Western Resistance

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October 30, 2005

Book Review: The Sword and the Shield

I want you to read a near-encyclopedic book on the history of the KGB. I know, I know, right now you are thinking; "but Diaz, what does the KGB could possibly have to do with Islam, isn't Islam what your site is about." True, but not all things are learned directly. I want you to learn two things above the rest; how our enemies work to deceive us, and how we deceive ourselves.

In The Sword and the Shield: The Mitrokhin Archive and the Secret History of the KGB distinguished historian Christopher Andrews and former KGB chief archivist Vasili Mitrokhin attempt to uncover the work of the Soviet State's chief intelligence arm. They base their work on the Mitrokhin Archive, notes collected by Mr. Mitrokhin during a 12-year period, a wealth of material previously unheard of by authors trying t o make sense of intelligence work. There is plenty to learn from this book, but I want to concentrate, however, on the two points above:

First, how our enemies attempt to deceive us: The KGB used several methods to penetrate and influence Western societies. Agents were recruited using several methods; "ideological" agents, greedy people, individuals trapped sexually (either by "lust", or by love.) "False flags" operations, etc. At other times, black propaganda ops were used, sometimes with spectacular effects. (Did you know, for example, that the "CIA created AIDS" myth was cooked by the KGB?) And then there were the influence operations, where they would use deception and "trusted friends" to mold Western public opinion to favor the Soviet Union and the Socialist bloc.

And then, there are the instances where the KGB did not need to deceive us at all. Those were usually instances where we failed to think like a Soviet leader would, and completely miss the "logic" of their actions. Oddly enough, near the end of the book, Mr. Andrews himself falls to this--rather understandable--failure when he criticizes the "overreaction" of the Soviet regime to the dissidents. Mr. Andrews fails to see, in its later stages, Socialist totalitarian regimes were rather brittle: few people believed the ideology, so they had to keep the image of invincibility alive. Dissidents, however few and disorganized, threatened that image, and thus had to be destroyed before their messaged spread.

As the West clashes with Islam, fourteen years after the Soviet Union's demise, we would be wise to keep this lesson in mind: Islam is a system with its own "logic", and the actions of Muslims need to be put in the proper context. It is my hope the Sword and the Shield, beyond its intrinsic value, will remind us of this truth.

Posted by Ruy Diaz at October 30, 2005 12:05 AM

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