{"id":60490,"date":"2020-11-15T13:00:42","date_gmt":"2020-11-15T02:00:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/?p=60490"},"modified":"2020-11-15T12:58:05","modified_gmt":"2020-11-15T01:58:05","slug":"the-australian-secret-intelligence-service-007-blessing-and-curse","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/the-australian-secret-intelligence-service-007-blessing-and-curse\/","title":{"rendered":"The Australian Secret Intelligence Service: 007 blessing and curse"},"content":{"rendered":"<figure><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"863\" height=\"645\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-60495\" src=\"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/007-whorl.jpg\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/007-whorl.jpg 863w, https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/007-whorl-205x153.jpg 205w, https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/007-whorl-768x574.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 863px) 100vw, 863px\" \/><\/figure>\n<p>When intelligence folk smell roses, they look for the funeral. That bit of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.mi5.gov.uk\/news\/the-olympics-and-beyond\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">spy lore<\/a> is about finding the opportunity in the threats (or vice versa).<\/p>\n<p>The lore hints at the mystique of the trade: the allure of secrets.<\/p>\n<p>As a former head of Oz spies (the Australian Secret Intelligence Service) and spy-catchers (the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation), David Irvine takes a droll view of the forbidden-fruit fascination of both secrets and sex. Irvine <a href=\"https:\/\/www.lowyinstitute.org\/the-interpreter\/safeguards-australias-intelligence-ecosystem\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">cites<\/a> this wonderful bit of fruitiness from a top British diplomat, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.chathamhouse.org\/publications\/the-world-today\/2004-01\/uses-and-abuses-intelligence-defending-british-spies\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Rodric Braithwaite<\/a>:<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>\u2018The subject of intelligence attracts attention out of proportion to its real importance. My theory is that this is because secrets are like sex. Most of us think that others get more than we do. Some of us cannot have enough of either. Both encourage fantasy. Both send the press into a feeding frenzy. All this distorts sensible discussion.\u2019<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>For journalists, sex and secrets must lead to James Bond (\u2018<a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2020\/11\/02\/fashion\/mens-style-sean-connery-bond-suits.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">racy without careening into the red zone of camp<\/a>\u2019). And so it was in the final episode of the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/report\/asis-interviews\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">ASPI interviews<\/a> with the director-general of the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.asis.gov.au\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Australian Secret Intelligence Service<\/a>, Paul Symon, the question was posed: Is James Bond a blessing or a curse? Both, replied Symon:<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>A blessing because on holidays it\u2019s a darn good read or darn good movie. Curse, because there\u2019s so much wrong\u2014there\u2019s so much wrong with the way he performs his function. He\u2019s licensed to kill. We don\u2019t give people a licence to kill. He has, one would suggest, an ego, aspects of narcissism that wouldn\u2019t fit comfortably with my people. So, he\u2019s a blessing and a curse.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/Zz17u6zRIEg\" width=\"560\" height=\"315\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>Dealing with the mythology of the mystique is one reason that Australia\u2019s top spy has gone before the camera for four ASPI interviews.<\/p>\n<p>Symon says ASIS has a good story to tell the Australian people. And as the only ASIS officer who can be named, he sees the need for more public conversations. Lots of media attention is a problem, he says, \u2018but no media attention is a problem as well\u2019.<\/p>\n<p>Spies, Symon says, can go to places denied diplomats, where the internet search engines can\u2019t reach. The job is to \u2018pick the eyes out of the most sensitive secrets overseas that bear in on our national interest and help inform a judgement that our government needs to make\u2014whether it\u2019s in relation to our military, our economic or security outlook. We\u2019re trying to help inform that debate and we are looking for that piece of gold that is not obtainable by any other means.\u2019<\/p>\n<p>Finding gold is always tough, as is searching for those intelligence nuggets. ASPI senior fellow Andrew Davies, in the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.australianforeignaffairs.com\/essay\/2020\/07\/spy-vs-spy\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">\u2018new age of espionage\u2019 issue<\/a> of <em>Australian Foreign Affairs<\/em><em>,<\/em> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.australianforeignaffairs.com\/articles\/extract\/2020\/07\/mission-impossible\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">writes<\/a> of the complications of darkening geopolitics, surging technology, and a continuing terrorist threat. Yet many \u2018dirty tricks\u2019 of the past have transitioned to digital, Davies says, showing \u2018the enduring value of old-school espionage\u2019.<\/p>\n<p>Danielle Cave, deputy director of ASPI\u2019s International Cyber Policy Centre, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.australianforeignaffairs.com\/articles\/extract\/2020\/07\/data-driven\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">writes<\/a> that data mountains and cyberspace loom over spycraft. Spooks must fear algorithms and facial recognition technologies, Cave says, because everyone leaves a trace online: \u2018Spies can\u2019t always teleconference like the rest of us.\u2019<\/p>\n<p>Following those themes, I asked Symon about the viability of gathering human intelligence amid the \u2018digital cornucopia and cyber cacophony\u2019. The cornucopia\u2013cacophony line drew the most amused raised eyebrow from Australia\u2019s chief spy in our interviews. But my follow-on line (\u2018There\u2019s a lot of noise out there.\u2019) worked because, apparently, that touches concepts ASIS is using, as Symon explains:<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>There are jewels there, and that\u2019s what drives us\u2014to find those jewels. The other aspect of that very complex array of cornucopias and cacophonies that you\u2019ve talked about is that \u2026 there\u2019s an opportunity for us to \u2018swim\u2019 in that noise\u2014as the term that we use inside the organisation\u2014and to be pretty invisible in that noise. There\u2019s a lot happening, a lot of bandwidth, there is a lot of noise. How can we perform our function in the middle of that without it being clear that we are part of a foreign espionage service? How do we use that cacophony? How do we swim in all of that noise to quietly go about our business? We\u2019re turning our mind to that, because we think that\u2019s where the future of the Service lies.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>Reaction to the ASIS interviews varies.\u00a0<em>The Australian<\/em>\u2019s<em>\u00a0<\/em><a href=\"https:\/\/www.theaustralian.com.au\/nation\/directorgeneral-paul-symon-reveals-work-of-australian-secret-intelligence-service\/news-story\/7f58a82d7ec7f0823d52247572b05d68\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Ben Packham<\/a>\u00a0thought getting the top spy in front of a camera for the first time made for \u2018a landmark series of video interviews\u2019. By contrast,\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/johnmenadue.com\/media-in-the-asian-century-upheaval-all-around-but-no-australian-perspective\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Hamish McDonald<\/a>\u00a0(one of the finest Oz foreign correspondents of my generation) felt it went \u2018softly, softly\u2019 in the \u2018carefully controlled setting\u2019 of ASPI.<\/p>\n<p>The historian\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/australias-intelligence-agencies-send-mixed-signals-on-openness-and-transparency\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Peter Edwards<\/a>\u00a0sees the interviews responding to the need to make \u2018secret agencies as transparent as possible about their past, current and likely future activities\u2019. A comment I valued was from a Canberra wise owl who said the series works because it\u2019s \u2018reporting on ASIS as an organisation rather than a fantasy\u2019.<\/p>\n<p>The effort to clarify purposes and principles is where Symon starts and finishes the final ASPI interview: \u2018We are not some maverick organisation sitting outside. We are the Australian people, we are comprised of them.\u2019<\/p>\n<p>For 68 years, ASIS has dwelt in the most secret spaces of the spook universe. In lifting the cloak a little, Symon concludes with these words to Australians on what they should understand about ASIS:<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>We are you\u2014we serve you, we serve the government, we serve the prosperity and security agenda that we all aspire to for our nation now and into the future. We\u2019re a component. We proudly serve Australians. We think we do it well, we do it legally, we do it with propriety, we do it conscientiously.<\/p>\n<p>And so really my message is, while there is a certain mystique around a secret intelligence service, we know our bearings, we have our bearings. We care deeply about what we do. We\u2019re here for Australia. We\u2019re for Australians. We serve with pride. That\u2019s the message I want to send.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>When intelligence folk smell roses, they look for the funeral. That bit of spy lore is about finding the opportunity in the threats (or vice versa). The lore hints at the mystique of the trade: &#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":79,"featured_media":60495,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mi_skip_tracking":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[1032,624,170],"class_list":["post-60490","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-general","tag-asis","tag-espionage","tag-intelligence"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v19.3 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>The Australian Secret Intelligence Service: 007 blessing and curse | The Strategist<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/the-australian-secret-intelligence-service-007-blessing-and-curse\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"The Australian Secret Intelligence Service: 007 blessing and curse | The Strategist\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"When intelligence folk smell roses, they look for the funeral. That bit of spy lore is about finding the opportunity in the threats (or vice versa). The lore hints at the mystique of the trade: ...\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/the-australian-secret-intelligence-service-007-blessing-and-curse\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"The Strategist\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/ASPI.org\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2020-11-15T02:00:42+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2020-11-15T01:58:05+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/007-whorl.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"863\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"645\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Graeme Dobell\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@ASPI_org\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@ASPI_org\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Graeme Dobell\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"5 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/\",\"name\":\"The Strategist\",\"description\":\"ASPI&#039;s analysis and commentary site\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-AU\"},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-AU\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/the-australian-secret-intelligence-service-007-blessing-and-curse\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/007-whorl.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/007-whorl.jpg\",\"width\":863,\"height\":645},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/the-australian-secret-intelligence-service-007-blessing-and-curse\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/the-australian-secret-intelligence-service-007-blessing-and-curse\/\",\"name\":\"The Australian Secret Intelligence Service: 007 blessing and curse | The Strategist\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/the-australian-secret-intelligence-service-007-blessing-and-curse\/#primaryimage\"},\"datePublished\":\"2020-11-15T02:00:42+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2020-11-15T01:58:05+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/#\/schema\/person\/ed3342cd61abc65c1532f3cc46bdf96f\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/the-australian-secret-intelligence-service-007-blessing-and-curse\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-AU\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/the-australian-secret-intelligence-service-007-blessing-and-curse\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/the-australian-secret-intelligence-service-007-blessing-and-curse\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"The Australian Secret Intelligence Service: 007 blessing and curse\"}]},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/#\/schema\/person\/ed3342cd61abc65c1532f3cc46bdf96f\",\"name\":\"Graeme Dobell\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-AU\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/dff56734d4df784248f63058b7b6900a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/dff56734d4df784248f63058b7b6900a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Graeme Dobell\"},\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/author\/graeme-dobell\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"The Australian Secret Intelligence Service: 007 blessing and curse | The Strategist","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/the-australian-secret-intelligence-service-007-blessing-and-curse\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"The Australian Secret Intelligence Service: 007 blessing and curse | The Strategist","og_description":"When intelligence folk smell roses, they look for the funeral. That bit of spy lore is about finding the opportunity in the threats (or vice versa). The lore hints at the mystique of the trade: ...","og_url":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/the-australian-secret-intelligence-service-007-blessing-and-curse\/","og_site_name":"The Strategist","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/ASPI.org","article_published_time":"2020-11-15T02:00:42+00:00","article_modified_time":"2020-11-15T01:58:05+00:00","og_image":[{"width":863,"height":645,"url":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/007-whorl.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Graeme Dobell","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@ASPI_org","twitter_site":"@ASPI_org","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Graeme Dobell","Est. reading time":"5 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/","name":"The Strategist","description":"ASPI&#039;s analysis and commentary site","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-AU"},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-AU","@id":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/the-australian-secret-intelligence-service-007-blessing-and-curse\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/007-whorl.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/007-whorl.jpg","width":863,"height":645},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/the-australian-secret-intelligence-service-007-blessing-and-curse\/","url":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/the-australian-secret-intelligence-service-007-blessing-and-curse\/","name":"The Australian Secret Intelligence Service: 007 blessing and curse | The Strategist","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/the-australian-secret-intelligence-service-007-blessing-and-curse\/#primaryimage"},"datePublished":"2020-11-15T02:00:42+00:00","dateModified":"2020-11-15T01:58:05+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/#\/schema\/person\/ed3342cd61abc65c1532f3cc46bdf96f"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/the-australian-secret-intelligence-service-007-blessing-and-curse\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-AU","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/the-australian-secret-intelligence-service-007-blessing-and-curse\/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/the-australian-secret-intelligence-service-007-blessing-and-curse\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"The Australian Secret Intelligence Service: 007 blessing and curse"}]},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/#\/schema\/person\/ed3342cd61abc65c1532f3cc46bdf96f","name":"Graeme Dobell","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-AU","@id":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/dff56734d4df784248f63058b7b6900a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/dff56734d4df784248f63058b7b6900a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Graeme Dobell"},"url":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/author\/graeme-dobell\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/60490"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/79"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=60490"}],"version-history":[{"count":10,"href":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/60490\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":60501,"href":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/60490\/revisions\/60501"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/60495"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=60490"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=60490"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=60490"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}