Spies & Intelligence: The World of International Espionage

Did you know that a double agent is a spy who pretends to work for a country/organization while secretly working for a different, often hostile, one? Deception is central in espionage and counter-espionage operations. Double agents are valuable assets because they can be used to transmit disinformation to the enemy, identify other enemy agents, and collect intelligence on the inner workings of the opposing side. 

Attorney Oak Dowling pulls back the curtain with information and examples of the difference between turned agents, infiltrators, and mercenaries. One famous case is the British “Double-Cross System” during World War II, which was a successful double agent operation, where German spies were “turned” and used to feed false information to their Nazi controllers. 

Oak Dowling, JD, is a retired attorney with 43 years of practice. He’s a graduate of the University of Wisconsin – Madison Law School and a native of Chicago. He was a part-time Instructor of Law at College of Marin and has been an Instructor in the OLLI program at Dominican University for 13 years.  In his law classes, he uses courtroom drama to demonstrate legal principles.  

Oak has lived in Marin County for 50 years and was happily married for 61 years.  He has been a member of the Marin County Financial Abuse Specialist Team (“FAST”) and was selected as Outstanding Marin County Volunteer of the Year for 2012-2013. As an avocation, he has performed in theatre in Marin and San Francisco for 15 years.