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A Not-So-Secret Look at Espionage at the International Spy Musuem in Washington, D.C. By
George Medovoy, Editor When I called the International Spy Museum for its hours of operation, a British-accented voice answered. Hmm, I wondered, shades of James Bond? And there was more too, like the museum's 1964 Aston Martin DB5, on display in its School for Spies exhibit. This car, like the one Bond drove in the movie "Goldfinger," is complete with tire shredders, revolving license plate, rear bullet-proof shield, and machine gun headlights.
(The 1964 Aston Martin like the one used in theJames Bond film, Goldfinger) So, if you're looking for "the real thing" in espionage, this is the place, no doubt about it. Located in Washington's historic Penn Quarter one block from FBI headquarters, the museum is a not-so-secret look at the shadowy world of espionage. A notice posted at the entrance summarizes it quite fittingly: "For Your Eyes Only: Entry beyond this point is on a need-to-know basis. Who needs to know? All who would understand the world. All who would touch the unseen hands that touch our lives…You will learn the secrets of tradecraft - the tools and techniques that influence battles and sway governments…" What follows in the museum's permanent exhibition is hardly disappointing. One comes to understand the world of spying from earliest times to the early twentieth century with interactive audiovisual effects, film and photos, over 200 artifacts, and hands-on components.
(Referred to as "The Kiss of Death," the lipstick pistol was employed by KGB operatives during the Cold War. This 4.5 mm single shot weapon was disguised as a tube of lipstick, easily hidden in a purse) Among some fascinating exhibits are these: "Sisterhood
of Spies," revealing the role of women in espionage, like the legendary
Mata Hari; Many of the artifacts on display are being seen for the first time and include: Enigma,
the legendary World War II German cipher machine; From an interactive perspective, I think the best part of the museum is "Operation Spy," an action-packed hour in which I joined several other visitors to "play act" the roles of U.S. intelligence officers trying to locate a missing nuclear triggering device in a fictional country named Khandar. The device would command a good deal of money on the black market, we were told, and certain people were willing to sell it…unless, of course, we could stop them. Led by a museum guide, we found ourselves walking through a fictional city looking much like a movie set and filled with video characters and special effects. We had to decrypt secret audio conversations, penetrate a high-security compound, and polygraph a suspect agent. At one point, we broke into someone's empty house to rummage through drawers and files in order to find secret nuclear plans and photograph them.
(The exterior of the Spy City Cafe) When things got too hot and we had to make a fast escape, our guide led us into the back of a truck, which was obviously a "Hollywood-style" set that only looked like the back of a truck and, thanks to special effects, felt pretty bumpy as we quickly drove to safety. Were we successful in preventing the nuclear triggering device from falling into the wrong hands? Yes, and once out of hostile territory, we gathered at a bar to review our secret mission and celebrate. Unfortunately, the liquor bottles standing behind the bar were only there for dramatic effect!
(Try a hot dog at the Spy City Cafe...and disguise it any way you want) Beyond the very real espionage artifacts, the museum also has no shortage of spy "professionals" on its advisory council, among them Judge William Webster, the former director of the FBI and the CIA; Major General Oleg Kalugin, former chief of KGB foreign counterintelligence, who conducted espionage as a Radio Moscow correspondent with the United Nations; Dame Stella Rimington, the former director general of the famed British security service known as MI5; Antonio Joseph Mendez, former chief of disguise for the CIA; and R. James Woolsey, former director of the CIA. And talk about spy professionals -- the museum's executive director, Peter Earnest, spent a 36-year career with the CIA, including over 20 years in its Clandestine Service. He was stationed in Europe and the Middle East and for 10 years in the Soviet-East European arena.
(Peter Earnest, executive director of the International Spy Museum) Since retiring, Earnest has also been a consultant on film productions with espionage-related themes like "Clear and Present Danger" and the History Channel's "Top Secret Missions of the CIA." Earnest grew up in the Washington, D.C. area and earned his bachelor's degree from Georgetown University in 1955, at which time he was commissioned a reserve officer in the United States Marine Corps. He went on to serve a tour of active duty with the First Marine Air Wing, Fleet Marine Force, in Japan. In a telephone interview, the amiable Earnest discussed espionage in general and his own work, or at least as much as he could. He explained the public's fascination with spying by pointing to "the sheer fascination with secrecy." "I think people are always fascinated by that which they have not been privy to," he said. "There is that fascination of the shadows." Since 9-11, he added, there has been an increased interest in intelligence as a first line of defense against terrorists. And
what does Earnest think makes a good spy? Espionage work requires a variety of skills, he said, including the ability to analyze data, learn languages, be adaptable and work undercover. Of course, it all comes down to one's specialty, and some specialists can spend their entire careers analyzing data, rather than doing 'cloak-and-dagger' work. When Earnest worked for the CIA in Eastern Europe and the Middle East, his primary role was to "recruit (native) individuals for intelligence collection." "Recruiting people in Eastern Europe could be extraordinarily difficult," he said, "because we were under surveillance as was much of the population." Among some of his more memorable espionage experiences in the U.S. that he can talk about is one in which he was involved in "running" a Soviet undersecretary of the UN named Arkady Shevchenko. "We ran him in place for a couple of years as an agent (for us)," Earnest said. "Then he formally defected." But even with the end of the Soviet Union, the Russians are still spying on the United States, Earnest noted. Between 1995 and 2000, the Russians' "number two man in New York had 60 people under him" who were involved in espionage before he formally defected. "They're still spying on us," he said. WHEN
YOU VISIT… Visitors can also browse through a store with products related to spying, including books, maps and prints. There
is also a "Spy City Café, which offers snacks like hot dogs, which,
says a sign, you can "disguise" with a variety of toppings. Admission to Operation Spy is $14 for ages 12 and over. The combined admission and Operation Spy fees are $25 for ages 12 and over. For general information, call (202) 393-7798 - which can also be read as 202-EYE-SPY-U -- or visit www.spymuseum.org.
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