A renaissance man for the twenty-first century!
Dear Mr. Tradecraft, Ken mentioned you’ve done “wet work.” Can you share any details? – Mediocre Operator Learning Everyday Dear MOLE. Am chuffed to bits – been waiting for this question for a while! For the record, MOLE, I’ve never done any “wet work.” There‘s a big difference between taking the taking of human life inside […]
Yes, he really exists. And it’s important because a few posts coming up touch on very sensitive topics (such as wet work). I’ve promised him not to edit any of his contributions, although naturally that last one (4) was a tad embarrassing for me – he’s requested that I print my recollection of events and […]
Dear Mr. Tradecraft, So how did you meet Ken? – Spy Plying Outstanding Operator Knowledge Dear SPOOK. Communist China in the 1990’s. I was doing some TA work for a Middle Eastern client – Threat Assessment, arrive early, check out the opposition. Not ten minutes out of the hotel I spotted a 6-man surveillance team! […]
Dear Mr. Tradecraft, I landed an upcoming assignment beginning 6 weeks from today, but for reasons I can‘t mention, I‘ll need to disguise myself. Any advice? – Disguised Operator Needs Good Lessons from Experts. Dear DONGLE, Cancel the contract. I won‘t operate with a different persona without a minimum 4 months solid prep time, 24×7. […]
Dear Mr. Tradecraft, I’m a middle-aged operator with experience now on three continents. On each of them, from older (and wiser) operators, I’ve heard rumors and speculation about something called Code 16. But nobody can tell me what it is – is this a special tactic? Perhaps a famous black operation? – Suspicious person yearning. Dear SPY. Neither. It’s an black-ops […]
Dear Mr. Tradecraft, At restaurants, bars and coffee shops I know I should always sit facing the door or window, but what happens when this isn’t possible? Is this rule so important that I should look for a different place to eat or drink? – Beginning Operator Needs Discussion Dear BOND. I get this question […]
Continuing the series . . . A strange thing happened to me just before Easter, as I was relaxing in the southern Swiss city of Lugano: a stranger came up to me (judging by his accent I think he was from Israel), and invited me to a coffee and a cigar at a street café […]
Continuing the series . . . I’ve mentioned before that one of my more unusual friends is a man I only know as Mr. Tradecraft. And I’ve probably also mentioned that my father is an active professor in Texas. For the record, my father has never had a business that takes him across the world, […]
Continuing the series . . . One of my hobbies is exploring the Jewish past of Switzerland, as I’ve shown here and here. This is very interesting to me because, as part Gypsy myself, I find it interesting how itinerant people have been treated in medieval times. Another of my hobbies is exploring the small […]
British Intelligence, also known as MI6, recently gave me a call on my mobile phone! In case you are wondering why they would do this, here’s the story. In one of the last James Bond movies to star Pierce Brosnan, The world is not enough, James Bond blasts out of the MI6 building on the […]
Today it is one of the busiest streets in the world, but when I visited many years ago it was still quiet – it was unempty until at least noon, and you’d have to struggle to meet any foreigners there at all. Interestingly, while visiting Shanghai as I scientist I was followed on at least […]
If you’ve read my post about Historical Jewry in Zurich, I might have left a few details out. Here’s the “backstory” as told by my father of Uncle Eddy Speaks Up fame: Gabriel felt uneasy in Zurich at the best of times. The Swiss have made it clear that he was not welcome. But he was […]
I am not a spy, secret agent, terrorist, or anything like that. And I am not a paramilitary operator or mercenary, although people often think that when they see my enormous physical strength and lightning quick reflexes. However, I have had – through no fault or desire of my own – more than my fair […]