Assessment Of British Intelligence Operations Against Essay Example

terms of commercial and military details.

Once the World War 1 ended, the focus of Secret Intelligence Service concentrated on the political aspect of the Bolshevik government in Russia lead by Sir Mansfield Smith-Cumming.This continued all through the 1920s and Russian Bolshevism and Communism, in general, became the prime target. In 1918, an extensive operation was carried out by Sir Robert Bruce Lockhart and Sidney George Reilly, agents of Secret Intelligence Service, to overthrow the government held by the Bolshevik in Russia.

This operation failed but this led by Captain George Hill ensured to continue orthodox espionage operation efforts in the early days of Soviet Russia.It should be remembered that during the 1939-1945 it was the Nazi government in Germany that was treated as the major threat by the British government and the Secret Intelligence Service. During this time, the Soviet Russia became an ally of the British against the Germans but this fact did not stop the Secret Intelligence Service to discard espionage and carried on episodes against the Soviets.

The post WWII and the pre Cold War saw the further development of networking system by the British Secret Intelligence Service in Soviet Union.A great network of counter-espionage department was developed to compromise the USSR. This became a regular feature of Secret Intelligence Service’s routine after decoding the paradox of the infamous Russian agent Harold Adrian Russell Philby or "Kim" Philby. It can be stated that the espionage and the counter-espionage activities between the British SIS and its Russian counterpart was not merely a battle between the two super powers; it was actually an extensive battle for much of the world in the jockeying for position as

world powers.

The battles that provided hot spots between these super powers would include Albania, which in all aspects was one that most of the British international political respect would have been a conflict that should never have been fought by the British forces. The Korean Conflict, unlike the war in Vietnam, was one in which international cooperation was seen on both sides of the situation. These battles in Kosovo, Ethiopia, Somalia and such would only represent a small portion of the battles that occurred during the counter espionage years of the SIS.Others included civil wars in China and Greece, both of which would be considered wars of state in analysis. Notice, it was a change of perception throughout the SIS espionage period that would have facilitated these wars and their resulting alterations of the world’s political and social landscape particularly against Soviet Russia. The SIS espionage system ensured both systemic and governmental alterations on a global scale.

It is true that both the UK and USSR espionage systems are to be blamed for the military and intelligence development that took place all over the world during the subsequent decades.Both parties indulged in an arms race that involved several other nations and communities and it can well be stated that the threat of the 21st century, or Islamic fundamentalism, came into power due to this race. Thus, it is obvious to believe that at a time when two powerful nations fight against each other, not always physically or directly, in a fruitless battle it becomes relevant that a third party would certainly benefit from this conflict. This is what happened with outfits like Al-Quada and its mentor

Osama Bin Laden.History teaches us to draw knowledge from our mistakes and the cold war was a mistake that ultimately resulted in the disaster of 9/11. In conclusion, it can be stated that British administration was in the middle of the initial phases of the Cold war.

At the end of the WWII British War office was extremely worried about the Soviet Union’s opportunity in establishing itself while Europe and the UK were busy recovering their economic positions. In the meanwhile, insurgency in Greece was led by communist hardliners and Truman interpreted it as an extended intervention of Soviet Union intelligence.As a result, in 1947, the Truman Doctrine was formulated which intended to support all democratic government. In other words, Truman utilized US power to intervene any communist effort at any region devoid of Soviet Union’s presence and the British, along with it the SIS, became involved directly. This was the fundamental of the Cold War and it could be stated that the SIS was in the middle of it due to all its initial operations against the Soviet Union.

The mistrust the service conveyed on the communist Russia was soon reciprocated by the Soviets and the snowball effects made way for a bipolar race of power struggle.