Spycatcher

`Spycatcher' reveals how extensively the KGB infiltrated the government and secret services of post WWII Great Britain. Much of the second half of the twentieth century's divided loyalties were born in the 30's and 40's when many of the Western intelligentsia in Britain and to some degree in the states supported Marxist ideals and the Soviet system. The most dramatic recruitment occurred in the 30's at Oxford. There, a group of `Apostles,' an elite, upperclass group of homosexual males insinuated themselves into the government to become the scourge of the reputation of the once-superior British secret service. Three of the infamous Oxford 5 would defect to the Soviet Union; Maclean and Burgess in the early 50's, and Philby, who prevailed through one interrogation, that was really nothing more than a cover up according to Wright, defected later. The 4th spy, Sir Anthony Blunt, the Surveyor of the Queen's Pictures, was `outed publically' in 1979, after having been granted immunity decades earlier. He was unrepentant throughout his lifetime and in retrospect, treated uncommonly well for the sparse information he supplied. Indeed, the high regard by which these British spycatchers upheld the law, not bending it as their American counterparts would do, was at once frustrating and laudable. Those were the years when Britain was racked with scandals; the other famous one, the sex/spy game of the Profumo Affair. The government and the crown were terrified of another embarassment and thus were easily used by the highly placed moles within the system to obstruct investigations. This, to the great chagrin of the United States and to Peter Wright. Wright spent many thousands of hours in grueling research, looking for the 5th spy that had been variously revealed through several Soviet defectors and captured spies. Wright, and then others, was convinced, following the glaringly obvious failures in their top secret operations, that the spy was none other than the Director of the Department, M15, Sir Roger Hollis. Wright pursued evidence doggedly for over twenty years. His tactics, his tenacity and his brilliance were remarkable; his actions, heroic.

This autobiography is a narrative of the murderous espionage game of that period where massive military takeovers went hand in hand with atomic weapons secrets and the ever-present threat of nuclear war. The time was also marked by the end of British Imperialism, where the home rule would be restored to various former colonies. In that too, many agents and plans were covertly put in place for the primary reason that should the new government not be well fortified, the respective militaries would grab power, destabilize the country further and remainder it vulnerable to Soviet interference. Philby's last assignment to the Middle East was one of this nature. Some, but by no means all of the foreign policy makers understood the need for a smooth transition to democratic government in order to retain a global balance of power. It was through the British Raj, after all, that spawned the country of Pakistan and Kashmir, the current hottest spot on the globe. Separated from India at Independence, the division has witnessed hundreds of thousands dead and the potential of a nuclear nightmare.

We were often gullible in the West, and falsely convinced that everyone wanted to defect to "better lives." Amazingly, the Eastern bloc defectors were still Russian agents. The CIA and the FBI even then were at odds. These were the halcyon days of Richard Helms, J.Edgar Hoover, whose number Wright had, and the maven or maniac whichever way you look at it of James Jesus Angleton. He practically went mad when the former intimate Philby defected. Because of that treachery, Angleton imprisoned and some say tortured innocent defectors. There were quite a few cowboy operatives in the U.S., big time drinkers and often running their own little shows. Some speculate that things in that regard remain the same. But others, insist that the CIA has become too risk aversive. History will no doubt tell. in the 60's, the CIA questioned Peter Wright about methods for assasinating or, the `wet' areas. Wright said the British were out of that game and they should submit the question to the French who were involved in that manner in Algeria among other places. We do know for certain that the CIA got heavily involved in what was `wet.' American secret services even tried to foment a revolt in the M15 to leak some information on Labor PM, Harold Wilson that they hoped would bring down his government. This was post-Bay of Pigs when the `Agency' was struggling, and Labor was too far left for comfort, no matter where it was. It was also a time of reckoning for many older British who had flirted, as did so many of their peers, in their youth with Marxism. Unfortunately, the labels, were often damning and the fear that McCarthyism would spread across the Atlantic was ominous- although as it happens, it didn't.
There were suspicious deaths that mimic current Anthrax scares and even some James Bondesque devices for recording that were created largely by Wright himself. Ian Fleming, Bond author, had of course worked in British Intelligence.

The book was unsuccessfully censored in England, with a stolen copy printed anonymously. It was most absorbing to read as a non-citizen so I can only imagine the excitement it engendered where the players were all well known. I highly recommend Spycatcher as both a historically incisive and entertaining book. I can't help but feel that as much as we can learn about the various secret information agencies will help us in our understanding of the current state of affairs.