73 Rules of Spycraft by Dulles.txt

SOME ELEMENTS OF INTELLIGENCE WORK
    - Dulles

The greatest weapon a man or woman can bring to this type of work in which we
are engaged is his or her hard common sense. The following notes aim at being a
little common sense and applied form. Simple common sense crystallized by a
certain amount of experience into a number of rules and suggestions.

1. There are many virtues to be striven after in the job. The greatest of them
all is security. All else must be subordinated to that.

2. Security consists not only in avoiding big risks. It consists in carrying
out daily tasks with painstaking remembrance of the tiny things that security
demands. The little things are in many ways more important than the big ones.
It is they which oftenest give the game away. it is consistent care in them,
which form the habit and characteristic of security mindedness.

3. In any case, the man or woman who does not indulge in the daily security
routine, boring and useless though it may sometimes appear, will be found
lacking in the proper instinctive reaction when dealing with the bigger stuff.

4. No matter how brilliantly given an individual, no matter how great his
good will, if he is lacking in security, he will eventually prove more of a
liability than asset.

5. Even though you feel the curious outsider has probably a good idea that
you are not what you purport to be, never admit it. Keep on playing the other
part. It's amazing how often people will be led to think they were mistaken.
Or at least that you are our 'in the other stuff' only in a very mild way.
And anyhow, a person is quite free to think what he likes. The important
thing is that neither by admission or implication do you let him know.

6. Security, of course, does not mean stagnation or being afraid to go after
things. It means going after things, but reducing all the risks to a minimum
by hard work.

7 Do not overwork your cover to the detriment of your jobs; we must never get
so engrossed in the latter as to forget the former.

8 Never leave things lying about unattended or lay them down where you are
liable to forget them. Learn to write lightly; the “blank” page underneath has
often been read. Be wary of your piece of blotting paper. If you have to
destroy a document, do so thoroughly. Carry as little written matter as
possible, and for the shortest possible time. Never carry names or addresses
en clair. If you cannot carry them for the time being in your head, put them
in a species of personal code, which only you understand. Small papers and
envelopes or cards and photographs, ought to be clipped on to the latter,
otherwise they are liable to get lost. But when you have conducted an interview
or made arrangements for a meeting, write it all down and put it safely away
for reference. Your memory can play tricks.

9. The greatest vice in the game is that of carelessness. Mistakes made
generally cannot be rectified.

10. The next greatest vice is that of vanity. Its offshoots are multiple
and malignant.

11. Besides, the man with a swelled head never learns. And there is always a
great deal to be learned.

12. Booze is naturally dangerous. So also is an undisciplined attraction
for the other sex. The first loosens the tongue. The second does likewise.
It also distorts vision and promotes indolence. They both provide grand
weapons to an enemy.

13. It has been proved time and again, in particular, that sex and business
do not mix.

14. In this job, there are no hours. That is to say, one never leaves it down.
It is lived. One never drops one's guard. All locations are good for laying a
false trail (social occasions, for instance, a casual hint here, a phrase there).
All locations are good for picking something up, or collecting...for making a
useful acquaintance.

15. In a more normal sense of the term "no hours," it is certainly not a
business where people put their own private arrangements before their work.

16. That is not to say that one does not take recreation and holidays. Without
them it is not possible to do a decent job. If there is a real goodwill and
enthusiasm for the work, the two (except in abnormal circumstances) will always
be combined without the work having to suffer.

17. The greatest material curse to the profession, despite all its advantages,
is undoubtedly the telephone. It is a constant source of temptation to slackness.
And even if you do not use it carelessly yourself, the other fellow, very often
will, so in any case, warn him. Always act on the principle that every
conversation is listened to, that a call may always give the enemy a line.
Naturally, always unplug during confidential conversations. Even better is
it to have no phone in your room, or else have it in a box or cupboard.

18. Sometimes, for quite exceptional reasons, it may be permissible to use open
post as a channel of communications. Without these quite exceptional reasons,
allowing of no alternative, it is to be completely avoided.

19. When the post is used, it will be advisable to get through post boxes; that
is to say, people who will receive mail for you and pass it on. This ought to
be their only function. They should not be part of the show. They will have to
be chosen for the personal friendship which they have with you or with one of
your agents. The explanation you give them will depend on circumstances; the
letters, of course, must be apparently innocent incontinence. A phrase,
signature or embodied code will give the message. The letter ought to be
concocted in such fashion as to fit in with the recipient's social background.
The writer ought therefore to be given details of the post boxes assigned to
them. An insipid letter is in itself suspicious. If however, a signature or
phrase is sufficient to convey the message, then a card with greetings will do.

20. Make a day’s journey, rather than take a risk, either by phone or post.
If you do not have a prearranged message to give by phone, never dial your
number before having thought about your conversation. Do not improvise even the
dummy part of it. But do not be too elaborate. The great rule here, as in all
else connected with the job, is to be natural.

21. If you have phoned a line or a prospective line of yours from a public box
and have to look up the number, do not leave the book lying open on that page.

22. When you choose a safe house to use for meetings or as a depot, let it be
safe. If you can, avoid one that is overlooked by other houses. If it is, the
main entrance should be that used for other houses as well. Make sure there
are no suspicious servants. Especially, of course, be sure of the occupants.
Again, these should be chosen for reasons of personal friendship with some
member of the organization and should be discreet. The story told to them will
once again depend on circumstances. They should have no other place in the show,
or if this is unavoidable, then calls at the house should be made as far as
possible after dark.

23. Always be yourself. Always be natural inside the setting you have cast for
yourself. This is especially important when meeting people for the first time
or when traveling on a job or when in restaurants or public places in the course
of one. In trains or restaurants people have ample time to study those nearest
them. The calm quiet person attracts little attention. Never strain after an
effect. You would not do so in ordinary life. Look upon your job as perfectly
normal and natural.

24. When involved in business, look at other people as little as possible,
and don't dawdle. You will then have a good chance of passing unnoticed.
Looks draw looks.

25. Do not dress in a fashion calculated to strike the eye or to single you
out easily.

26. Do not stand around. And as well as being punctual yourself, see that
those with whom you are dealing are punctual. Especially if the meeting is
in a public place; a man waiting around will draw attention. But even if it
is not in a public place, try to arrive and make others arrive on the dot.
An arrival before the time causes as much inconvenience as one after time.

27. If you have a rendezvous, first make sure you are not followed. Tell the
other person to do likewise. But do not act in any exaggerated fashion. Do not
take a taxi to a house address connected with your work. If it cannot be
avoided, make sure you are not under observation when you get into it. Or give
another address, such as that of a café or restaurant nearby.

28. Try to avoid journeys to places where you will be noticeable. If you have
to make such journeys, repeat them as little as possible, and take all means to
make yourself fit in quietly with the background.

29. Make as many of your difficult appointments as you can after dark. Turn the
blackout to good use. If you cannot make it after dark, make it very early
morning when people are only half awake and not on the lookout for strange goings-on.

30. Avoid restaurants, cafes and bars for meetings and conversations. Above
all never make an initial contact in one of them. Let it be outside. Use
abundance of detail and description of persons to be met, and have one or two
good distinguishing marks. have a password that can be given to the wrong person
without unduly exciting infestation.

31. If interviews cannot be conducted in a safe house, then take a walk together
in the country. Cemeteries, museums and churches are useful places to bear in mind.

32. Use your own judgment as to whether or not you ought to talk to chance travel
or table companions. It may be useful. It may be the opposite. It may be of no
consequence whatsoever. Think, however, before you enter upon a real conversation,
whether this particular enlargement of the number of those who will recognize and
spot you in the future is liable or not to be a disadvantage. Always carry
reading matter. Not only will it save you from being bored, it is protective
armor if you want to avoid a conversation or to break off an embarrassing one.

33. Always be polite to people, but not exaggeratedly so. With the following
class of persons who come to know you — hotel and restaurant staffs, taxi drivers,
train personnel etc., be pleasant. Someday, they may prove useful to you.
Be generous in your tips to them, but again, not exaggeratedly so. Give just a
little more than the other fellow does - unless the cover under which you are
working does not permit this. Give only normal tips. however, to waiters and
taxi drivers, etc., when you are on the job. Don't give them any stimulus,
even of gratification, to make you stick in their minds. Be as brief and casual
as possible.

34. Easiness and confidence do not come readily to all of us. They must be
assiduously cultivated. Not only because they help us personally, but they also
help to produce similar reactions in those we are handling.

35. Never deal out the intense, the dramatic stuff, to a person before you have
quietly obtained his confidence in your levelheadedness.

36. If you're angling for a man, lead him around to where you want him; put the
obvious idea in his head, and make the suggestion of possibilities come to him.
Express, if necessary - but with great tact — a wistful disbelief in the
possibilities at which you are aiming. "How fine it would be if only someone
could... but of course, etc. etc." And always leave a line of retreat open to
yourself.

37. Never take a person for granted. Very seldom judge a person to be above
suspicion. Remember that we live by deceiving others. Others live by deceiving
us. Unless others take persons for granted or believe in them, we would never
get our results. The others have people as clever as we; if they can be taken in,
so can we. Therefore, be suspicious.

38. Above all, don't deceive yourself. Don't decide that the other person is
fit or is all right, because you yourself would like it to be that way. You are
dealing in people's lives.

39. When you have made a contact, till you are absolutely sure of your man — and
perhaps even then — be a small but eager intermediary. Have a "They" in the
background for whom you act and to whom you are responsible. If “They” are
harsh, if “They” decide to break it off, it is never any fault of yours, and
indeed you can pretend to have a personal grievance about it. “They” are always
great gluttons for results and very stingy with cash until “They" get them. When
the results come along, “They” always send messages of congratulation and encouragement.

40. Try to find agents who do not work for money alone, but for conviction.
Remember, however, that not by conviction alone, does the man live. If they
need financial help, give it to them. And avoid the “woolly" type of idealist,
the fellow who lives in the clouds.

41. Become a real friend of your agents. Remember that he has a human side so
bind him to you by taking an interest in his personal affairs and in his Family.
But never let the friendship be stronger than your sense of duty to the work.
That must always be impervious to any sentimental considerations. Otherwise,
your vision will be distorted, your judgment affected, and you may be reluctant,
even, to place your men in a position of danger. You may also, by indulgence
toward him, let him endanger others.

42. Gain the confidence of your agents, but be wary of giving them more of yours
than is necessary. He may fall by the way side; he may quarrel with you; it may
be advisable for a number of reasons to drop him. In that case, obviously, the
less information he possesses, the better. Equally obviously, if an agent runs
the risk of falling into the hands of the enemy, it is unfair both to him and
the show to put him in possession of more knowledge than he needs.

43. If your agent can be laid off work periodically, this is a very good thing.
And during his rest periods, let him show himself in another field and in other
capacities.

44. Teach them at least the elements of technique. Do not merely leave it to his
own good judgment, and then hope for the best. Insist, for a long time at least,
on his not showing too much initiative, but make him carry out strictly the
instructions which you give him. His initiative will he tested when unexpected
circumstances arise. Tell him off soundly when he errs; praise him when he does
well.

45. Do not be afraid to be harsh, or even harsh with others, if it is your duty
to be so. You are expected to be likewise with yourself. When necessity arises
neither your own feelings not those of others matter. Only the job — the lives
and safety of those entrusted to you — is what counts.

46. Remember that you have no right to expect of others what you are not prepared
to do yourself. But on the other hand, do not rashly expose yourself in any
unnecessary displays of personal courage that may endanger the whole shooting
match. It often takes more moral courage to ask another fellow to do a dangerous
task than to do it yourself. But if this is the proper course to follow, then
you must follow it.

47. If you have an agent who is really very important to you, who is almost
essential to your organization, try not to let them know this. Infer, without
belittling him, that there are other lines and other groups of a bigger nature
inside the shadow, and that — while he and his particular group are doing fine
work — they are but part of a mosaic.

48. Never let your agent get the bit between his teeth and run away with you.
If you cannot manage it easily yourself, there are always the terrible “They.”

49. But if your agent knows the ground on which he is working better than you,
always be ready to listen to his advice and to consult him. The man on the spot
is the man who can judge.

50. In the same way, if you get directives from HQ, which to you seem ill-advised,
do not be afraid to oppose these directives. You are there for pointing things out.
This is particularly so if there is grave danger to security without a real
corresponding advantage for which the risk may be taken. For that, fight anybody
with everything you’ve got.

51. If you have several groups, keep them separate unless the moment comes for
concerted action. Keep your lines separate; and within the bounds of reason and
security, try to multiply them. Each separation and each multiplication minimizes
the danger of total loss. Multiplication of lines also gives the possibility of
resting each line, which is often a very desirable thing.

52. Never set a thing really going, whether it be big or small, before you see
it in its details. Do not count on luck. Or only on bad luck.

53. When using couriers, who are in themselves trustworthy — (here again, the
important element of personal friendship ought to be made to play its part) —
but whom it is better to keep in the dark as to the real nature of what they
are carrying, commercial smuggling will often provide an excellent cover. Apart
from being a valid reason for secrecy, it gives people a kick and also provides
one with a reason for offering payment. Furthermore, it involves a courier in
something in which it is in his own personal advantage to conceal.

54. To build this cover, should there be no bulk of material to pass, but only a
document or a letter, it will be well always to enclose this properly sealed
in a field dummy parcel with an unsealed outer wrapping

55. The ingredients for any new setup are: serious consideration of the field
and of the elements at your disposal; the finding of one key man or more; safe
surroundings for encounter; safe houses to meet in; post boxes; couriers; the
finding of natural covers and pretext for journeys, etc.; the division of
labor; separation into cells; the principal danger in constructing personal
friendships between the elements (this is enormously important); avoidance of
repetition.

56. The thing to aim at, unless it is a question of a special job, is not quick
results, which may blow up the show, but the initiation of a series of results,
which will keep on growing and which, because the show has the proper protective
mechanism to keep it under cover, will lead to discovery.

57. Serious groundwork is much more important than rapid action. The organization
does not merely consist of the people actively working but the potential agents
whom you have placed where they may be needed, and upon whom you may call, if
need arises.

58. As with an organization, so with a particular individual. His first job in
a new field is to forget about evetything excepting his groundwork; that is,
the effecting of his cover. Once people label him, the job is half done. People
take things so much for granted and only with difficulty change their sizing-up
of a man once they have made it. They have to be jolted out of it. It is up to
you to see that they are not. If they do suspect, do not take it that all is
lost and accept the position. Go back to your cover and build it up again. You
will at first puzzle them and finally persuade them.

59. The cover you choose will depend upon the type of work that you have to do.
So also will the social life in which you indulge. It may be necessary to lead
a full social existence; it may be advisable to stay in the background. You
must school yourself not to do any wishful thinking in the sense of persuading
yourself that what you want to do is what you ought to do.

60. Your cover and social behavior, naturally, ought to be chosen to fit in
with your background and character. Neither should be too much of a strain.
Use them well. Imprint them, gradually but steadfastly on people’s minds. When
your name crops up in conversation they must have something to say about you,
something concrete outside of your real work.

61. The place you live in is often a thorny problem. Hotels are seldom
satisfactory. A flat of your own where you have everything under control is
desirable; if you can share it with a discreet friend who is not in the
business, so much the better. You can relax into a normal life when you get
home, and he will also give you an opportunity of cover. Obviously the greatest
care is to be taken in the choice of servants. But it is preferable to have a
reliable servant than to have none at all. People cannot get in to search or fix
telephones, etc. in your absence. And if you want to not be at home for awkward
callers (either personal or telephonic), servants make that possible.

62. If a man is married, the presence of his wife may be an advantage or
disadvantage. That will depend on the nature of the job — as well as on the
nature of the husband and wife.

63. Should a husband tell his wife what he is doing? It is taken for granted
that people in this line are possessed of discretion and judgment. If a man
thinks his wife is to be trusted, then he may certainly tell her what he is
doing — without necessarily telling her the confidential details of particular
jobs. It would be fair to neither husband nor wife to keep her in the dark
unless there were serious reasons demanding this. A wife would naturally have
to be coached in behavior in the same way as an agent.

64. Away from the job, among your other contacts, never know too much. Often
you will have to bite down on your vanity, which would like to show what you
know. This is especially hard when you hear a wrong assertion being made or a
misstatement of events.

65. Not knowing too much does not mean not knowing anything. Unless there is a
special reason for it, it is not good either to appear a nitwit or a person
lacking in discretion. This does not invite the placing of confidence in you.

66. Show your intelligence, but be quiet on anything along the line you are working.
Make others do the speaking. A good thing sometimes is to be personally interested
as “a good patriot and anxious to pass along anything useful to official channels
in the hope that it may eventually get to the right quarter.”

67. When you think a man is possessed of useful knowledge or may in other ways
be of value to you, remember that praise is acceptable to the vast majority of
men. When honest praise is difficult, a spot of flattery will do equally well.

68. Within the limits of your principles, be all things to all men. But don’t
betray your principles. The strongest force in your show is you. Your sense of
right, your sense of respect for yourself and others. And it is your job to
bend circumstances to your will, not to let circumstances bend or twist you.

69. In your work, always be in harmony with your own conscience. Put yourself
periodically in the dock for cross examination. You can never do more than your
best; only your best is good enough. And remember that only the job counts —
not you personally, excepting satisfaction of a job well done.

70. It is one of the finest jobs going. no matter how small the part you play may
appear to be. Countless people would give anything to be in it. Remember that
and appreciate the privilege. No matter what others may do, play your part well.

71. Never get into a rut. Or rest on your oars. There are always new lines around
the corner, always changes and variations to be introduced. Unchanging habits
of work lead to carelessness and detection.

72. If anything, overestimate the opposition. Certainly never underestimate it.
But do not let that lead to nervousness or lack of confidence. Don't get
rattled, and know that with hard work, calmness, and by never irrevocably
compromising yourself, you can always, always best them.

73. Lastly, and above all — REMEMBER SECURITY.

PS. The above points are not intended for any cursory, even interested, glance.
They will bear — each of them — serious attention, and at least occasional
re-perusal. It is probable, furthermore, that dotted here and there among them
will be found claims that have particular present application for each person
who reads them. These, naturally, are meant to be acted upon straightaway.