An attack by a British destroyer on a German U-boat in the Eastern Mediterranean in October 1942 altered the course of the entire war. The capture of secret coding material from U-559, at the cost of two of HMS Petard's crew, enabled Bletchley Park's codebreakers to successfully crack the U-boat cypher. It was the crucial factor in defeating Hitler's Atlantic U-boat wolf packs before they succeeded in starving Britain into defeat in the winter of 1942-1943. Here is the true story of how HMS Petard attacked and captured U-559 in the darkness of a Mediterranean night. It describes how members of her crew swam across to the slowly sinking U-boat and captured vital German Enigma codebooks. But the damage sustained by U-559 in the earlier attack proved fatal and without warning she sank before Petard could take her in tow. Two of the destroyer's crew were trapped in the conning tower and went to the bottom with her. Both men were later recommended for posthumous awards of the Victoria Cross but the Admiralty, concerned this might draw unwanted attention from German Intelligence, instead ordered posthumous awards of the George Cross, the highest civilian award for bravery.

'Pulse-pounding' Sinclair McKay | 'Truly masterful' Damien Lewis | 'Who needs spy fiction, when fact can provide as thrilling a story as this?' Lindsey Hilsum The Spymaster of Baghdad is the gripping story of the top-secret Iraqi intelligence unit that infiltrated the Islamic State. More so than that of any foreign power, the information they gathered turned the tide against the insurgency, paving the way to the killing of ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi in 2019. Against the backdrop of the most brutal conflict of recent decades, we chart the spymaster's struggle to develop the unit from scratch in challenging circumstances after the American invasion of Iraq in 2003, we follow the fraught relationship of two of his agents, the al-Sudani brothers - one undercover in ISIS for sixteen long months, the other his handler - and we track a disillusioned scientist as she turns bomb-maker, threatening the lives of thousands. With unprecedented access to characters on all sides, Pulitzer Prize-finalist Margaret Coker challenges the conventional view that Western coalition forces defeated ISIS and reveals a page-turning story of unlikely heroes, unbelievable courage and good old-fashioned spycraft. 'Moving, visceral, utterly revelatory. A stunning tour de force by an author who has lived every word of it on the ground' Damien Lewis, author of Zero Six Bravo 'This compelling account of how Iraqi agents infiltrated ISIS takes us deep beneath the lurid headlines and into a sharply focused world of courage, ingenuity, terror and love' Sinclair McKay, author of Dresden 'In Margaret Coker's deeply reported, unputdownable account, the previously unknown Iraqi heros of the war against the Islamic State turn out to be braver than Bond and as subtle as Smiley' Lindsey Hilsum, author of In Extremis 'We all owe a debt of gratitude to the Falcons Unit for their important role in the fight against the most lethal terrorist group of our time' Anne Speckhard, Director of the International Center for the Study of Violent Extremism

Vienna, located at the heart of Europe was the city of choice for American, British, German and Russian spymasters in their merciless trade, to plot against one another and steal secrets. For the first time a book is dedicated to the secret stories of spymasters, their tradecraft and secret sources from the end of the World War I, the Interwar with the rise of Nazis to the Second World War and the Cold War. The rich of culture and music Vienna hid a labyrinth of spies and dissidents in the interwar period, and a powerful Gestapo presence during the war meant that the Office of Strategic Services and British intelligence could not deploy operatives in Austria in general. In post war, a few young American and British intelligence officers pitted their wits against hundreds of seasoned Russian operatives of the NKVD and their thousands of informers. and the secret truth was that both Russian and Allied intelligence services employed members of the Nazi intelligence services just upon the defeat of Germany in 1945 and the occupation of Austria.

Volume 1 of this two-part work puts the reader firmly into the footsteps of the 2nd and 5th Rangers as they arrive in England in 1943\. It follows them during their intensive training with the Commandos and the Royal Navy as they head towards D-Day - including cliff climbing, assault landings and the Slapton Sands dress rehearsal'. The orders given to the Rangers, along with dozens of aerial reconnaissance photographs of Omaha Beach, Pointe et Raz de la Perc e, Pointe du Hoc and Maisy - as well as French Resistance reports - detail the information given to the Rangers' commander Lt. Col. Rudder. Shown in chronological order and in their original format, many of the documents are still marked TOP SECRET and were only recently released after nearly 70 years. The author fills in the gaps that many have only guessed at concerning the Rangers' real missions on D-Day, and in Volume 2 he explains why a battalion commander was removed whilst onboard ship prior to the landings, why the individual Rangers were not briefed on all of their D-Day objectives - as well as the extraordinary role that Lt. Col. Rudder played at Pointe du Hoc. Described by US historians as 'one of the most detailed works about the D-Day Rangers ever written', this work is the culmination of four years of detailed research within the US Archives and backed up by evidence uncovered in Normandy. It is a real historical game-changer that pulls no punches as it challenges conventional studies of one of the most iconic battles of WWII. There can be no doubt that this work will change the way that historians view the Pointe du Hoc battle from now on.

The imbalance of Pakistan's civil-military relations has caused misperceptions about the changing role of intelligence in politics. The country maintains 32 secret agencies working under different democratic, political and military stakeholders who use them for their own interests. Established in 1948, The ISI was tasked with acquiring intelligence of strategic interests and assessing the intensity of foreign threats, but political and military stakeholders used the agency adversely and painted a consternating picture of its working environment. The civilian intelligence agency-Intelligence Bureau (IB) has been gradually neglected due to the consecutive military rule and weak democratic governments. The ISI today seems the most powerful agency and controls the policy decisions. The working of various intelligence agencies, the militarisation of intelligence, and ineffectiveness of the civilian intelligence are some of the issues discussed in the book.

The imbalance of Pakistan's civil-military relations has caused misperceptions about the changing role of intelligence in politics. The country maintains 32 secret agencies working under different democratic, political and military stakeholders who use them for their own interests. Established in 1948, The ISI was tasked with acquiring intelligence of strategic interests and assessing the intensity of foreign threats, but political and military stakeholders used the agency adversely and painted a consternating picture of its working environment. The civilian intelligence agency-Intelligence Bureau (IB) has been gradually neglected due to the consecutive military rule and weak democratic governments. The ISI today seems the most powerful agency and controls the policy decisions. The working of various intelligence agencies, militarisation of intelligence and ineffectiveness of the civilian intelligence are some of the issues discussed in the book.

"A Classic in Counterintelligence -- Now Back in Print"

Originally published in 1987, "Thwarting Enemies at Home and Abroad" is a unique primer that teaches the principles, strategy, and tradecraft of counterintelligence (CI). CI is often misunderstood and narrowly equated with security and catching spies, which are only part of the picture. As William R. Johnson explains, CI is the art of actively protecting secrets but also aggressively thwarting, penetrating, and deceiving hostile intelligence organizations to neutralize or even manipulate their operations.

Johnson, a career CIA intelligence officer, lucidly presents the nuts and bolts of the business of counterintelligence and the characteristics that make a good CI officer. Although written during the late Cold War, this book continues to be useful for intelligence professionals, scholars, and students because the basic principles of CI are largely timeless. General readers will enjoy the lively narrative and detailed descriptions of tradecraft that reveal the real world of intelligence and espionage. A new foreword by former CIA officer and noted author William Hood provides a contemporary perspective on this valuable book and its author.

The General Staff Division of Fremde Heere Ost (Military Intelligence Service, Eastern Section) which from 1942 was led by Reinhard Gehlen, was the nerve-centre of Hitler's military reconnaissance on the Eastern Front. This department worked professionally and was operationally and tactically reliable. However, at a strategic level there were clear deficits: the industrial capacity of the Soviet arms industry, the politico-military intentions and the details of the Red Army's plans for their offensive remained for the most part hidden from the department. When the Second World War ended, Gehlen put the documents and personnel of Fremde Heere Ost at the disposal of the Americans. With their support he was able to build a new foreign secret service which later evolved into the Federal Intelligence Service. In this book, military historian Magnus Pahl presents a complete overview of the structure, personnel and working methods of Fremde Heere Ost based on a tremendous array of archival sources. This work includes an extensive case study of the East Pomeranian Operation 1945. Pahl's study is a significant contribution to our understanding of German strategic, operational and tactical thinking on the Eastern Front 1941-45.

Over Iran an RAF Canberra flies a feint towards the Soviet border, to provoke Soviet air defence radar operators to reveal their location. He will not deliberately enter Soviet airspace, but the possibilities for miscalculation, or misunderstanding leading to tragedy are always there. These flights cost the lives of over 150 US airmen by the end of the Cold War. Also cruising nearby in Iranian airspace, is a heavily modified US Air Force C-130 transport aircraft. Onboard 10 Special Equipment Operators are listening through their headphones for Soviet radio and radar activity. Hearing Soviet ground controllers scramble fighters to intercept the Canberra. The US operators alert the British aircraft to the closing MiG's and it quickly alters course away from the border. This was the life of crews involved in Cold War intelligence collection flights. Enormous resources were committed to these operations and they shaped the structure of much modern military intelligence collection, analysis and sharing. This book explores their scope, conduct, plus the politics and new technologies behind these operations that started in the dying embers of World War Two. It examines how these often complex missions were planned, coordinated and flown and is supported by first-hand accounts from pilots, aircrews and intelligence analysts. It utilises recently declassified British and US archive material and is illustrated with a wide range of images. The author examines European and Far East operations and a number of topics not previously covered in depth elsewhere. These include authorisation and coordination arrangements for conduct of overflight and peripheral missions; plus the part played by key third party states in operations in Scandinavia, Turkey and others. He looks at why Tyuratam complex was of such major intelligence interest and details the many resources targeted against it. He looks at some of the less explored elements of U-2 operations, including British involvement, plus the development of powerful lenses intended to enable very long range peripheral photography and why the long mythologised `Kapustin Yar' overflight probably never took place with new details and analysis. This comprehensive book links together the realities of flying, advanced technology and politics to provide a detailed and illustrated examination of Cold War aerial intelligence collection.

In a rapidly changing environment, Intelligence Surveillance developed through different types of technologies, software, strategies and drones operations in Europe and the United Kingdom. There are various forms of surveillance mechanisms, including Human Agents, Computer Programs, and Global Positioning Satellite Devices. These surveillance devices are now even encroaching into the personal domain of the individuals without the knowledge of the individual being watched. In a surveillance state, people live in consternation, fear, and struggling to protect their privacy, family life, business secrets, and data. In a short period of time, it has amassed a rather sordid history of citizen surveillance- and it continues to be unlawful. These are some of the issues discussed in the book which has varied articles from the experts on the subject.

No external observer knows more about Myanmar's security and intelligence apparatus than Andrew Selth. In this book he presents an account of the structure and functions of Myanmar's deep state, along with a tale of personal ambition, rivalry and ruthless power politics worthy of John Le Carre. A thoroughly educative, entertaining and intriguing read."" - Professor Michael Wesley, Dean, College of Asia and the Pacific, The Australian National University ""Andrew Selth has once again amply illustrated the depth and penetration of his study of Myanmar/Burma and its institutions. This work on the more recent aspects of the country's intelligence apparatus goes beyond a masterful and comprehensive analysis of the Burmese intelligence community, and probes the social and institutional bases of the attitudes giving rise to that critical aspect of power. We are once again in Dr Selth's debt. This is required reading for serious observers of the Burmese scene."" - David I. Steinberg, Distinguished Professor of Asian Studies Emeritus, Georgetown University ""By lifting the lid on a pervasive yet secretive intelligence apparatus, Andrew Selth makes an outstanding contribution to Myanmar Studies. For scholars and practitioners alike, this book provides an essential history of a security state that remains powerful even during the transition away from overt authoritarian rule."" - Professor Ian Holliday, Vice-President (Teaching and Learning), The University of Hong Kong

Intelligence Operations: Understanding Data, Tools, People, and Processes helps readers understand the various issues and considerations an intelligence professional must tackle when reviewing, planning, and managing intelligence operations, regardless of level or environment. The book opens by introducing the reader to the many defining concepts associated with intelligence, as well as the main subject of intelligence: the threat. Additional chapters examine the community of intelligence, revealing where intelligence is actually practiced, as well as what defines and characterizes intelligence operations. Readers learn about the four critical components to every intelligence operation-data, tools, people, and processes-and then explore the various operational and analytic processes involved in greater detail. Throughout, the text encourages discovery and discussion, urging readers to first understand the material, then break it down, adapt it, and apply it in a way that supports their particular operations or requirements. Unique in approach and designed to assist professionals at all levels, Intelligence Operations is an excellent resource for both academic courses in the subject and practical application by intelligence personnel.

Globalisation continues to challenge our world at unprecedented speed. Technological innovations, changing geographical developments, regional rivalries, and destruction of national critical infrastructures in several Muslim states due to the US so-called war on terrorism-all transformed the structures and hierarchies of societies. The idea of the development of a nation that sounds on tripods that are food, shelter, and security failed. The Edward Snowden leaks challenged policymakers and the public understanding and perspectives on the role of security intelligence in liberal democratic states. The persisting imbalance of power in the United States, its institutional turmoil, and intelligence war, and the noticeably tilting power have made the country feel vulnerable and prodded it into military ventures. The calibration of Western allies around Whitehouse as the sole center of globalization has only brought instability, destruction, and loss of human lives.

Most discussions on electronic media and intellectual forums about the effects of globalization on national security focus on violent threats. Notwithstanding the plethora of books, journals and research papers on national and international security, there is an iota research work on issue of interconnectedness. The interconnectedness of violent threats and their mounting effect pose grave dangers to the aptitude of a state to professionally secure its territorial integrity. Technological evolution and aggrandized interlinkage of our world in general, and specifically information technology, has affected people and society in different ways. Daily life of every man and woman has become influenced by these challenges. The twenty first century appeared with different class of National Security threats. After the first decade, world leaders, research scholars, journalists, politicians, and security experts grasped that the world has become the most dangerous place. The avoidance of war was the primary objective of superpowers, but with the end of the Cold War, emergence of Takfiri Jihadism, extremism, and terrorism prompted many unmatched challenges. Home-grown extremism and radicalization continues to expose a significant threat to the National Security of the EU and Britain. The risks from state-based threats have both grown and diversified. The unmethodical and impulsive use of a military-grade nerve agent on British soil is the worse unlawful act of bioterrorists.