Some have suggested that the author is the unofficial historian for the British intelligence services, a murky world where nothing is as it seems. This is the most comprehensive and insightful history of British Counter-intelligence from 1909 to 1945 – Most Highly Recommended
NAME: MI5 British Security Service Operations 1909-1945, The True Story Of The Most Secret Counter-Espionage Organisation In The Word FILE: R2980 AUTHOR: Nigel West PUBLISHER: Pen and Sword, frontline BINDING: hard back PAGES: 314 PRICE: £25.00 GENRE: Non Fiction SUBJECT: MI5, MI6, Security Service, Secret Intelligence Service, SIS, counter- intelligence, spies, spy masters, turned agents, double agents, triple agents, clandestine operations, code breaking
ISBN: 1-52675-570-X
IMAGE: B2980.jpg BUYNOW: tinyurl.com/yy3c9sy3 LINKS: DESCRIPTION: Some have suggested that the author is the unofficial historian for the British intelligence services, a murky world where nothing is as it seems. This is the most comprehensive and insightful history of British Counter-intelligence from 1909 to 1945 – Most Highly Recommended The world of intelligence and counter-intelligence circulates information and misinformation in a manner that makes it very difficult to understand which is which. The British Intelligence Services are world-class masters of this and more. Many will use names like MI5, MI6, and GCHQ as though they know exactly what these organizations are, understand what they do, and what their achievements are. MI5 is a classic example where it is a popular name for an organization that is really named 'The Security Service'. The author has set out its history with detailed insight that must be taken at face value because there is no way of checking to identify which, if any, elements are really misinformation. Intelligence and Counter-Intelligence are by their very nature secret organizations. They operate in a world where there are so many shades of grey and in a chess game with enemies, where both sides manoeuvrer for advantage and attempt to deceive each other. In the process, there is so much which must remain secret for extended periods. The process of setting Classification and Sensitivity labels, a most basic method of securing information, has to recognize the value and durability of information. If an intelligence organization acquires verified information of value, that information has a life. There is no point in protecting information that is no longer of value and sensitivity, requiring it to be re-classified or de-classified. The position of an enemy military unit may have a very high value for a very short period of time. This value is rapidly overtaken by events and of itself could be re-classified or de-classified after perhaps only hours. However, it may disclose methods employed in its acquisition that could remain valuable and sensitive information for decades. Even something as mundane as the consumption of tea and biscuits at a location could be very sensitive information because it would indicate an increase or decrease in the number of people at that location. The Israeli intelligence services had one location where most of the facility was underground but the car park was an open ground level facility that was overlooked by blocks of high-rise apartments occupied by Arabs. When Israel was preparing to take significant military action, the number of people in the facility increased dramatically and the Arab agents only had to keep count of the number of parked vehicles and the numbers coming and going. For such a highly professional and effective intelligence service to make such a basic mistake may be surprising but it indicates just how careful intelligence services need to be in avoiding the showing of cards and how the opposition must always look for even the smallest details. Given these factors, it is always hard to decide just how accurate a book of this nature really is. The author has a very well established reputation for detail and accuracy in his books about the intelligence community and this book certainly follows in that established pattern. The British Security Service was developed in the preparations for potential war with Germany. From its beginning it was tasked to provide a counter-intelligence service. An important part of that mission was to infiltrate organisations that were suspected of presenting a threat to Britain and to identify opposing intelligence agents and their networks. In two World Wars the Security Service was amazingly effective in preventing the enemy from acquiring accurate information to assist military and political action against Britain. This history of success has been laid out by the author in such an enticing and absorbing manner, it has the qualities of a good novel, keeping the reader turning the pages to the end.