CIA's history revealed ... some of it, anyway

Many lecturers enjoy an engaging round of questions from their audience. But Linda McCarthy, with 24 years of CIA service under her belt, warned her audience that some of their questions would have strictly classified answers.

The UMD Intelligence Community Club last night brought the Emmy award-winning author and former CIA intelligence analyst to talk to students about the murky history of the U.S. spy business. Touching on historical figures from the American Revolution to the Cold War, McCarthy traced the origins of the CIA while noting the daring activities of some of the nation's smoothest spooks.

"I love the collegiate crowd because you guys ask some heavy questions," McCarthy began. "There might be some I cannot answer; it's not because I don't know the answer, it just hasn't been cleared and blessed by the agency."

She began her lecture by showcasing the clandestine side of the United States' founding fathers. George Washington, "the consummate spy master" as McCarthy called him, helped win the America's independence by paying agents for information on British activities, often "out of his own pocket."

"Do you read about that when you read history books about George Washington?" McCarthy asked.

A large part of her presentation hinged on the CIA's World War II-era predecessor, the Office of Strategic Service. The OSS was started in large part as a result of America's lack of an intelligence gathering and an analysis agency after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, McCarthy said.

Among the dozens of World War II OSS agents McCarthy noted were Moe Berg, the professional baseball player who spoke a dozen languages and helped the U.S. gauge Nazi Germany's prospects of developing an atom bomb and the "famous limping lady of the OSS," Virginia Hall, who helped disrupt German communications in the build-up to the Normandy invasion despite her wooden leg.

"D-day stands for deception day," McCarthy said, "It was all predicated upon lies."

McCarthy ended her presentation with a display of old -school spy gadgets, some of which are still in use. Laying on a display table that would fit nicely in Q's famed MI6 laboratory was, among other spy gadgets, a matchbox camera for capturing secret documents, a "doggie doo" transmitter that gave away troop positions and, if "things got a little dicey," an easily concealable dagger disguised as a pencil.

Organizers were excited about showcasing the often-times overlooked history of U.S. spies. UMD Intelligence Community Club Vice President Shoshana Plotkin said most of the club's events feature employee recruiters, so having an intellectual conversation about a hidden part of the nation's history was exciting.

"She's a historian, so she knows a lot about the background of these organizations," Plotkin said. "It's important that students know some history."

Some students were surprised to hear about some of the U.S. spy methods, including the OSS's use of pigeons in areas where radio messages were easily intercepted. "Pigeons, who knew?" said Amanda Musiani, a junior psychology major. "They were using, like, birds to spy. That's crazy."

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