Illicit Adventures of Rawlinson: British Intelligence in the Final Phase of the Ottoman Empire

Year 1993, Issue: 23, 79 - 87, 01.05.1993

Keith Jeffrey Alan Sharp

https://doi.org/10.1501/Intrel_0000000177

Abstract

Illicit Adventures of Rawlinson: British Intelligence in the Final Phase of the Ottoman Empire

Abstract

Historians have usually tended either to ignore intelligence altogether
or to treat it as of little importance. Many important accounts of the 20th
century political history do not even mention the names of the intelligence
services. This can partly be explained by the diffıculty of researching the
intelligence records. The bulk of the relevant records have been destroyed or
else retained indefinitely by the governments. It is not easy to redress the
balance. Only a careful search of the papers can produce even a fragmentary
run of documents on the topic. There is also a desire not to be regarded as on
the same level as the inaccurate sensationalism of many bestselling accounts
of espionage.
intelligence does not win wars. It does not shape foreign policy.
Nonetheless, intelligence activities are an inseparable part of the policymaking process. On might think of the intelligence game conducted in the
context of various paradigms of international relations. It is one cog in the
mighty machine of command, an accessory to help the commander make
decisions.  

Keywords

Illicit Adventures, Rawlinson: British Intelligence, Final Phase