In 1999 appeared an article on unusual thought eminent conservative philosopher Leo Strauss Policy (1899-1973). He wore the title of " Leo Strauss and the World of Intelligence " and was written by two American authors - Abram Shulsky'ego and Garry Schmitt. Shulsky, himself a trained philosopher, he studied with Strauss, and under his direction prepared his doctoral thesis. Became known, however, not so much by his achievements in the field of philosophy as a director in 2002-2003, the existing Office of Special Plans - an American intelligence cell, which has actively participated in the preparation of the U.S. invasion of Iraq. Then he headed the Board on Iran - an institution established in 2006 to fight with the Iranian intelligence. The second author, Garry Schmitt, in the early eighties he was on the intelligence committee in the U.S. Senate. From 1984-1988 he was Director of the Presidential Advisory Committee on Foreign Intelligence, and later worked in the Consortium include Studies in the Working Group on Intelligence Reform and as an advisor to the U.S. Department of Defense. Shulsky and Schmitt argued that the political philosophy of Strauss can be successfully applied in the methods of analysis used by the U.S. intelligence centers, which will correct some weaknesses of existing analytical work of the latter.
bond with each other areas such seemingly disparate as philosophy and activities of special services, the original and seemingly eccentric point of view. However - perhaps not unfounded, since, as shown in the above example, Strauss's philosophical thinking has led his students to high positions in the vertical analysis of U.S. intelligence. In fact, students of philosophy, often checked on the field of information service, putting on him quiet, but unmistakable contributions to their homelands. Numbered among them the famous English historian Arnold Toynbee (1889-1975), who during World War I served in the Department of Political Intelligence and Information Department of the British Foreign Office (where he worked mainly with the problems of Western Asia, but also periodically, eg Polish). There is no lack of similar cases and on our home soil. Pilsudski Adam Skwarczyński political thinker (1886-1934), graduate philosophical Jan Kazimierz University in Lvov, in early August 1914 he became deputy commander of the Intelligence Bureau (also known as the Intelligence Division) of the First Brigade of the Polish Legions, and he held it continuously to eliminate this institutions in May 1915, he also studied philosophy Stanislaus Baczynski (father of Krzysztof Kamil Baczynski), during World War I commander of the Intelligence Branch-diversion in the Polish Military Organization. In 1919, Baczynski was seconded to serve in the Second Division of the General Staff - the emerging military special services of an independent Polish. Under the framework, led the Polish diversionary activities during the Third Silesian Uprising. Finally, you mention the outstanding piłsudczyku, master conspiracy Józewskim * Henry (1892-1981). Józewski In 1917-1919 secret co Supreme Command III POW, which falls in Kiev. Initially responsible for its political history, then commanded the whole of its activities. During the expedition Kiev held the position of Deputy Minister of Home Affairs, supported by the Polish State Semen Petlura Ukrainian government. In 1924, work published under the pseudonym of "Hamlet", which deals inter alia philosophical aspects of drama and theater. After 1945, the head of an anti-political intelligence, which provided information to the Polish authorities in exile until 1948,
question whether the preparation of philosophical (or, more broadly, the field of humanities) may play a role in the work of staff information state, is the seemingly odd in an era, it would seem the overwhelming dominance of electronics and high technology in such areas. Trying to answer, Schmitt and Shulsky in that article pointed out that in the initial period of the Cold War, American intelligence institutions zachłysnęły the (increasingly fashionable then) modern research methods (neopozytywistycznych), social sciences, perceived by them as extremely useful for analyzing information collected and, in particular, forecasting of future decisions and actions of foreign countries. For this reason, began to neglect both the knowledge acquired from strictly operational methods, typically intelligence (so-called "black intelligence"), as well as knowledge of the enemy discharge measurements are critical, skillful analysis of materials derived from public sources (so-called "white history"). As a result, the effectiveness of U.S. intelligence has decreased and many of his predictions based on a novel approach turned out to be in the next few years nietrafnymi. And here comes the philosophy. Philosophy is largely a science of understanding the reality (epistemology), and therefore also of ułomnościach and limitations ways of learning available to man, the realities of false, misleading appearances, going fikcjach reality ułudach, fraud and zwodzicielach, as well as their methods of recognition, of cunning traps on the human mind, the apparent facts, and finally the hidden truths and hard discernible. Philosophy teaches you how not to get easily tricked into reality sham, do not draw any hasty conclusions on insufficient grounds. The difficulty of accurate recognition of reality, delusional, and remaining in constant motion, and the movement on its path full of traps, posted in his philosophical reflections Józewski Henry, a veteran spy and emissary of the political, which summarizes his views as an American biographer, Professor. Timothy Snyder: " action, argued the reality for what it seems at the moment, accepting a convincing illusion resulting from the accumulation of sensory information. The person who takes action, imperceptible changes in the way an infinite number of aspects of reality, like a stone falling into the sea causes the waves beneath its surface. Contemplation takes into account the reality, however, carries with it immediate awareness of his own limitations. A person recognizes the limits of its contemplative understanding, defines the surface, beyond which the eye does not reach. Józewski argued, however, that these limits allow the rational perception of events. "** Recall earlier the U.S. Intelligence Community analysts in a similar vein, emphasize the method of Leo Strauss's philosophy, rooted in its subtleties, its ability to focus on detail, his consequent success in zaglądaniu beneath the surface and reading between the lines, and his apparent distancing" . For Strauss's most famous achievements were, after the discovery of art, "esoteric" writing works of art and science of formulation of reaching their true, hidden by the media outsiders - what might be termed philosophical cryptology. However
paradoxically it sounds, some preparation in philosophy or humanities in general, it may be desirable in specific work done by the State Information Service. In the opinion of the author of this (to be understood - amateur), sources in the analysis and forecasting activities of other centers of power could for example, be used as an important area for the humanities, like hermeneutics. In essence, it is not nothing else than a theory to decipher the true meanings of documents, scanning contexts in which they appear, reconstructing the ways of thinking and reasoning of strangers - the science of penetration from the outside to the center of people's minds. And this is the art of intelligence and counterintelligence priorities. Adam Danek
* For fourteen years without a break (1939-1953) led underground activities in the country and never in this time he was captured.
** Switch. Bartholomew Pietrzyk.
