Wilderness Of Mirrors
David Freddoso at The Examiner thinks that a story claiming that Wikileaks is a government plot is a tin foil hat theory. I'm not so sure.
Document dumps with lots of verifiable facts plus a few ringers is a standard and very old way to plant false information where it will do some good (the intel folks hope).
Is that what happened in this case? Who knows?
But in tin foil hat territory it is not.
Of course if you are working with the intel folks calling such a theory "tin foil hat" territory is a very good move.
Which just gets you into a Wilderness of Mirrors. There is a book by that name that I highly recommend:
Wilderness of Mirrors: Intrigue, Deception, and the Secrets that Destroyed Two of the Cold War's Most Important Agents
Another very good book on the subject dealing with intelligence and counter intelligence in WW2 that I can also highly recommend is:
Bodyguard of Lies
H/T Instapundit
Cross Posted at Classical Values
Posts
2 comments:
Nasty creatures grow by the light of dark. It seems every stone that is lifted reveals more rot underneath itself.
The only solution to the 'wilderness of mirrors' is an end to the secrets. That means leaving no stone unturned - rolling them over to discover what heads should roll, who should be jailed and who should be set free.
It is only by the light of popular knowledge that the dirty workings of the state and its corporate lackeys is revealed.
The surgeon has his powerful light to see the cancer he is to cut from the organic body, as we have the Internet and other forms of communication to see what cancers need be cut from the body politic. Whether the cancers are real or lies is itself another rock which must be overturned.
It is the responsibility of the people of a nation and all over the world to keep turning over rocks and raking muck until the bedrock be found. A simple enough task if enough dedicated citizens pluck up the courage to do so.
Two unrelated items in this comment.
1. Every thing I ever learned about controlling sensitive information hinges on things like "compartmentalization" -- the concept that divides up who knows what into compartments such that if one person or one compartment, or lots of people or lots of compartments are breached, compromised or turned, you don't lose the whole enchilada.
This guy spilled too much about unrelated things from too many places.
2. I once participated in a seminar where the topic was management of people, but the instructor had one point that has stuck with me for 30 years or more--the only thing I remember about the thing.
In the matter of keeping tight "security" and protecting secrets he said (and I believe) that your enemies and your competition knows aqs much about you as th4ey want to know.
The people who do NOT know are your friends, your customers, your suppliers, and your employees, upon all of whom you depend for success.
Post a Comment