A Life of Lies: The Facts and Fiction of Espionage

1198 Words3 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: The importance of spying

Espionage has always been a subject that has captured the thoughts and imaginations of many people. The idea of the glamorous life of espionage agents and spies with grand parties, high tech gadgets, and world destroying villains have led to the belief that spies live a life of adventure and almost science fiction. Real agents live far from that life in reality. Many live in constant fear of imprisonment or execution. The facts and fiction of espionage have become distorted overtime. Espionage has been used by countries and empires for many thousands of years in varying forms. In ancient times, the writings of Sun-Tzu and Chanakya outlined how to use espionage for gain in a war or in military operations. Chandragupta was a military leader who made use of Chanakya’s writing. In modern times, espionage has been used to varying extents and forms (Wikipedia, 2). For many years, espionage was a very male dominated occupation. It was not until World War II that women started to be hired as espionage agents. Men realized that women could go where they could not and soon it was realized the importance that women could be to intelligence operations (Spievogel, 601). Espionage was used the heaviest during the Cold War. The Soviet Union and their allies sought as much information about the activities of the United States and their allies. In recent times, espionage has been used in a type of espionage called industrial espionage. Companies will try to gather information about their competitors. This costs companies to lose billions of dollars each year. Espionage has recently focused on the illegal drug trade and threats of terrorism (Wikipedia, 2). Espionage is an occupation and activity that is carried out by agents who have different ... ... middle of paper ... ...e is a severely misunderstood profession. The facts were tainted over the years to make movies and literature more enjoyable. Each passing year brings about new knowledge to the public about espionage. Some “facts” that are released must be thought and researched more on to make sure the fact isn’t fiction. One thing is for certain of spies and agents though. They live a tough life of lies. Works Cited “Espionage.” Wikipedia. 19 Jan. 2002.Wikipedia: The Free Encyclopedia. 11 March 2014 . Silverstein, Herma. Spies Among Us: The Truth About Modern Espionage. United States of America: Moffa Press, Inc. 1988. Spielvogel, Jackson J., Ph. D., World History: Modern Times. New York; McGraw Hill- Glencoe, 2005 The Editors of Encyclopædia Britannica. Encyclopedia Britannica Online. Encyclopedia Britannica, n.d. Web. 19 Apr. 2014.

Show More
Related

  • American Spies: The Secret of Washington’s Culper Spy Ring

    3405 Words  | 7 Pages

    The American Revolution saw the rise of the American spy, and the father of these spies was George Washington, commander in Chief of the Continental Army. The siege of New York demonstrated the importance and dire need for intelligence to General Washington. Unfortunately, the difficulty, at least initially, lies with finding people willing and able to serve in this manner. Upon recognizing the necessity for a network of subterfuge, Washington created the Culper spy ring. Housed in New York City under the command of Colonel Benjamin Tallmadge, its purpose was more than merely gaining intelligence.

    Read More

  • Comparing The Dark Game And The Code Book

    391 Words  | 1 Pages

    Throughout the years, there have been many different texts and while some of them can be very similar or focus on the same topic, no text is truly the same as another. Every story, essay, or poem written is unique even if by little amounts. Spying is a very popular topic that has spawned many texts about the topic, such as The Dark Game by Paul Janeczko, and the Code Book by Simon Singh, and while the texts focus on this topic and have many similarities, they are also quite different in many ways.

    Read More

  • Biography Of Belle Boyd

    644 Words  | 2 Pages

    Female spies were a great help in the war. Men did not expect innocent women to be involved in such dangerous activities so they often were not found out at first. Men easily trusted the women spies and told them important military secrets. The spies would get information then write it on paper or material and sew it into their clothes or put it in their hair. With bigger stuff they would attach it to the hoops on their skirts and hide the stuff in dolls. People started to suspicious when the women spies started to do “inappropriate” actions “such as allowing men into their homes at all hours of the night, arranging meetings with men in various locations and riding on horses and in buggies unaccompanied.”

    Read More

  • Espionage Act of 1917 and Sedition Act (Amendment) of 1918

    1469 Words  | 3 Pages

    ?Espionage.? 2000-2004. The War to End All Wars. Michael      Duffy. Original Material. Primary Documents Online.

    Read More

  • Behind The Lines: Spies In The Civil War

    1618 Words  | 4 Pages

    The Civil War was the bloodiest, most devestating war that has ever been fought on American soil. It began on April 12, 1861, at 4:30 in the morning. The main reason that the war was fought was because Southern states believed that they should have the right to use African-Americans as slaves, and the Northern States opposed that belief.

    Read More

  • American Intelligence After World War II

    2548 Words  | 6 Pages

    Prados, John. Safe for Democracy The Secret Wars of the CIA. Chicago, IL: Ivan R Dee, Publisher, 2006.

    Read More

  • Use of Espionage During the American Revolution

    3426 Words  | 7 Pages

    “There is one evil I dread, and that is, their spies. I could wish therefore the most attentive watch be kept… I wish a dozen or more honest sensible and diligent men, were employed… in order to question, cross-question, etc., all such persons as are unknown, and cannot give an account of themselves in a straight and satisfactory manner… I think it a matter of importance to prevent these [Tory spies] from obtaining intelligence of our situation. ” – George Washington

    Read More

  • The CIA In Hollywood, By Tricia Jenkins

    597 Words  | 2 Pages

    In the beginning, Jenkins explores the sources of the CIA’s decision to participate with Hollywood from the 1990s and forward. The main reason is a want to counter its essentially negative portrayal in Hollywood programs. The first Chapter summarizes this image by showing how CIA agents have always been interpreted as assassins, dishonest leaders, unprotected by their hierarchy, morally bankrupt, and ineffective. Jenkins asserts nonetheless that other reasons were just as if not more conclusive: ‘...

    Read More

  • Essay On Civil War Spies

    528 Words  | 2 Pages

    Spies of the Civil War Spies played an important role during the American Civil War. What does it mean to be a spy? According to the dictionary, it is a person who collects information secretly for the government or a group. It also means to secretly keep watch over people or people. Most spies collect military, industrial, and political information.

    Read More

  • Australian Secret Intelligence

    1471 Words  | 3 Pages

    The essay will define, compare and contrast the Australian Secret Intelligence Organisation (ASIO), Australian Secret Intelligence Service (ASIS), the Security Service (MI5) and the Secret Intelligence Service (MI6) roles, responsibilities and current accountability mechanisms.

    Read More

  • Informative Essay: The CIA

    529 Words  | 2 Pages

    The CIA is pretty important to this country, yet some people don’t know what it does. The CIA (Central Intelligence Agency) is a government agency that as Wikipedia says, “tasked with gathering, processing and analyzing national security information from around the world, primarily through the use of human intelligence (HUMINT).” They don’t work much with domestic like the FBI; they do most of their work overseas. It has different divisions such as Analysis, Operations, Support, and Science and Technology (Wikipedia."Central Intelligence Agency"). They have had successful operations for instance locating Osama Bin Laden and arrest of Khalid Sheikh Mohammed (Monroe et al.). There also some secret operations that have occurred, such as Operation CHAOS, Phoenix Program, and Muammar al-Qaddafi to name a few (Jason). When people find out about these operations it causes them to question events in history that

    Read More

  • Media Portrayal of the CIA

    832 Words  | 2 Pages

    “Vodka Martini shaken, not stirred” This centerpiece of all James Bond movies has lived on in pop culture thanks to the emotions it invokes in the hearts and minds of us all. Spies in media have always had this allure to the common man. Being able to traverse the world while smoking cigars and toppling dictators has and will always be a fantasy for many. So when we sit down at our next spy movie we have to ask ourselves what’s real? The media has influenced the public into believing that the employees of the Central Intelligence Agency are reckless and womanizing when in fact they work more traditional white collar jobs.

    Read More

  • The Spy Who Came In From The Cold Character Analysis

    1423 Words  | 3 Pages

    John Le Carré’s novel; The Spy Who Came In From The Cold; takes us through the last mission of the British Intelligence officer; Alec Leamas; as he tries to stop the deputy director of the East German Intelligence; Mundt. There are many twists and turns as the truth comes out about the mission and the real reason why Leamas was apart of the mission. Alec Leamas fails to separate his personal beliefs and his emotions from his job as a spy which leads to his downfall.

    Read More

  • The Impact Kim Philby on the World

    2201 Words  | 5 Pages

    Among the spies of the 20th century, Kim Philby was a master of his craft. “To betray, you must first belong,” Kim Philby once said. Philby betrayed his colleagues, his friends, his wives, and most of all his country. He did all this in the secret service of the Soviet Union. The effects of this master spy’s operations set the stage for post-World War II in Europe.

    Read More

  • Importance Of Governance Of The Mauryan Era

    1421 Words  | 3 Pages

    Espionage and intelligence departments have been stressed upon. Kautilya also advocates the use of torture for extorting confessions.

    Read More

More about A Life of Lies: The Facts and Fiction of Espionage

Open Document