Canadian Intelligence and Northern Ireland

[Ron Jack]

Warkintel at aol.com wrote:

> Dear Ron Jack,
>
> I am sure there is no evidence for Canadian intelligence support for British
> intelligence operations in Northern Ireland.  The very notion betrays lack of
> understanding about the nature of Canadian intelligence (not to mention the
> nature of British intelligence).  Canada  had its own intelligence collection
> priorities, which never included Northern Ireland, and like all small and
> under-funded intelligence communities had to be very parsimonious about what
> they did.
>
> Maurice Tugwell's connection to Northern Ireland was as a British army
> officer.
>
> Wesley K. Wark
>
> Intelligence Forum (http://www.intelforum.org) is sponsored by Intelligence
> and National Security, a Frank Cass journal
>(http://www.frankcass.com/jnls/ins.htm)

With all due respect Prof. Wark,  what my  post betrays  is a healthy
interest in
putting the
missing pieces together.   I am not an acadenic -  I note that there are at
least four
Canadian
academics  who subscribe to this mailgroup -  and I approach Intelligence
history from
a layman's  point of view.  As I told you privately,  my perception is that
CASIS and
the published  authorities in Canadian Intelligence studies write
'oh-so-careful'
books and
busy themselves with mutually supportive book reviews.  Maybe I can be
proven wrong,
but
it's  what keeps people like me in the bushes, rather than attending  CASIS
events.
Some
of the most important revelations of our Intelligence history have come,
and will
continue to
come from foreign archives.

Brig. Tugwell was indeed a career soldier of note, a CBE,  and quite
possibly a friend
of yours.
I didn't attack him.  I just want to know more about his period as a highly
effective
practioner
of Black Ops in Northern Ireland.  I never suggested that  Ireland was a
Canadian
Intelligence
target did I?   What I suggested is that Canada - UK  intelligence sharing
on  Northern
Ireland in
the 1970s
(sorry, I should be more careful -  data on Irish revolutionaries, terrorists,
politicians and journalists)
appears not to have yet been defined a suitable topic for research and
writing.  Many
of the answers
will be found in our military and industry record groups, not merely in SS
and CSIS
records.
Did  breakthrough  Canadian research into  voice recognition technology,
and other
surveillance electronics
 get employed against the Irish?  Was any of this federally funded, and
were federal
employees ever
seconded to the UK  to assist  in operational trials?   Did it lead to
deaths in
Ireland or in England?
Is that proveable by skilled researchers?  Did Canada help the Brits
disrupt IRA
ratlines into
North America?  If so, are the details interesting?
How were such activities, if  conducted, managed in order to safeguard Canadian
government interests?
If  SAS and other specialist teams conducted training at Gagetown, Borden
and  other
DND
facilities in the 1970s and 80s, what was the payback?   Was the sharing
confined to
military expertise?
The catchphrase in those days was "Low Intensity Operations", as I recall.
That was
the era of the FLQ,
Black September, Baader-Meinhof, and Ottawa's  paranoia  over 1976 Olympics
security...

It was an interesting time.
I could go on Sir, but the point is merely to suggest that you cannot
discount my
query  by simply
saying we had no Intelligence collecting "priority" in Northern Ireland.  I
remind you
that  Canadian
counter intelligence work  against the  Communist Chinese has been a
tasking for
decades - and yet
is not of much interest to our stable of  writers working security -
intelligence
topics. When is someone going to
attempt to stuff a book     or a maybe a  large rubber boot,  into the
Black Hole
which swallows everything
to do with PRC operations in Canada?
Let's keep it friendly.  I admire your work, but I have side interests.
Cheers!
Ron Jack  on the Left Coast of Canada



Intelligence Forum (http://www.intelforum.org) is sponsored by Intelligence
and National Security, a Frank Cass journal (http://www.frankcass.com/jnls/ins.htm)