The Haversack Ruge, The Trout Memo, Operation Mincemeat, The Steele Dossier and The Ukrainian Whistle Blower.

Great Moments in Deception

When one thinks of the secret services the thoughts of spies and sabotage arise. But some of the greatest successes have come from the planting of disinformation to send the enemy in the wrong direction or to undermine support for their cause. Let’s look at a few that we know about. There are probably many more that will never see the light of day.

The Haversack Ruse: In October of 1917 false British battle plans were left to fall into Ottoman hands. While the Turks didn’t buy the plan the story has survived and grown like a proverbial fish story. Which brings us to :

The Trout Memo was written in 1939 under Rear Admiral John Godfrey and penned by Lieutenant Colonel Ian Fleming. The deception of the enemy in wartime is like fly fishing. “The trout fisher casts patiently all day. He frequently changes his venue and his lures. If he has freightened a fish he may give the water a rest for half-an-hour, but his main endeavor is to attract fish by something he sends out from his boat is incessant.

Operation Mincemeat was a deception to make Hitler think the allies were about to invade Greece and not Sicily. It worked and the memo to Churchill said the swallowed it rod, line and sinker.

The Steele Dossier was done by a former MI-6 agent. Whether he had any government support is unknown but it was likely as most bureaucrats were anti-Brexit and Trump was supportive of the Brexit factions. In any event the Dossier has greatly hindered an elected government’s first term.

The Ukrainian Whistle-blower has all of the looks of a CIA inspired plot: a CIA handler, a mole in the White House, a secret change in the rules, wide exposure and the neutralizing of the enemy’s fighting ability. Great job Adam Schiff and Eric Ciaramella.