Reflection on Spying

Going to the International Spy Museum, I learned about a new layer of history, the history of spying. It's amazing that even during the ancient Roman times, soldiers used cunning, secret ways to pass messages that contained information about war plans. Spy techniques began to develop over the years to include code deciphering devices and the use of weapons and cameras concealed in everyday items.

But what was very interesting was to see historical events through the events that happened in the spying world. Spying added a new angle to politics, a war that was behind the front lines, a struggle for information rather than for land or power, a game of intellect rather than a game of brute force.

My favorite part of the museum was the collection of posters from World War II, that warned U.S. citizen to be careful of what they talked about for fear of enemy spies getting a hold of the information. I had no idea that the concern about spies reached the public.

The last exhibit was also interesting. It was an exhibit on "cyber attacks," the use of technology to cause disruptions of electrical power that can shut down a whole nation's operations. Warfare has come a long way and it is now more difficult to know who is the enemy...