THE USE OF SPIES
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Sun Tzu said: Raising a host of a hundred thousand men and engaging them in
war entails heavy loss on the people and a drain on the resources. The daily
expenditure will amount to a thousand ounces of silver. There will be
commotion at home and abroad, and men will drop out exhausted.
Opposing forces may face each other for years, striving for the victory
which may be decided in a single day. This being so, to remain in ignorance
of the enemy's condition simply because one grudges the outlay of a hundred
ounces of silver is the height of stupidity.
One who acts thus is no leader of men, no present help to his cause, no
master of victory. Thus, what enables the wise commander to strike and
conquer, and achieve things beyond the reach of ordinary men, is
foreknowledge. Now this foreknowledge cannot be elicited from spirits; it
cannot be obtained inductively from experience, nor by any deductive
calculation. Knowledge of the enemy's dispositions can only be obtained from
other men.
Hence the use of spies, of whom there are five classes: (1) Local spies -
Having local spies means employing the services of the inhabitants of an
enemy territory; (2) Moles - Having moles means making use of officials of
the enemy; (3) Double agents - Having double agents means getting hold of
the enemy's spies and using them for our own purposes; (4) Doomed spies -
Having doomed spies means doing certain things openly for purposes of
deception, and allowing our spies to know of them and report them to the
enemy; (5) Surviving spies - Surviving spies means are those who bring back
news from the enemy's camp.
When these five kinds of spy are all at work, none can discover the secret
system. This is called "divine manipulation of the threads." It is the
commander's most precious faculty. Hence it is that which none in the whole
army are more intimate relations to be maintained than with spies. None
should be more liberally rewarded. In no other fields should greater secrecy
be preserved.
(1) Spies cannot be usefully employed without a certain intuitive sagacity;
(2) They cannot be properly managed without benevolence and straight
forwardness; (3) Without subtle ingenuity of mind, one cannot make certain
of the truth of their reports; (4) Be subtle! be subtle! and use your spies
for every kind of warfare; (5) If a secret piece of news is divulged by a
spy before the time is ripe, he must be put to death together with the man
to whom the secret was told.
Whether the object be to crush an enemy, to storm a territory, or to kill an
enemy general, it is always necessary to begin by finding out the names of
the attendants, the aides-de-camp, and door-keepers and sentries of the
general in command. Our spies must be commissioned to ascertain these.
The enemy's spies who have come to spy on us must be sought out, tempted
with bribes, led away and comfortably housed. Thus they will become double
agents and available for our service. It is through the information brought
by the double agent that we are able to acquire and employ local and inward
spies. It is owing to his information, again, that we can cause the doomed
spy to carry false tidings to the enemy.
Lastly, it is by his information that the surviving spy can be used on
appointed occasions. The end and aim of spying in all its five varieties is
knowledge of the enemy; and this knowledge can only be derived, in the first
instance, from the double agent. Hence it is essential that the double agent
be treated with the utmost liberality.
Hence it is only the enlightened and wise general who will use the highest
intelligence of the army for purposes of spying and thereby they achieve
great results. Spies are the most important asset, because on them depends
an army's ability to march.
|
To be contacted for a confidential consultation please E-mail: jmatk@tscm.com
or send a letter via US Mail to:
or call:
URL: http://www.tscm.com/ |