There are plenty of Christmas gift options for that special intelligence enthusiast, security aficionado or obscure item collector in your life. Finding the perfect present may well depend, however, on where the savvy reader has wandered along the way this year. Just as we have for Christmases past (IO, 23/12/22 and 22/12/23), Intelligence Online presents a bounty of surprises to set beneath the tree.
For history buffs
Fans of the history of intelligence, and more particularly of cryptology, may be tempted by the purchase of an Enigma machine. An American museum dedicated to the emblematic World War II item, used by Nazi Germany to encrypt its communications, has put several examples on sale for up to $400,000 each.
A four-rotor model from 1944 sold at Christie's for £347,250 in 2020. But if cryptology geeks can't afford to actually buy an Enigma machine, they can see them up close in various museums around the world, including the Musée des Transmissions in Cesson-Sévigné near the French city of Rennes.
Visitors to the National Cryptologic Museum - the NSA's museum in the US state of Maryland - can even freely handle two models of the famous machine (IO, 18/10/24). France's DGSE foreign intelligence agency has at least four examples, but does not give the public access to them.
For book lovers
A 2019 book still popular in French is Les Guerres de l'Ombre de la DGSI ("The Shadow Wars of the DGSI", French domestic intelligence). Its author, journalist Alex Jordanov, is due to go on trial next year in Paris and faces up to five years in prison and a €75,000 fine for allegedly "acquiring and disclosing classified information… and disclosing information enabling a source to be identified" in his book (IO, 28/11/24).
If you can wait until the New Year for a slightly delayed Christmas present, a historical work will go on sale on 11 January at the Drouot auction house in Paris. The work is the original hardback account of the 1812 trial in the so-called Michel affair, in which four French soldiers under Napoleon's regime were convicted of spying for Russia. It is valued at between €80 and €150.
You could read it while smoking a Cuban cigar from the personal cigar box of Roger Moore, one of the actors who famously played James Bond. That item is currently up for sale by the same Paris auction house, with a starting price is £7,000 for the box and three intact Havana cigars.
There is, however, one book that you won't be able to put under the Christmas tree. French General Christophe Gomart was hoping to repeat the success of his 2020 memoir Soldat de l'Ombre: Au Cœur des Forces Spéciales ("Shadow Soldier: at the Heart of the Special Forces"), co-written with journalist Jean Guisnel and published by Tallandier.
The sequel, recalling his years at the helm of the DRM, the French military intelligence directorate, had been completed (IO, 30/04/24). But Gomart then got caught up in politics and was elected on the conservative Les Républicains party list in European elections in June. His publisher told Intelligence Online that it has decided not to publish the work.
Smiley for your Christmas tree
George Smiley, the fictional Secret Intelligence Service (SIS, or MI6) officer in the bestselling spy novels of John le Carré, can now feature alongside the tinsel and baubles on your Christmas tree. On the Etsy site, the Hey Kids Rock'n Roll online store offers the legendary British spy as a hanging paper decoration along with an envelope to send it in. With Smiley watching over the room from the branches of the tree, the security of your presents will be guaranteed.
For agents on a mission in Pakistan
If your job takes you to Pakistan over the festive period, head for the imposing Saeed Book Bank in Islamabad, where you will find a host of academic works to help you analyse the influence of the army and intelligence in the country. They include the well-documented Inside Pakistan's Military Economy by Ayesha Siddiqa or the more recent Pakistan's ISI: A Concise History of the Inter-Services Intelligence Directorate, by Julian Richards, which was published in September.
If you're keen on goodies, a night at the Serena Hotel in Islamabad will give you plenty to fill your suitcases with (IO, 13/12/24). As well as the inevitable Pakistan's intelligence service ISI or Pakistan Air Force keyrings and fridge magnets, the hotel shops offer the autobiography of former prime minister Imran Khan, Pakistan: A Personal History. Khan has been imprisoned since May 2023 on various charges brought by the military authorities.
Chinese Communist Christmas
Chinese communists can rest easy this Christmas, as they are already assured of a gift, even though the tradition is a Western import. Most of them will receive the latest compendium of President Xi Jinping's musings, entitled Xi Jinping Cultural Thought Study Outline. The tome was published this month by the propaganda department of the Chinese Communist Party's (CCP) central committee.
The text is intended to help the population respond as effectively as possible to "foreign interference campaigns" that question the party's principles, objectives and strategies. CCP members have already been warned that the work is compulsory reading for them, to be completed before the start of the new year.
After that, the younger set might want to take part in one of the many Learning to Strengthen the Country competitions organised in most of China's provinces to identify the best connoisseurs of the president's ideas and official speeches broadcast during his third term (IO, 09/05/24).
To take the challenge, which is impossible from abroad, simply download ChatXiPT, a chatbot deployed a few months ago by the Cyberspace Administration of China.
In Bangkok, silk with a hint of mystery
If you're on a mission to spend the festive season in Thailand and want to look smart, you can treat yourself to a Jim Thompson silk garment and wear it proudly at the OSS Bar near the Jim Thompson House museum in Bangkok (IO, 09/02/24).
The American, who revived silk weaving in the Thai capital in the 1950s by creating the Thai Silk Company, worked for the Office of Strategic Services, the forerunner of the CIA, during World War II.
His mysterious 1967 disappearance in the Cameron Highlands in Malaysia continues to inspire novelists and journalists alike, almost 60 years on, as we await the complete declassification of the CIA's archives on him.
For lovers of Russian rations
If your loved ones are fond of edible gifts, you can buy them a Russian army food ration. Soldiers don't much like them, but in Russia they are popular with Sunday hunters and fishermen nostalgic for their military service.
North Korean fighters sent to help Russian forces on the Ukrainian front a few months ago are also fond of them. Videos on social media posted by North Korean soldiers show them gobbling up the rations with clear delight.
The rations are for sale in Russian military surplus shops and online, but it might be tricky paying the bill as Russia was excluded from the SWIFT banking system after it invaded Ukraine. Taking a leaf out of Russian oligarchs' book, you could route your money transfer via Dubai (IO, 23/01/24 and 01/02/24) or use cryptocurrency platforms.
But beware, as Uzbekistan's cryptocurrency is currently being scrutinised by the UK's National Crime Agency (IO, 31/10/24). You might get some advice from certain oil traders on how to proceed, as they are fond of such alternative payment methods.
Beyond all of these recommendations and gift ideas, the staff at Intelligence Online wish the global village of intrigue a very happy festive season!
