Spy games

Espionage is theft,” explains the author, who has been a French spy with the DGSE (Direction Générale de la Sécurité Extérieure) for 30 years. While domestic intelligence officers work in their own countries and are governed by laws, foreign intelligence officers are unprotected and work unequally. “Our job is to steal secrets and carry out clandestine actions that break the country's laws. We find ourselves plunged into societies whose codes and norms we don't share, and confronted with people who may be criminals or terrorists. If it's not illegal, it's not an intelligence operation,” notes Denis Henri.

While espionage is a criminal activity, it's important to set limits to prevent it from going astray, and to deal with the most perilous situations. This is the purpose of this essay. Combining personal and historical examples with philosophical reflections, this practical handbook for good spies, written by an agent who has worked in many foreign countries over the last 30 years, answers a hundred or so essential questions: what rules and limits should a spy impose on himself? Should he put his country's interests first? What is the problem of just cause? 

L'espion also deals with more sensitive issues: can blackmail and threats be used to achieve one's ends? When can violence be used? Are there cases where torture is justified and effective? Is it permissible to kill, and in what circumstances? What happens if things go wrong?
Denis Henri also tackles more intimate questions: How far can you take your wife and children? What can you say to them? Can you spy on your friends or colleagues? How far can you play with seduction, engaging in a sexual relationship to deceive a target?

To provide food for thought and an ethical tool for operational action, the spy turns to the concept of the Game. It's the spy's game. To be an agent, you have to ask yourself which side and which team you want to play on. Can you play with hostage-takers, terrorists and enemy services? Can you deceive a source by hiding the rules of the game? How can you avoid the vertigo of the game?

Denis Henri is a DGSE agent. He has recruited numerous spies and worked in many countries...