Declassified: In the Shadow of the Sphinx: A History of Army Counterintelligence

September 21, 2016 

In the Shadow of the Sphinx: A History of Army Counterintelligence 

Excerpt from the Foreword of the book: 

The challenges facing our Nation today in its war against terrorism are reminiscent of the security concerns in the days leading up to World War I. Newspaper headlines told of large explosions in major metropolitan areas, the presence of spy cells inside the country, and the capture of foreign saboteurs crossing our borders. These events would ultimately result in the establishment of a permanent corps of trained counterintelligence specialists within America’s Army. 

During peacetime and war, counterintelligence has served to protect the Army’s most important secrets; its success or failure often spell the difference between victory and defeat on the battlefield. Highlights include the outstanding work performed by Counter Intelligence Corps (CIC) detachments in support of our combat forces during World War I and World War II. Later in the Korean War, the Army turned to the CIC to establish and operate a very sophisticated, behind-the-lines network of intelligence collectors. However, counterintelligence’s greatest contribution may have occurred in the occupation period following World War II. In Germany and Austria, counterintelligence agents were responsible for the successful denazification program that gave democracy a chance. In Japan, they served as the ears and eyes of the occupation authorities to monitor the steps being taken towards a representative form of government. Agents of the Counter Intelligence Corps were among the first to define and then confront the emerging threat posed by communism bent on derailing the progress toward free societies, and throughout the Cold War, counterintelligence would remain as the Army’s principal shield against hostile intelligence services. 

The end of the Cold War did not lessen the need for counterintelligence—in fact, just the opposite occurred. The increased deployment of US warfighters in support of regional conflicts posed new challenges in the area of force protection. The coming of the Information Age meant that for the first time foreign intelligence and other hostile elements could assess, steal, and transport a large volume of sensitive material through cyberspace with little signature or latency. And in the war against global terrorism, counterintelligence professionals remain engaged 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Today, counterintelligence is an integral part of the Army’s all-source intelligence capabilities, helping to analyze huge amounts of raw data which can be funneled to commanders and law enforcement agencies in near real time. 

All facets of counterintelligence have been touched upon, but as a matter of readability, the book is weighted towards counterespionage. Regardless, it is still trusted that the reader will gain some appreciation of the total contribution that counterintelligence has made in support of the Nation and its Army for over 90 years. It is also a story of individual sacrifice and dedication by counterintelligence personnel that should continue to foster esprit de corps among future generations of military intelligence professionals. 

JOHN F. KIMMONS

Major General, USA

Commanding

US Army Intelligence and Security Command 

Download the Document In the Shadow of the Sphinx: A History of Army Counterintelligence, Published 2005 [178 Pages, 325.2MB] – This is a very large .PDF file – which I recommend to download to your computer and open locally. This document was released to me via FOIA Case 3685F-10 filed with INSCOM.