CHAPTER VIII | SOA Watch: Close the School of the Americas

INTRODUCTION:

In the previous chapters we discussed the vulnerabilities of the
guerrillas. We already saw that the CI agent must be alert to
recognize these vulnerabilities, and to base on these the
operations of his employees. For example. he must know the five
steps related with the latent insurrection, and how to exploit the
objectives that are in each step. He also recognizes the relations
that exist among the steps of intelligence, propaganda,
organization, training and the struggle itself. The Ci agent
continues gather or searching for information through his extensive
network of employees.

DEVELOPMENT:

A. Like future CI agents, you know perfectly that there are many
types of employees and diverse operation that these must carry out.
For example, the supervisor of the employee is intelligent,
confident, flexible and able; he has good administrative and
leadership qualities, since he is probably employed for different
reasons: Let's see. If for security reasons, MUST NOT make contact
with the employee, if the operation is carried out in a
particularly hostile environment, if he has an extensive network of
employees, etc. The person in charge of gathering information is
the one who performs the work. That persons gives fulfillment to
the mission - that is to say, satisfies the requirement. Now then,
the requirement or the problem could be complicated, for example,
this could be an operation of penetration of a dissident rural
organization. It could also be of simple observation of the
population and the surroundings of the village, in order to take in
the whole activity. In order to satisfy this requirement; or give
a solution to this problem, the CI agent locates, controls or
observes and makes contact with the employees. He must rely on
secure places or zones, where he could train and test his
employees. Often he has to seek the assistance of experts when the
mission demands technical support. In this way, we see that a
THIRD TYPE OF EMPLOYEE is needed.. the support employee. We al
know that the CI agent is an individual who although may have been
well trained, he can only do a number of things in a specific time.
Therefore, he employs support personnel for assistance in
the operations.

We have then that there are many types of employees and diverse
types of missions which fluctuate between the most complex
penetration up to simple observation demands of a village.

- What fictitious identity must this individual have in order

-105-

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

to be able to fulfil his mission?

B. Before sanding him in pursuit of his mission, the employee
must be given a detailed identity that will serve him to conceal
the task that he is going to perform. Said identity could be
TOTALLY fictitious or ALMOST true; the latter is more advisable..
Regardless what his nature may be, the identity must become part of
the employee, be must know even the most intimate details. He must
be so natural$ as if it was his prior identity. All that the
employee possesses gives credence to his identity from his personal
identification documents to what he carries in his pockets. in
other words, the employee lives his identity. he truly converts
into the person that he representing. it is not matter what type of
employee he is - supervisor, information collector or support
employee, the parson uses an identity when he carries out his
search or information gathering obligations. In addition, the CI
agent provides identities to a cell or group of cells that may be
jointly working in a mission. All these persons could work to
"Protect" an established organization, whether public or private,
providing a service or selling a product. In this aspect, the
identity has to be complete, that is to say, the service that is
provided or the product it makes have to be true. In this manner,
while surreptitiously carry out his mission, the individual LIVES
his identity and works for the good of the common cause of the
organization.

C. NEED FOR AND HOW TO ESTABLISH AN IDENTITY FOR COVERT
OPERATIONS:

1. The reason that supports the use of identities, whether
individual or for cells, could be summarized in a single word:
SECURITY. We already have dealt with the general principles of
individual, cell or operational security. We also have dealt with
specific measures that are put into practice to MAINTAIN this
security. We said that the identity, cover and general principles
were the means put into practice to MAINTAIN a good security
system. The identity provides the employee excuse to live where he
lives, to work where he works, and to deal socially with the
persons he deals with.

The Identity, as we said before, gives credence to individual
actions of the employee at the same time " conceals" his
clandestine movements. The identity allows, a cell or a group of
employees to work TOGETHER. It helps the employee or the group to
avoid suspicion of the guerrillas. In this manner, the identity
protects the employee against the guerrillas, and places him in a
position from which to carry out his mission. With good acumen,
the identity could also protect the mission against worse
consequences if the employee is discovered. We could well say that
the identity is a true art since it deals with human beings, the
relations among them, what they believe and what they feel, with
their habits and their expressions, their aspirations and their
actions.

-106-

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

2. The same general steps that are given for an identity
could be put into action whether the employee remains fixed in an
area, travels through said area, or may have to be introduced in
this after having been interviewed. In all cases, it is important
to remember that the employee is able to perform the recommended
tasks and at the same time to live his normal life. Nevertheless,
the CI agent prepares an identity which hides the clandestine
activities of the employee at the time he executes them, since the
SEARCH FOR INFORMATION or the gathering of this information could
be outside the normal activities of the employee. For example, an
employee who lives his identity in a village which in under the
control of the guerrillas has to conceal the act of interrogating
the villagers with respect to guerrilla organization , and give the
appearance that he is only casually interested on the subject. The
information must be obtained, but the true reasons for
acquiring it must be hidden behind a protecting identity that gives
credence, and which the employee could live totally. Therefore,
when the CI agent proceeds to develop or "manufacture" an identity,
he has in mind the following: " How can the true identity and the
natural activity of this employee be adopted to natural activities
to be used to conceal two general types of identities: That which
the employee lives daily, and that which gives the employee a
reason to perform his mission during those occasions in which he
performs clandestine actions. We shall call the first -
POSITION IDENTITY and the second ACTION IDENTITY.
The position identity gives the employee an excuse to live where he
lives, the action identity provides the innocent pretext that
conceals the search action or gathering of information.

On giving the employee his identities, the agent has in mind the
following:

a. ANALYZE THE MISSION OF THE EMPLOYEE: For example, He often
used a support employee only in certain phases of the search
operation within the zone controlled by the guerrillas, whether to
locate, investigate, or make contact with other employees, while an
employee supervisor as a rule has the mission of controlling a
cell, or more than an employee, in all his movements.
Consequently, the CI agent studies carefully each phase of the
mission to make certain that the identity ia in accordance with the
same.

b. CONSIDER THE EMPLOYEE: After analyzing the mission, the CI
agent considers the employee. Be decided then which identity would
explain the WHO, WHAT, WHERE, and WHY of the employee's actions and
besides all this, to be in agreement with his personal history. He
must work with the employee, study his history, analyze his
intelligence and his personal qualities in order to decide then
which identity would be more appropriate. The ideal would be that
the employee could perform his many tasks using his true name,
personal history. For example, we saw the case in which the
employee is of military age, and naturally, he would normally be

-107-

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

fulfilling his military obligations. If he divulges his true age,
a guerrilla would suspect that this employee has some connection
with the government. After analyzing the mission of the employee,
his personal history, and his personality, we retain those parts of
his true history that could be used for identification purposes an
discard the rest. The CI agent combines the useful information of
the history with the rest of the identity. He must be certain that
the new identity of the employee will stand before the
investigation of the guerrillas. Examined the identity in detail
to make certain that it is realistic and it is according to customs
and activities of the area. The identity should satisfy the
questions which the guerrillas commonly make. It is impossible to
create an identity for an individual if the last details are not
arranged to complete satisfaction of the employee. The employee
must meet the necessary requirements in order to be able to LIVE
his identity naturally and complacency, and he must be able to
fulfil the assigned mission. The identity is not. so complex or
weak that does not offer the employee time to complete his mission.
For example, he must not give. an employee the identity of a
fisherman who must be introduced in a rural coastal zone and at the
same time, work from sunrise to sunset, fishing in a boat far from
the coast.

On the contrary, he is given a less demanding identity and the
economic means that allow him certain freedom of movement. At the
same tine, the identity must provide the employee a reasonable
explanation of certain " tools related to the mission" that could
be in his possession. once again, we must be flexible and use
common sense. There is no imaginable identity that could disguise
the reason that a migrant farm worker has in his possession a Leika
camera with telephotographic lenses. In this case, we conceal out
actions. Therefore, the identity is in agreement with the
character of the individual, at the same time he must be provided
a means of support that may not be the compensation that he may
receive from the search and information gathering activities.

d. CONSIDER THE ENVIRONMENT

Immediately after, the counterintelligence agent considers the.
environment in which the employee is getting ready to go to work.
Analyzes the conditions under which the employee is going to
perform. is it an urban or a rural area? In an urban zone, a
strange face would arise less suspicion that in a rural community.
Under what circumstances could the individual solicit information
in the area? What freedom of movement has the employee? Would a
walking traveler arise suspicion? The employee must be prepared to
explain why he travels from one place to another where he has been,
and what he presently does. According to what we deal with at the
initial testing, an investigation must be made of the area to
determine the conditions and activities which prevail in it. In
the case of the employee who is resident of the zone, the

-108-

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

counterintelligence agent or an employee who provides support will
do the investigation. The information obtained, like other reports
obtained from the archives or other investigating means, must be
then incorporated to a general identity. if an employee is going to
be introduced Into an area, which the CI CANNOT enter, said agent
could use an Investigating support agent. If this is not
possible, the CI agent will have to depend on the information he
has about the employee, the information he has compiled from
captured local guerrillas, or the investigation he did of the
archives and publications.

D. TYPES OF IDENTITY:

1. In addition to position and action identities, there are two
other types of identities. Instead of being based on actions of
the employee, the other two categories are based on the degree of
veracity that the information has.

In other words, we define the types of identities, according to
amount of information needs to be used to develop them.

2. We already have discussed, during the lecture, the true
identity related with the development of the identity. We said
that the counterintelligence agent must analyze the personal
history of the employee and his personality, and COMBINE THEM to
adopt then to the identity. In this manner, the true identity is
the employees own identity. The ideal would be that the only NOT
REAL aspect of the employee's pretext ( or identity) were the
relations with the CI agent or supervisor in his secret mission.
The REAL identity is the best type since it can be substantiated.
In a way it does not matter how intensely the guerrillas study or
investigate the employee, these parts of his identity which are
real will remain credible at all times. On the other hand, an
employee who resides in the zone and remains there, could use the
real identity with good results. He will only have to conceal the
relationship he has with the government representative and offer
credible reasons for his absence during the periods or moments in
which he is meeting with the counterintelligence agent. The real
identity is com bined with the action identity to disguise the
clandestine actions with an apparently NATURAL and CONTINUOUS
action. in another way, an employee who has carried out a
penetration and has been placed in an organization or group, could
use his true identity and benefit from it., He must disguise the
reason for which he joined the group and conceal his clandestine
activities, but his own identity could counteract any
investigation, if he uses his true personal history. This way, we
see that the true identity provides credibility and a solid base of
existence. That could only be developed through a detailed
analysis of the personal history of the individual and his
personality. As you already know, the CI agent deals with the
employee ALL aspects of his identity in a way that he is in
agreement with the true nature of the employee and mainly consists

-109-

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

of facts taken from his real life. Thus, the guerrilla has less
probabilities of suspecting that the former is conducting an
investigation of the latter, will not discover the true mission of
the employee.

3. As its name indicates, the fictitious identity is false and,
therefore, cannot stand up to a constant analysis. it must be used
up to a certain point; all depends on the mission, on the
environment in which the employee must operate and on the employee
himself.

The CI agent, who works closely with the employee, will decide
what part of the identity should be false in order to protect the
employee and the mission, if this in credible and will support a
careful examination.

4. There are cases in which it is necessary to introduce the
employee to a guerrilla organization. The employee could play the
role of a government deserter who is willing to work for the cause
of the guerrillas. The government provides him with certain
information which he must present to the guerrillas at the same
time, on his part, he tries to gather information. His identity as
a rule is completely false and could be discovered easily. The
guerrillas suspect these men and they also investigate carefully.
These "introduced" employees are rarely used. The "introduction"
of an employee who resides in the area is much easier, because
although his reasons for joining the guerrilla force are false, the
rest of his identity is real. Here, we must remember that the
communist guerrillas are familiar with these actions and conduct
exhaustive investigations of the recruits who aspire to join their
ranks. This way, we say that any operation which the employee may
carry out, the identity whether real or false, must be able to
resist a careful analysis.

5. Another type of fictitious identity is that which is used
when the employee is surprised in the act of fulfilling his
mission. It is logical to think that the employee will provide him
a reasonable action identity, and that will serve to disguise his
true action. Now then, what would happen if this identity fails?.
The employee is prepared to present another credible reason,
although false, for his conduct. in normal circumstances, if the
action identity does not disguise the fact as it should, the
employee becomes a center of suspicion. Since the intelligence
activities are suspicious, and when the action identity fails, the
employee must then make the guerrilla believe that he is conducting
criminal acts instead of intelligence operations. it is possible
that the employee could disguise his intelligence activities if he
admits his guilt to a criminal act that would reasonably explain
his suspected action;

6. Now that we know what identities could be true or false (
fictitious), we must devote then ourselves to analyze the

-110-

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

two types of cell identities that are used.

The different of the position and action identities which are
based on the position the employee occupies in the community, in
his actions and in the true and fictitious identities that are
defined according to veracity of the information Used, the call
type identities are catalogued according to types of positions the
individual calls enjoy. These two categories of call identity
could be based on real or false information. All depends on the
identity that is needed.

7. We said that a call has more than one employee or
counterintelligence agent who work together in a specific
clandestine mission. For reasons of coordination, training or due
to nature of the mission, perhaps may be necessary to hold periodic
meetings with members of the call who, because of their position,
are not of the same social class and for that reason cannot meet
with the sane frequency without arousing suspicions. The
counterintelligence agent or the employee supervisor must then
select a natural and frank reason to hold a meeting. Therefore,
must have an identity which provides a credible excuse so that this
group of individuals may meet. In a rural zone, a meeting of this
nature is very difficult to prepare and impossible to hold without
arousing suspicion of the population and of the guerrillas. As you
know, it is very easy in a rural zone to watch all movements that
persons who live there make. The family connections, the
relatively reduced number of people, the hates and passions of the
people all these factors combine to make the environment very
suspicious and open, naturally for that reason constitutes a threat
to security. On the other hand, the situation in the urban areas
is entirely different. Due to urban environment, the people are
accustomed to constantly change jobs and residence; everything is
crowded in the city. Due to the fact that in the urban environment
prevails an attitude that we could call " unconcerned", it is much
easier to hold here call meetings and to use the cell identity.
Sheltered by said identity, Just as a celebration of a national
holiday, a meeting o theology studies, or a book club, or games,
etc., the counterintelligence agent or the employee supervisor
could hold a meeting without arousing alarm or suspicion. The type
of meeting ( simple or sophisticated) and nature of the identity
that is needed depends on the mission and. requirements of the
employee. However, such meetings must be held" only when they are
absolutely necessary and the identity of the cell must be
thoroughly and totally credible.

Of course, just like the case of the other identities, this must
be in agreement with the activities and natural identities of the
specific employee.

a. ORGANIZATION IDENTITY:

1) We are now going to consider an identity to provide to

-111-

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

cell employees, a positive reason of working regularly together.
For example, when the administration, direction or support given to
a clandestine activity must be carried out through the combined
effort of persons who have to justify their constant association,
an organization identity must be then created under the shelter of
which all interested could work together. In the first case, a
false identity would be necessary. In the latter, the true
identity could be used. The organization identity is used to
disguise and protect the employees and their activities, as well as
the installations where the clandestine activities are carried out.
Let's see an example: In the case of the latin American countries,
a fruit company could serve as an excellent front or "cover" for an
organization, real or false, since under the pretext of buying land
or fruit, or of inspecting certain locations in respect to fruit
marketing, the employees could gather large amounts of highly
useful information. Now then, it is logical to assume that the
type of organization identity used will depend on the security
requirements and the efficiency demanded from the employed
personnel. As you can imagine, the organization identity is very
convenient since it allows a close coordination and protection to
archives of easy access. Just like the case of the other types of
identities, the organization identity depends on the individual.
That is to say, each employee or agent must LIVE his identity in
order to be able to sustain the pretext of the group.

E. AUTHENTICATION OF IDENTITY:

1. The identity is used to disguise the fact that they are
carrying out clandestine operations. Said identity must be a
complete summary of the past, present and future of the employee,
presented in such a logic and realistic manner that it avoids to
raise the suspicion of the guerrillas and the subsequent
identification of the employee. The counterintelligence agent must
be certain that all aspects of the employee identity are dully
tested and authenticated. For example, that the total identity be
credible and realistic.

For the authentication of an employee three steps are given: the
identity is developed, the documents which sustain said identity
are selected, the personal property is inspected and the natural
appearance is given to articles which the individual carried in his
pocket.

a. DEVELOPMENT OF AN IDENTITY:

1) We already have considered the points to consider when the
identity of an employee is developed. A good identity includes a
position and an action identity which gives the employee access to
the objective. The identity must: follow closely the personal
history of the individual to be sufficiently detailed to appear
real; be sustained by the necessary documents, consider all
possible contingencies, be faithfully memorized by the employee.

-112-

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The counterintelligence agent must train and rehearse the employee
in the use of his identity. He must be certain that the employee
knows it thoroughly and that he does not forget his true identity,
while performing his mission. The employee is send to the area
only after he has been thoroughly trained, and he is sufficiently
trained to perform all aspects of his identity. In addition, the
employee must live in the area and practice his identity it is to
bin entirely natural. Now then, this is necessary when the degree
of identity needed is determined. AP we have seen, there are cases
in which some employees can retain all aspects of the real and
present life, and only have to disguise their association or their
relations with the counterintelligence agent. We saw others, in
which the employee assumes a totally now or different identity to
be able to perform his mission. Such employees practice and live
their identity, before they attempt to carry out the mission.

2) In selecting the identity of the employees the
counterintelligence agent selects also the documents which he needs
to sustain said identity. The documents identify, grant
privileges, or provide a measure of control. The amount of
documents necessary to authenticate the identity of an employee
depends on the area of the objective and the mission that is going
to be carried out. Let's see. In an urban area, it is very
possible that an employee only needs those documents that confirm
his identity. For example, if it is the case of an employee who
has the identity of a traveling salesman, the documents could
include an identification card in which is stated his place of
birth, residence , etc., an authorization to travel, and , if his
identity demands it, a falsified card of affiliation to a guerrilla
organization.

In Malaysia, the government has employees "placed" inside the
guerrilla organization, whose mission was to obtain passes or
permits and identification cards of the guerrilla organization.
each time the guerrillas changed the preparation form, color or
other aspects of the cards, the government also was changing theirs
and issued then to employees. The number of employees that were
discovered by the guerrillas as a result of the use of these
documents was small. We have then that the required documentation
depends on the identity to be adopted. The counterintelligence
agent must ascertain that the documents complement the identity.
The employee must become thoroughly familiar with his documents.
However, this is better than an anonymous system - depending on an
excellent set of documents and to know that the employee is totally
familiar with his identity. For that reason, must not be
substituted. The documents sustain the identity of the employee
but the success of both is craftiness.

2. Since the majority of low level employees available to carry
out an internal defense operation will be residents of their
village or city, neither the personal appearance of the same nor
the property, such as clothes, represent a problem as it refers to
identity. However, on authenticating the employee's identity, the

-113-

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

counterintelligence agent considers such points like mannerisms os
the individual, his height, his accent and vocabulary use. He must
be certain that everything is in accordance with the position he
occupies in the locality. A traveling sales man who has a
motorcycle could raise suspicion if he is found in an area where
the roads are very deficient, or where there are few mechanical
means. A villager would attract much attention if "without
warning" and without acceptable justification acquired new clothes
or other conveniences.

3> If for any reason, the employee is subjected to a search by
the guerrillas, all papers or articles found in his possession have
to confirm or verify his identity. That is to say, even when these
documents certify his identity, it is very possible that the
articles that he carries in his pocket could incriminate his.
Let's see an example: The receipt of an article bought in a village
could support the statement of the individual who insists of having
been in said town. On the other hand, could confirm the suspicions
of the guerrillas that the individual is lying.

SUMMARY:

We have dealt with the subject of employee and cell identities,
and of course, we have seen that they are very necessary to
security. Because the employee's operations are so extensive,
security becomes a constant reason of concern for the
counterintelligence agent. In order to maintain a good security
system, credible identities are developed in his organization of
employees. In doing so, takes into consideration the mission to be
carried out, the specific employee who is going to do it, and the
area where if going to be done, BEFORE HE CAN DECIDE what identity
is the most convenient. Naturally, the demands or requirements
that must be met limit up to a certain point the alternative
possibilities. Nevertheless, tries then to do the possible-
because the identity is in agreement with the true history and
personality of the employee. After analyzing the employee and
working with him, moves on to consider the operational environment
in which the mission is going to be carried out. He must develop
a position identity and another of action in order to give the
employee a credible excuse of his presence in the area and another
to disguise his actions. in developing an identity uses the
employee's personal history as much as possible. A fictitious
identity could be introduced whenever the need to do it arises, but
must be realistic and credible. There are times when a cell
identity must be developed to disguise the clandestine reason that
supports the meeting of persons, who apparently are from different
social classes. The counterintelligence agent develops an identity
of an organization whose purpose is to disguise in a realistic
manner the activities of the group of persons who work together.

After considering and developing the identity, must

-114-

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

authenticate it with documents, and to obtain miscellaneous
articles for the pocket of the employee, to substantiate it. The
counterintelligence agent must train and test persistently the
agent to assure that everything is in agreement with the chosen
identity.

We must not forget that in order to develop the identity, a
careful preparation of plans and close coordination must be carried
out with the individual or individuals who are concerned with the
matter. If we do not give the necessary realism and credibility to
each phase of the identity and if the employee does not memorize
and play his role faithfully, WE HAVE LOST THE SECURITY, and it is
probable that the success of the mission comes into play.

-115-

Tell Congress to Close the SOA/WHINSEC
Congress: Close the SOA