The following excerpt regarding ‘Using spies’ from the widely read ancient book, “The Art Of War” by Sun Tzu (China) written 2500 years ago, is fascinating in that one can read it and interpret it at many levels. While the book relates to ‘war’, the techniques within are used far beyond that – including in business, politics, government…
With that said, some of you might find it interesting as to the five types of spies which are most certainly in play right now – perhaps within the politics of the business or corporation where you currently work, and without a doubt used by your so called ‘ruler’ and within your own .gov (here domestically, and abroad) particularly within certain alphabet agencies…
At the end, curious to hear your own experiences or examples perhaps regarding your place of employment and/or your suspicions or opinions as they relate to current events and politics…
What enables a wise ruler and an able general to attack decisively and to succeed where ordinary men fail, is foreknowledge. It is obtained from men who have accurate knowledge of the enemy’s position.
To this end there are five types of spy you may use. The local spy, the internal spy, the converted spy, the expendable spy and the permanent spy. If you use all five types, no-one can fathom their machinations — it is a kind of divine organization, and is a ruler’s greatest treasure.
Local spies are recruited from the enemy’s peasantry, and internal spies from their court officials. Converted spies mean using the enemy’s own spies against them. Expendable spies are those who are fed false information so that it may be picked up by the enemy’s own spies. Permanent spies are the ones who concentrate on bringing back reports.
This is your whole army, none should be closer to you than your spies; none should be more richly rewarded; and no secret more closely guarded than your spy network. Spies must be used sagaciously and treated with benevolence and virtue; and you must use the utmost subtlety to be sure of obtaining true reports from your spies. Subtlety is the key. There are no circumstances where spies cannot be used.
sagaciously: having acute mental discernment and keen practical sense; shrewd
benevolence: desire to do good to others; goodwill; charitableness
If a spy lets slip information before a plan has come to fruition, then both the spy and anyone he has told must be put to death. Whether you wish to destroy an army, attack a city or assassinate somebody, the first essential is to identify by name the general in command, his attendants, his aids, his gatekeepers and bodyguards. You should order your spies to obtain this information.
When you find the enemy’s agents spying on you, offer them brides, lavish care on them and lodge them handsomely. Thus they may become converted spies and be of use to you. It is through these converted spies that you will be able to recruit local spies and internal spies. It is through them that your expendable spies will feed false reports to the enemy. And it is also through them that your permanent spies will be able to act as occasion demands. A ruler must know how to employ all five kinds of spy, and this understanding comes necessarily from the converted spy. Therefore treat none more generously than your converted spies.
A wise ruler or an able general must select only the most intelligent men to act as his spies and then he will be sure of achieving great things. This is a necessity of war, and an army depends on it to act.
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The biggest spies in my life is the US government, and supposedly on my side too. Yet I do not trust them at all.
I dont need to read a book to tell me what I know inherently: never trust a spy, no matter what intel or ‘side’.
On another note, has anyone thought hard about the EPA’s Animas River toxic spill? The Animas River is part of the Animas-La Plata water project which is to bring water to the Ute and Navaho natives. Most of that reclamation was finishing up prior to this “spill”.
From what I’ve been reading (including an article at rt.com: “The Animas flows into the San Juan River in New Mexico, and the San Juan flows into Utah, where it joins the Colorado River in Lake Powell. There are also reports that the contaminated water is heading towards Utah.”
Utah is one of the Jade-Helm-declared hostile states. And it’s filled w/ prepper minded conservatives.
@ Lynn
Yeppers I live with a wonderful view of the Gatorade colored Animas. My water district has about 60 days or reserve water, that’s it. All water being pulled form the Animas has been stopped, Ranchers, Farmers, Water Municipalities, Fishing, Rafting, Everything has stopped. It’s the King Gold mine that the EPA, yes I said EPA broke the “plug” holding millions of gallons of extremely EXTREMELY toxic waste water into the Cement Creek that flows directly into the Animas River.. At last knowledge I have it’s down to about 500 gallons a minute still dumping toxic water. The water contains a HUGE list of toxins including Lead, Arsenic, Cadmium, Iron (the orange color), probably Mercury, and so on, the EPA refused (literally refuses)to release the total list so far…..
Yes it has passed through Farmington NM, has merged with the San Juan River, on it’s way to Utah, and Lake Powell, which feeds a very large portion of SoCal.
This is vary bad, most locals are thinking the EPA has latterly killed all water-life in the Animas for years and years to come. The Animas runs from Silverton CO, to Farmington NM. Had one neighbor say “the fish are starting to float”.
As a side note NAPA feeds it’s water from the San Juan above the “mix” with the Animas. but all water south and west of Farmington is contaminated.
Do you really trust the Government? Here is another example. Although they did release a statement…… “We’re very sorry”. Nice huh?
NRP
When a person thinks of “government,” the word “efficiency” never comes to mind. The EPA clearly made a large mistake in this case.
That said, those that mined and profited, or profit still from this type of mine, should not hold me the taxpayer responsible for paying for the damages. This implies that any type of business should be able to extract as much profit as possible up until there is a stoppage to the profit or there are repercussions that may or may not have been projected in which case everyone should help pay the bill. This is folly.
Spying leads to poison water and Utah. I love irony.
@Sysiphus
I agree that the taxpayers should not be left holding the cleanup bill for this. Those that profited should. Profit is the result of income being greater than an expense. Waste removal and spill clean ups should be part of their expenses. They took responsibility when they signed for their checks, now they need to take responsibility for the spill. Oops just ain’t gonna cut it. Unless they’re saying, oops now I need to sell my Mercedes, my lake house, my private jet, etc.
Then again, what say do we the taxpayers have? We’re already sending money all over the globe as if it was our number one export (probably is). What is all that money anyway? Is it aid of some kind, or is it a leave us alone bribe?
Oh and I couldn’t resist leaving this quote by Grampa on The Simpsons, “EeeeeeeeePAaaaaa!”
Sysiphus, You are correct about mining bailouts. A business’ burden always falls on taxpayers to bail them out for their corrupt/unethical business practices. It happens all the time, and not just out west. Look at all of the coal mines in the eastern mountain zones. The land has been so destroyed that even “reclamation” cannot stop the landslides and flooding in the mountain states. West Virginia has had more federal declarations from FEMA due to mining-caused landslides…so it is the US working-class taxpayer who inevitably bails out those mining corporations.
Well unfortunately this mine has been shut down for decades, also the mine had been sealed off and the EPA took over the site knowing full well the problems with it. Called a super-fund site. This is nothing but a full blown EPA screw up, we’ll see how it pans out. So there is nobody to sell their Mercedes. The ones that caused the problem is the EPA by disturbing the site, they have taken full responsibility for this. So yes, we the tax payers will pay for this in more than one way.
FYI, again the EPA lied, the spill now is reported to be will over 3 million gallons of highly toxic materials, for example, the Arsenic is 300 times higher that legally allowed, the Lead almost 500 times.
And I know this is off subject Ken, but someone asked.
NRP
NRP, Thanks so much for your perspective and knowledge about Animas River. I was hoping that there was at least one reader here who had eyes-on-the-ground there.
I’m so sorry that your local environment has been destroyed. In the end, we are all affected — we are all downriver.
NPR, I used to live at the bottom of 37th St where I could see the Animas (River of the Lost Souls) from my bedroom window. Dont tell me that beautiful strech of water has gone sour? I have eaten many a Brown Trout out of her back in the day. But heck that was 23 years ago☺. Oh how I miss Durango mostly Gespachos tacos and a burger at Old Tymers.
Interesting topic. It’s not something I could do. I don’t like using people. On the other hand I am aware that anything you tell someone can and will get back to the wrong person. That person may be trustworthy but they may let slip by accident or tell someone on purpose if they fully trust the person they talk too. There may even be eavesdropping devices near you when you talk to someone. I also heard that the government can even listen to your conversations through your cell phone even if you are not using it, or your computer. The cell phone give away by the government makes a lot of sense now. Why would you need spies when you can listen to the person directly.
@ Peanut
FYI, even though you turn your phone off, it can still be accessed by the Gov. you have to completely remove all power (battery) for it to not be a NSA earpiece.
NRP
Just Say’n , I have read, heard on radio, that even with battery out, these lovely new phones can still be tracked…
well, OF COURSE, this was only for emergency purposes, as in if someone called 911…but, they have been tracked.
Proof of this is the large number of emergency calls where emergency personal were sent out, and it turned out to be children playing with old cell phones, given them by parents for play. Batteries and SIM cards had been removed.
Just Say’n
Cameras on everything,phones,computers,red lights. New TVs. I think there is something in HD circuit that can see & hear you. Think about it. Old TVs have to have it now to get reception, the picture is better but really ??? Then you have Bluetooth in cars, they know if you are in there. Just a thought.
Quote, “That person may be trustworthy but they may let slip by accident or tell someone on purpose if they fully trust the person they talk too.”
OPSEC (Operational Security) is very important when deciding what to say and to whom you’re saying it. People love to ‘talk’…
Old Italian proverb – “beware the devil bearing gifts” (alternatively, “beware the devil’s caresses”)
I had read somewhere that the reason the US Government had such a hard time finding Osama Bin Laden is because he would not allow anything electronic where he was hiding, including electricity. They actually found him by tracking a courier who had a cell phone. If you have electricity then your privacy is non existent.
Call it a spy, mole, or plant; converted or otherwise, if I were an enemy of the United States (wise ruler/ able general) and wanted to destroy it I’d place that person at the highest level of the government itself.
I’d have him stack all agencies with known enemies of state, create agencies which didn’t exist and stack those.
He would pack the government with ‘CZARS’ (God knows how many, now) tasked with overseeing the devastation, because my personnel minions can’t handle it all.
Support regulations and oversight which brings the economy to it’s knees. Force people out of the workforce, allow them to eat,,, then call it the new normal.
I’d have him unilaterally dismantle it’s military, and nuclear deterrent,,, all the while encouraging (heck,,, helping) it’s enemies to build up their forces.
I’d have him use the massive power’s of the federal government, to suppress the opposition’s from free people, cheat, lie and steal from those that have at least a vague understanding of the ‘Founding’.
He would be tasked with taking a well-intentioned ‘Patriot Act’, and turn it around to keep it’s own people under scrutiny (my biggest threat).
Yes, I am alive and out there.
As the great ‘George S. Patton’ once said when he defeated a ‘Rommel’ offensive in Northern Africa.
“I read your book!!!!!”
ST, you speak of the USA government! All that you say applies! Your not Obama are you? 🙂
Biggest spy I know of is Google. I recently checked my location and there are identifiable “things” in the yard that I know were only there for only a month, last month.
From what I hear, about 30 years ago the rulers spies had satellite imagery that could read 3 inch high text. Today they can probably discern where I cut myself shaving this morning and what type of razor I used.
@Edward
I guess they just don’t update my area very often. I started building my cabin two years ago and it’s still not on the map. It’s still showing the 2011 tornado damage. I wonder what their criteria is for their updates.
Grits,
That is interesting. We are in a pretty remote area ourselves and yet the google car and Bing car has been seen in town this summer! Humm, maybe the rulers are overly interested in us for some reason:)
Luckily our home has steel mesh throughout the shell so the rulers high tech space based radars won’t work! But then again if they really what in there is no practical way to stop them:(
I’ve heard that three people can keep a secret if two of them are dead; maybe all three. I recon that if one does not volunteer information it can’t be gathered. Accepting “free” email from Google and others is an obvious set up. They tell you they are going to use information in your correspondence to profile you and send you “relevant” adds. What could your expectation of privacy be when using these free email sites?
Facebook is a trackers dream. It makes everyone show their butts like they are reality TV stars. The government couldn’t pry the information out of people that they volunteer on Facebook with absolutely no expectation of privacy. Uncle Sam just feeds everything into huge databases and uses Google like search engines to compile everything there is to know about someone in seconds. They are designing algorithms and mining data that will tell them who will likely commit what “crimes” and who the victims will be before the “crime” takes place. Spies are obsolete. Old Sun Tzu would be doing back flips if he had these tools to work with. He could program his five spies and a whole lot more not to mention the lack of discretion in the ranks of the spied on. Party on dudes the ship might be sinking but the band–the band is great.
The alphabet agencies are supposed to br under control of the warden, but the warden is on a permanent speaking tour to future corrupters. I for one trust no one associated with any agency or government, local, state or federal. This breakout of spies is right on target…be careful when you speak. I am thankful too that I am in the later years of life, for the future generations are in for rough travels.
I’ve often wondered if websites like these are a way to get individuals who are mindful of the current times/events to share all of their personal preparedness info with others under the idea that it’s “anonymous.” Hmmm…
I am still working within a government organization at my age and the key to my longevity within this organization has been the reading of the Art Of War. Not everything will readily transfer over though with time and insight, it is scary how many of the principles will be applicable.
Case in point: Expendable spies: The office gossip. No better mechanism for spreading bullsh-t has been invented. Very useful for broadcasting false information.
Capture the resources of your enemy, especially those items that they throw away. Take those items/people and retask them and use them against your enemy. They grow weaker, You grow stronger. I have created teams of people at work from employees that were shunned by other groups. (converted spies and local spies) With the right training and a little help, these people can succeed working with me where they were washed out of another rival group.
Choose the time and place of the battle and set for yourself limited objectives. This prevents the modern worker from taking anything personal within the workplace (don’t get mad, get even) This also teaches the worker to be proactive about getting something done as opposed to constantly reacting to another thing going wrong.
The book was not only the bible of the Guerilla fighter, It is required reading at many business schools in addition to the Army War College after our involvement in Viet Nam last century.
Catching spies involves setting up a sting operation and is the ultimate “spy versus spy” game. It can be fun though it usually involves somebody being terminated or disciplined within your agency.
I would recommend this book be read by anybody working within a large government organization. Especially if you are just starting out. The book is not written by just one man. It was compiled over a thousand years of hard won experience and many campaigns fought. (and many soldiers that have died on the field of battle)
If you read this blog : You know life is a struggle at times and there are and will be times of conflict. This book is written for a person that is small of stature, short of resources and lacking in strength. It teaches you to work/fight smart. Surviving is tough conditions is all about being smart and conserving your resources. (helping your trusted neighbor is a very smart strategy)
Be warned: it is not light reading. I still have several copies in my library that have survived numerous moves. People at work always get worried when they see me read it. It is much better than “the Seven Habits of Successful People”
Excellent examples… Thanks for your comment.
P.S. I still work for a government agency but do I trust our government?: “Oh God No.”