyprus.

Table of Contents

Introduction xiii

Part 1 Setting the Scene

1 A Little History 3

Part 2

2 On Intelligence 45

Part 3

3 How Intelligence Works: The Intelligence Cycle 55

4 On Direction: 'What Exactly is Your Intelligence Requirement, Minister?' 58

5 On Collection 60

Part 4 On HUMINT and Spies

6 Money: The Walker Family's Unusual Business 74

7 Ideology 81

Cambridge's Famous Five 81

Where Ideology and Ego Mix: Ana Montes 83

The One Who Got Away: Melita Norwood 87

8 Compromise/Coercion 91

John Vassall 91

Clinton and Pollard 93

Joe Cahill 99

9 Ego: Robert Hanssen 101

10 The Grievance: Penkovsky 112

11 HUMINT in action: Werther and the Battle of Kursk 116

12 On Interrogation 120

13 How Soviet HUMINT Changed the World 135

Part 5 Technology Takes Over

14 On SIGINT 139

15 The Triumph of SIGINT: Midway 148

16 On Surveillance 159

17 On Technical Intelligence 162

18 Photographic Reconnaissance 167

19 Photographic Reconnaissance in Action-The Cuban Missile Crisis 181

20 On Satellites 186

Part 6 Information into Intelligence

21 On Collation: Vietnam and Tet Offensive 201

22 On Interpretation: Yom Kippur 205

23 Telling the User: Barbarossa and Stalin 229

24 On Dissemination: Pearl Harbor 245

Part 7 On Security

25 One Who Slipped Through The Net: Aldrich Hazen Ames 274

26 The Avner Smit Case 289

27 The Inadequate - Bradley Manning 294

28 WikiLeaks and the Appalling Assange 299

29 Snowden, Security and the Surveillance State 303

30 Strategic Security: Insecure From Top to Bottom - Singapore, 1941-2 313

Part 8 On Deception

31 D-Day 341

Part 9 On Terror

32 On Terrorism 359

33 Islam and the War on Terror 373

34 The Greatest Atrocity-9/11 and the Attack on the World Trade Center 384

Part 10 On Intelligence Fiascos

35 The San Tay raid 409

36 Operation Eagle Claw 412

37 Blair's Dodgy Dossier, Iraq 2003 415

Part 11 New Horizons - New Horrors?

38 On Cyberwar: When is a War Not a War? 427

Part 12 A Dangerous Trade

39 The Secret War for ELINT 449

40 USS Pueblo 451

41 The Attack on the USS Liberty: With Friends Like This, Who Needs Enemies? 453

42 Disaster at Forward Operating Base Chapman 467

Will It Ever Get Any Better? 471

Select Bibliography 475

Glossary 489

Index 495

Editorial Reviews

12/19/2016
Hughes-Wilson (A Brief History of the Cold War), a leading British authority on intelligence matters, defines and describes the “intelligence cycle”—direction, collection, collation, interpretation, and dissemination—while delivering a thematically organized account of intelligence in contemporary contexts. He begins with human intelligence (HUMINT). Spies, Hughes-Wilson argues, are produced by money, ideology, coercion, ego, and grievance. Their effectiveness is correspondingly random. Signal intelligence (SIGINT), which includes electronic and photographic means, is specific. “Nothing is secret from the eye in the sky”—which enhances the difficulties of collation, interpretation, and dissemination, as illustrated by the Tet Offensive, the Yom Kippur War, Operation Barbarossa, and the attack on Pearl Harbor. Providing timely, accurate information to those who need to know involves security, “the handmaiden of intelligence.” When personnel security is lax or breached, “espionage, sabotage, and subversion” are predictable consequences. In the electronic dimension, WikiLeaks and Edward Snowden exemplify the “fine line between the crime of spying” and the public service of monitoring the modern surveillance state, which largely arose as a response to terrorism. To underscore his points, he includes examples of intelligence fiascos. In an emerging era of cyberwar, Hughes-Wilson concludes that “for good or ill, intelligence will remain at the heart of the world’s affairs.” (Feb.)

Publishers Weekly

A sweeping history from the classical origins of intelligence work to modern times in the digital age. A powerful history that asks many hard questions in a wide-ranging survey packed with political, historical, and social analysis. It's a recommended pick not just for political studies readers; but for any interested in the intelligence community and its background.

Midwest Book Review

The author’s knowledge and passion for the subject is palpable, while his scrutiny and explanations make this a thoroughly enjoyable read.

The Irish Examiner

In this sweeping history, John Hughes-Wilson anatomizes the intelligence process and the evolution of covert methodologies and technologies that maintain (or disrupt) geopolitical balance. A deft tour of the shadow side of 'speaking truth to power'.

Nature

There should be a well-thumbed copy on every general’s and every intelligence officer’s bedside table.

Professor M.R.D. Foot [praise for Colonel John Hughes-Wilson]

Excellently researched and compulsively readable.

The Guardian [praise for Colonel John Hughes-Wilson]

Unprecedented and compelling reading.

Max Hastings - The Evening Standard [praise for Colonel John Hughes-Wilson]

Superbly written, true to life down to the least military detail, and very exciting.

From the Publisher

★ 01/01/2017
The fusion of Internet, mass-media distortion, and profit-driven news reportage has created an environment light on—if not tacitly hostile toward—facts. Hughes-Wilson's (A Brief History of the Cold War) history of intelligence and espionage is weighty in two regards: detail and daring. One of Britain's top military historians, he chronicles and analyzes the traditional intelligence cycle of Direction, Collection, Collation, Interpretation, and Dissemination, revealing its failings and triumphs, and warning against bureaucratic bloat. The uncluttered text is augmented by maps and charts, appearing precisely where needed, showing patterns and illustrating protocols. The assessment of global intelligence ranges from ancient Egypt and Rome through early photographic technology in World War I, the Cold War electronic revolution (with Joseph Stalin among the first to ignore crucial intelligence), the catastrophic horrors—and U.S. intelligence failures—of 9/11, into today's cyberwar battle space. Noteworthy is the absence of celebratory hype that sometimes colors this field, but the author gives credit where due and frankly describes the spy's life as a jarring mix of boredom and extreme danger. VERDICT The balance of history, critical analyses, and insider's perspective on often chilling realities will appeal to any reader interested in learning how global intelligence agencies function.—William Grabowski, McMechen, WV

Library Journal

2016-11-23
A nuts-and-bolts look at the history and uses of intelligence.Veering off from his earlier Military Intelligence Blunders (1999), this more technical manual by British military historian Hughes-Wilson gives a solid overview of the importance of secret intelligence and case studies of successful and failed spying, from the earliest times to leaks by Edward Snowden and Al Jazeera. First, the author gives a quick survey of the history of intelligence, specifically in war, with an eye toward Machiavelli's canny statement: "Never attempt to win by force what can be won by deception." Secrecy and surprise are tantamount to making good decisions, and Hughes-Wilson asserts, "military defeats are almost invariably associated with intelligence defeats." He cites Hitler's foolhardy attack of the Soviet Union without grasping Stalin's ability to muster nearly 600 divisions against the Nazi onslaught. The author delineates the process of intelligence gathering (the "intelligence cycle") and the difference between HUMINT (human intelligence) and SIGINT (signals intelligence). The former entails the motivations of the spy himself: money, ideology, coercion, ego, or grievance. Hughes-Wilson offers famous examples of each, such as the stunning identity of a Soviet spy "at the very top of the Nazi war machine," code-named "Werther," whose intelligence was crucial in defeating the Nazis on the eastern front: the personal secretary to Hitler, Martin Bormann. SIGINT includes code-breaking, such as the work of the fabled Room 40 in the Old Admiralty Building in London during World War II and the U.S. Navy's cryptological breakthroughs in the summer of 1942, which allowed it to trap the Japanese fleet off of Midway Island. Surveillance (e.g., the Cuban missile crisis) and deception (D-Day) garner their own chapters, followed by the famous cases in which interpretation and dissemination of vital intelligence was ignored—most famously in the attack on Pearl Harbor. As the author rightly notes, technological leaks (e.g., Wikileaks), terror, and cyberwar present new intelligence challenges. A vigorous survey with specific case studies and a useful bibliography for further study.

Kirkus Reviews