The Cold War Wilderness of Mirrors

Counterintelligence and the U.S. and Soviet Military Liaison Missions 1947–1990

by Aden Magee

Imprint: Casemate

336 Pages, 6 x 9 in

Hardcover
9781612009933
July 2021
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9781612009940
July 2021

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Description
Contents
Authors
Praise

The untold story of the Soviet Military Liaison Mission (SMLM) in West Germany and the U.S. Military Liaison Mission (USMLM) in East Germany.

This book details the Soviet Military Liaison Mission (SMLM) in West Germany and the U.S. Military Liaison Mission (USMLM) in East Germany as microcosms of the Cold War strategic intelligence and counterintelligence landscape. Thirty years since the fall of the Berlin Wall, the Soviet and U.S. Military Liaison Missions are all but forgotten. Their operation was established by a post-WWII Allied occupation forces' agreement, and missions had relative freedom to travel and collect intelligence throughout East and West Germany from 1947 until 1990.

This book addresses Cold War intelligence and counterintelligence in a manner that provides a broad historical perspective and then brings the reader to a never-before documented artifact of Cold War history. The book details the intelligence/counterintelligence dynamic that was among the most emblematic of the Cold War. Ultimately, the book addresses a saga that remains one of the true Cold War enigmas.

Past is Prologue
Introduction

PART I: HISTORY AND EVOLUTION
Chapter 1: The History of the Military Liaison Missions
Chapter 2: The Evolution of the Military Liaison Mission Game

PART II: THE WILDERNESS OF MIRRORS
Chapter 3: The Strategic Wilderness of Mirrors
Chapter 4: Opportunities Lost Prior to the Dark Era of Counterintelligence
Chapter 5: The U.S. Military Liaison Mission Microcosm
Chapter 6: Reflections in the Soviet Military Liaison Mission, Frankfurt Wilderness

PART III: THE FINAL DECADE AND THE BATTLE THAT TIME FORGOT
Chapter 7: The Rapid Maturation of Department of Defense Counterintelligence in Europe
Chapter 8: The Final Reflection in the Cold War Wilderness of Mirrors
Chapter 9: The Last Counterintelligence Battles of the Cold War

Epilogue
Appendix 1: Post-Cold War Revelations
Appendix 2: The USMLM Legacy
Appendix 3: The Huebner–Malinin Agreement
Glossary of Abbreviations and Terms
A Note on Sources
Selected Bibliography
Index

Aden Magee operated as the commander of a highly specialized Counterintelligence (CI) element in West Germany during the culminating decade of the Cold War, which enabled him to pull together an unprecedented story with broad historical context. He is a retired U.S. Army officer, CI Agent, and veteran of foreign wars. He has worked as a consultant to senior executives in the Department of Defense (DoD), the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) since his retirement from the Army in 2005. He is a published author with over 45,000 books sold. He is widely published in reputed intelligence and security journals.

"This book should be required reading not only for intelligence professionals but also for senior leaders making decisions on force structure so they better appreciate the impact our counterintelligence force can make when properly resourced." ~Lt. Gen. Robert Ashley (U.S. Army retired), former Director of the Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA), ARMY Magazine

"One of the more interesting aspects of the book is its description of various spy cases. Magee ties together the many spy cases of the period that impacted both sides of the Iron Curtain...an interesting history of a dangerous time and place." ~Intelligencer: Journal of U.S. Intelligence Studies

"Meticulously researched and incisively written, Magee provides an unprecedented survey of the counterintelligence war between the US and the USSR from the strategic level down to the countrysides of West and East Germany where the MLMs operated." ~James Stejskal, author of 'Special Forces Berlin: Clandestine Cold War Operations of the US Army’s Elite, 1956–1990'

"...the value of The Cold War Wilderness of Mirrors is Magee’s point that the United States paid a heavy price for its poor counterintelligence practices." ~Studies in Intelligence