I spy with my little lie

A seasoned Spook spoke out today, spat the dummy really, against governments, particularly this one, which put political self-interest above the common good. His point is that it rots away at the very framework of the intelligence community, and is a real and serious threat to democracy. Warren Reed was an Australian Secret Intelligence Service officer for 10 years. Trained by MI6, he served in Asia and the Middle East. He says,

"When a government repeatedly lies and flaunts the fact that its political survival is more important than the truth, even than the national interest, a fundamental compact with the intelligence community is broken.

Thousands of people, mainly in Canberra, have access to classified material, whether they're intelligence gatherers, analysts, policy-makers or general readers. Many have regular access to Australia's most closely guarded secrets.

Some of these secrets we generate ourselves, while others come from allies such as the US and Britain.

Imagine putting your life at risk to gather intelligence, only to be told your report wasn't distributed because "it's not what the Government wants to hear". If you were overseas with the Australian Secret Intelligence Service, would you bother sending back a report off the Indian Prime Minister's desk briefing him on John Howard's key personality traits and how his ego could be stroked to win concessions for India?

How about another showing how New Delhi had Howard's own secret briefing for the Indian trip, with all Australia's strategies laid out, before Howard left home?

Who would care? In today's heavily politicised Canberra, you'd be classified as some upstart, intent on embarrassing the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation and hence the Government.

Some foreign intelligence officers posted here from "friendly" nations are "declared", so we know who they are. But most we don't, especially from countries keen to grab our top research and development results, or Canberra's secret plans for uranium.

That's why we have ASIO. Most countries that catch foreign spies and the traitors selling the secrets have their security services run by people with good records in intelligence. Not bureaucrats who win the prime minister's favour.

So, what of that compact broken when a government values lies over truth? Most of those with access simply get on with the job, hoping they never fall foul of Canberra's draconian measures for detecting heretics who question what the Government is up to.

The worst danger is that a small number of people with access, whether through greed or to pay mortgages and school fees, will be tempted to turn traitor. Sharp intelligence operatives from overseas know the high level of access prime targets have, so there's no shortage of blandishments aimed in their direction. For that number, when a government brazenly portrays lying as a virtue, it's dead easy to decide.

Why bother to be loyal? Who cares? The Government is interested only in itself, and the public only in low interest rates. But I have access to valuable secrets: a commodity convertible into cash, if not other rewards in kind. Oh, and the money can be paid into a foreign trust account if I wish.

At a time like this, some justify treachery as helping their family out, even regarding it as honourable. In such ways are the endeavours of the rest in the intelligence community - people with sophisticated skills and experience - betrayed. The act of a handful of traitors negates the efforts of the best minds in our system.

Yes, Mr Howard, you should think of these things when you rest your head on your pillow at night.

Ultimately, of course, history will hand down its final report: unclassified and available for all to read. The shelf life of all lies, as with secrets, finally runs out."