HOW DO WRITERS LIKE TOM CLANCY and John le Carre write so much about that
which people know so little? Espionage emerged from the James Bond genre
into the techno-thriller genre during the 1980s with numerous novels that
melded fiction with Jane's Defence Weekly. But is it that simple? How does
one find out about the unknowable "top secret" world the CIA operates in?

With the dismantling of so many East Bloc spy networks, plenty of new
material is emerging for both fiction and nonfiction espionage writers to
devour for years. What are the KGB's new goals? Who are our new enemies?
Whom should we trust? The old good guy vs. bad guy days are gone, but no
doubt there will still be plenty to write about.

The CIA, VFW, and the Farm

The intelligence community is actually not shy at all. There is the CIA's
VFW, the Association of Former Intelligence Officers (AFIO), which publishes
its own newsletter (Periscope) and holds annual conventions. With 19
chapters and 3,000 members, the AFIO encourages public discussion of
intelligence-related issues. The AFIO was created in 1975 in reaction to
the anti-CIA backlash that grew out of the Watergate and Vietnam era. If
you are interested in this organization write: AFIO, 6723 Whittier Ave.,
Ste. 303A, McLean, VA 22101.

However, if you want the best broad outlook on the intelligence community,
there are two excellent publications. The first, published by the National
Intelligence Book Center, is Surveillant: Acquisitions for the Intelligence
Professional. This bimonthly covers books, news, and conmmentary involving
international espionage, and is probably the best publication in the
intelligence field for research purposes. Contact: NIBC, 1700 K St. NW, Ste.
607, Washington, DC 20006.

There is also the Foreign Intelligence Literary Scene, by the National
Intelligence Study Center, which serves both as a newsletter and book
review. It also provides an impressive collection of overseas radio and
newspaper reports on espionage. Contact: FILS, 1800 K St., Ste. 1102,
Washington, DC 20006.

Do not worry about the competition. Unlike other fields where there is an
entire league of former "know-it-alls" to compete with, the field of
espionage writing is entirely different. Few former CIA officers ever see
their words in print; the "Secrecy Agreement" they signed upon joining the
CIA forces them to submit everything to the CIA Publications Review Board.
The board is as slow as snails and puts a team of lawyers on the manuscript
with a fine-tooth comb. When they are done the author will spend months
arguing every red line. Unfortunately, editors and publishers rarely have
that much patience and time to spend.

The Opposition

The KGB now has its own VFW, called the Association of Foreign Intelligence
Veterans (AFIV), which plans to publish a variety of books under a
commercial arm called Intel. Books would cover everything from the KGB's
handling of Lee Harvey Oswald to Cold War battles with the CIA. There are
rumors that the AFIV has hired a Hollywood agent to help market books and
film rights, but the chaos in the former Soviet Union may delay that plan.

To improve their nasty image, the KGB held a "Miss KGB" contest. The winner
now gives tours of the infamous Lubyanka prison while wearing her sash and
crown. But all is not well for the AFIV; for example, a former KGB agent
actually ran this advertisement last year in the International Herald
Tribune: "Former KGB agent seeks employment in similar field, Tel: Paris
1-42.50.66.76. "

If you are interested in declassified KGB archives or AFIV's book publishing
plans, you can write to the Public Affairs and Press Bureau, Attn: Yuri
Kobaladze, Kolpachny Pereulok 11, Moscow, Russia.

If you want to contact the KGB directly, write care of Major-General
Aleksandr Nikolayevich Karbainov, Chief of the KGB Center for Public
Liaison, KGB Headquarters, Dzerzhinsky Sq., Moscow, Russia (I thought about
listing the phone number, but I was afraid you might call). Because of the
political chaos in the former Soviet Union, do not expect an immediate
response by mail. One morning, after a nine-month wait, the KGB finally
telephoned me. It was one of the strangest phone calls of my life.

Perhaps the Desert Storm adventure has you thinking about writing a novel or
history book on CIA operations in the Middle East. If so, you might
consider contacting the Iranians. They published all the classified
documents captured during the 1979 hostage crisis. These documents were
shredded by CIA officers just before the takeover, but militants carefully
spliced them back together. This effort took years and embarrassed not just
the CIA, but the Israeli Mossad as well. The best initial contact might be
with a letter to the Iranian Mission to the United Nations.

For background material on British spy activities, I can suggest two unique
publications, the first a newsletter published by the British Study Group on
Intelligence (BSGI). Contact Dr. Kenneth Robertson, University of Reading,
P.O. Box 218, Reading RG6 2AA (UK). Another important source is Military
Intelligence Critical Attributes (MICA), published by Aviation Studies,
Sussex House, Parkside, London, SWI9 5NB (UK).

Uncle Sam, Green Berets, and Smart Bombs

The U.S. military intelligence community has several excellent publications:
The Defense Intelligence Journal ($25 semiannual), published by the Defense
Intelligence College, gives a more objective, clinical side of intelligence
gathering, with articles on intelligence processing and communications
security issues. Contact DIJ, 1750 30th St., Ste. 441, Boulder, CO 80301.

If the gritty side of military intelligence excites you, I strongly
recommend Military Intelligence ($7 annual), a quarterly that explores
everything from spy missions into Iraq to recounting intelligence operations
in Vietnam. Contact: MI, U.S. Army Intelligence Center, Attn: ATSI- TDL-B,
Fort Huachuca, AZ 85613.

One of the most important and prestigious is the monthly Jane's Intelligence
Review, tops in techno-intelligence know-how, but at $185 a year, hardly
affordable. Contact: Jane's Information Group, 1340 Braddock PI., Ste. 300,
P.O. Box 1436, Alexandria, VA 22313.

Another important journal not to miss is the American Intelligence Journal,
published quarterly by the National Military Intelligence Association,
Pentagon Sta., P.O. Box 46583, Washington, DC 20050. Membership rates vary
from $11 to $25.

Databases

For computer buffs, there are two excellent computer programs. The first,
and probably the best, is Namebase (formerly Spybase). The brainchild of
Daniel Brandt, this program provides over 126,000 citations at a very
reasonable price ($79.00). There is a name and country index that should
terrify the CIA. For example, when one enters the name of a country and
specific years (example: China, 1970-92), the names of hundreds of CIA,
British, French, and KGB agents appear. Each citation provides the location
of the sources (State Dept. Bio Registers, newspapers, magazines), and for
cross reference, the countries in which the agent had previously worked.
Many of the people whose names appear are still active intelligence agents!
The program is available in both IBM and Mac versions. Contact Public
Information Research, Box 5199, Arlington, VA 22205.

The second computer program, CIABASE, is produced by ex-CIA officer Ralph
McGehee. McGehee spent 25 years in the CIA's Far East Division, working in
Hong Kong, Japan, Taiwan, Thailand, and Vietnam. His database details CIA
operations from 1947 to the present. Available in both IBM and Mac versions
($99), this database covers over 500 sources categorized by subject in
thousands of annotated entries. His database format is the same as
Namebase, but the focus centers more on the CIA. Contact: CIABASE, P.O. Box
5022, Herndon, VA 22070.

Conspiracy, UFO's and JFK

If you are obsessed with Kennedy conspiracy theories, or you believe the CIA
seeks world domination, you have your pick of several publications.

The first quarterly, Back Channels: A Journal of Espionage, Assassinations
and Conspiracy ($18), provides a variety of conspiracy theories involving
JFK, Mafia, Vietnam, and the CIA, as well as articles on traditional
espionage, terrorism, World War II, and interviews. Contact: Peter Kross,
P.O. Box 9, Franklin Park, NJ 08823.

The second important publication is the Covert Action Information Bulletin
(CAIB), founded by exCIA officer Philip Agee. This occasional publication
seeks to undermine CIA covert operations by exposing them to the public. It
originally listed the names of active CIA agents, but an act of Congress
made that illegal. CAIB articles blame the CIA for everything from AIDS to
every coup attempt in the world. Contact CAIB, P.O. Box 50272, Washington,
DC 20004.

Another important publication, Lobster: A Journal of Parapolitics, seeks to
undermine and expose all Western intelligence services, with special
attention to the British, and the CIA and French receiving secondary
attention. Lobster also publishes a "Who's Who" of British intelligence
officers. Published three times a year, it includes articles ranging from
the assassination attempt on the Pope to British double agent Kim Philby.
Contact: Lobster, 214 Westbourne Avenue, Hull, HU5 3JB (UK).

Top Secret (semiannual), probably the best in the "alternative" reading
area, also runs articles blaming the CIA for the AIDS epidemic, for coups,
and identifies CIA officers around the world. The publication does seem to
dwell on South Africa too much, but one can find a variety of articles in
it. Contact: Top Secret, P.O. Box 27 03 24, 5000 Koln 1, Germany.

If you're absolutely convinced Kennedy was killed during a CIA coup detat,
then you should contact Assassination Archives Research Center, 918 F
Street, NW, Ste. 510, Washington, DC 20004; the JFK Assassination
Information Center, 603 Muniger, Ste. 3 1 0, Box 40, Dallas, TX 75202; and
the publication JFK Today, 5521 Greenville Avenue, Dallas, TX 75206.

PHOTOS (6): Drawings of various espionage organiztions' logos

~~~~~~~~

By Wendell Minnick
WENDELL MINNICK is a free-lance writer who specializes in espionage. His
book, Spies and Provocateurs: A Worldwide Encyclopedia of Persons Conducting
Espionage and Covert Action (McFarland, 1992), identifies over 700 agents
from the Cold War.

Copyright 1993 by Writer Inc. Text may not be copied without the express written permission of Writer Inc.

Minnick, Wendell, Cloak and dagger: Convincing spy fiction.., Vol. 106, Writer, 08-01-1993, pp 26.