Security Service - Essay Example

Topic: The security service was established in response to a largely imaginary threat. Security Service The security service is a composition of several coordinated roles that are mandated to ensure that security is prevalent within the nation. The United Kingdom security services include patrols, monitoring, and defence against external aggression. These are the services that are subject to this study. The security service of the United Kingdom is divided into two main apparatus. The first is the province of security Service denoted as M15. (Nicholas1990). This is charged with ensuring that there is security within the country, collectively known as internal security. The next, MI6 is charged with the responsibility of ensuring that the country is protected from external aggression and is constituted by the Intelligence service; this also undertakes overseas espionage as well as ensuring that the country has no spies. Background The security service as seen is the present body is charged with the responsibility of ensuring the security of the UK citizens. The formation of which is the subject of this study is highly associated with apparent and not actual threat to the people of this great Kingdom. (Andrew 1987) Political thinkers, social scholars and philosophers have argued that the need for a security body is not because there exists a situation but because there is need to handle a likely situation. The possibility of a likely situation is what brings in the element of imagination. To further support this, the human nature is naturally characterised by anxiety and pursuit of the future. Because the future is not certain, there is need to make some kind of projections which are greatly based on the current situations. (Knighteley 1986) These projections are the bases of future preparations or measures where an individual makes required adjustments to eliminate the chances of surprise or simply to help increase chances of preparedness. This is the foundations of the security service where the government officers sought to ensure that the country was prepared for the unforeseen circumstances in the future. The way to prepare was on the bases of the situations that the country faced at the time and which showed a tendency to recur in the future. (Knighteley 1986) This activity had characterised the world in a way that it seemed an unsafe world as nations sought to prove their superiority and military prowess by conquering other nations. It should be noted that this was not necessarily a threat on the United Kingdom but a global trend which did not suggest a continuation of the same. However, anticipation and need for preparedness forced the nation governance to devise a way to react to these situations when the time came. (Andrew 1987) This was more imaginary than actual as it was an anticipated situation and not the real matter affecting the nation at the time. Therefore, when we also talk of imaginary, it is important to indicate it is informed in the imagination and not a dream from thin air that is conceptualised and converted into an institution such as the Security Service. The following is the information one gathers as you review the past information that led to the formation of the Security Service. (Knighteley 1986) First, there was a triggering measure that was not necessarily in action on the country but was a situation that happened around the country which was viewed to either cause similar effects on the United Kingdom or drag the nation into these struggles. Though history indicates that the United Kingdom was among the nations that participated in these early struggles of power, it was not until the middle 18th century that it became a considerable force. (Knighteley 1986) Earlier on, countries such as Portugal had considerable might and had dominated overtime. Therefore, it is not proper to think of Britain at the time as a force due to the fact that was pointed out earlier. The presence of the triggering factor led the countries into preparing for future similar situations in their respective countries and this prompted two things. (Nicholas1990). The first was the formation of a body that would gather information at the earliest instance. This information would in turn be used to make informed decisions at the national level on how to properly prepare for situations bound to happen. This marked the birth of espionage and spying. The second thing was the need to have institutions that acted on the information gathered by the spies. These institutions would also ensure activities on protection were carried out accordingly. Espionage and Spying These two are said to be the act of obtaining confidential information without the knowledge of the person entrusted with the information. The whole thing about espionage or spying is getting to know the plans of the other party which simply makes him predictable and helps take proper measures against the acts of this particular individual. (Thompson 2009)The history of spying starts from the ancient writing of the bible where spies were deployed to gather information on enemies or on probable areas of occupation. Such is the case with the Israelites and the Canaan story and the Joseph and the brothers' story. Such is the age of espionage. However with time, the faces have changed as the motive, need and setting has changed. The first of the developments of espionage was the use of equipment which would tap information. Inclusion of compulsory education for spies to be, and equipping of the same. This just shows the changing faces of espionage. Espionage is the way to gather information for the purpose of ensuring preparedness in case of attacks. (Knighteley 1986) Espionage is only considered when there is need to believe that a country or individual has a plan to harm the other. Though this maybe mere speculation, there is need to have an informed side; this warrants the use of spies to gather all the information they would probably get concerning the information hinted. This though is only one side of the spying profession where individuals wait for links from unattached sources. (Nicholas1990)The other side of spying is when without any information; a country just deploys some individuals in certain areas to keep the "master" informed. In such situations, it becomes a life role as these individuals get into the subject's system by either seeking employment or simply assuming a role that camouflages their true identity. (Nicholas1990)This is not only done to secure the individual but to ensure that these individuals assume roles that put them in a position that would guarantee trust from the spy subject. This makes it possible to get the best and most confidential information from these people. This information is later on relayed on to the spy chiefs. Therefore, as we examine the study, the need to send out spies is both out of a genuine concern which is as a result of apparent rumours or sometimes in anticipation that the future may hold a challenging situation. This goes to point to us that the reaction is not informed or out of a given and certain situation but is as a result of imagination. The spying or espionage roles looked at so far are general and represent the basic guidelines and basics of the spying role, and do not necessarily point to formation of the security service. To see this in the practical setting, it calls for the evaluation of the two security details in the present security service and how the imaginary issue comes in. Noting that this is a continuation of the espionage role. (Thompson 2009) To create the understanding, the roles of the security service will be used as opposed to the branches or the apparatus of the service. Patrols These are routine visits in areas of residence and mainly involve monitoring the actual situations that happen within these areas. Though there may be no much information gathered on the insecurity of these areas, there is need to ensure that these patrols are carried out. This again is in the anticipation of the occurrence of a situation that may pose a threat to the well being of the residents. (Andrew 1987) This being as a result of previous experiences with criminals or an experience of attacks in the past period. This makes this anticipatory and is meant to give potential criminals or burglars a sense that they are being watched which in the end, plays out a deterrent role. This compounds the fact that the role played out by the security service is more anticipatory and based on an imaginary view more than it is based on the actual situation as maybe in the residences. This is just a current view of the situation but what led to it is no different as these situations were existent at the time of the service's inception. (Knighteley 1986) When the security service was formed in the early years of the 20th century, it was not really formed to ensure that the situation at hand was zeroed on; it was formed to ensure that a repeat of the situation was not to happen either at the time or any time in the future. This was not even to do with the formation of the M15 which mainly took charge of the internal security detail aimed at curtailing the activities of the local criminals who did not relay present a great challenge to the security situation of the country. The formation of the M16 was the main indication of the imaginary reason of the service formation as the apparatus assumed formal roles of espionage in the countries that seemed to pose a threat to peace of the United Kingdom. Besides the role of carrying out espionage on the external countries, the branch was to ensure that the necessary measures were taken to help identify and stem out the spies that may have been living in the country at the time. The early 20th century is what marked the start of the formal espionage roles where governments sought to protect their territories against the capture of the then super powers that had emerged around Europe. Of interest at the time is that countries such as Germany had formed alliances with Italy. Britain on the other hand, had joined forces with France though these relations were to be later cemented. (Thompson 2009)These affiliations are what led to the need for the countries to have well established units of spies to help gather information on the other parties. Besides, the need for this information led these countries to have established units which would counter the aggression of the opponents. All these examples are directed into pointing out that the need to form a security unit is always from the fact that the forming unit is imagining the likelihood of a situation in the future and as pointed out in the rest of the literature, this requires the party to put measures or have a framework of countering the effects in case the imagination comes to be. Such is the proof of these bodies and their link to espionage. (Nicholas1990) Simply, espionage helps to make informed "imaginations." This in turn helps come up with actual structures that have the capacity to counter the magnitude of danger paused by the aggressor. Monitoring Monitoring role is another service of the security service and involves ensuring that there is no surprise attack or any incident that may adversely affect the peace of a country. Again, this is an imaginative action. Sometimes, there is no information suggesting that an attack may be on the way but then, the need to be secure warrants the people in charge to put in place a mechanism that would ensure such situations are predicted before they happen. Therefore, in order for individuals to overcome future activities, they have to imagine the kind of situations that are likely to hit them. This makes it possible to have measures against such circumstances which again prove the imaginative nature of these situations. Defence against aggression Defence against aggression is no different from the foundations of the previous systems such as patrols and monitoring. Being a role of the security service, it is also anticipated and has the same goals with the rest only differing in terms of coverage and extent of services. (Knighteley 1986) Defence against aggression is founded on the imagination that the countries around may have a reason to attack the subject country. Besides the country aggression, there are other threats such as gangs which are equally harmful to the prevalence of security in a country. Such is the thinking behind coming up with a comprehensive protective framework for a country's citizenry. To have the best security service, the think tanks behind its operation are faced with the need to imagine the more likely incidences to occur which can be projected from the current situations. (Andrew 1987) They need to have a wide view of the situations likely to face a country. This is the only way to come up with a security framework that improves the country's preparedness. Such is the extent of thinking behind development of services within the security service department that would ensure a reasonable degree of security for the people of the country. Besides, preparedness and response will be improved. (Knighteley 1986) Up to this point, the point of discussion has been espionage and its role in helping project the situations in future helping found informed imaginations which aid in the creation of structures for the well being of a country. The second point to be examined was the need to come up with institutions that would have to act on the information provided by the spies. This is as noted in the beginning of this study as a second thing arising from the increased aggression between countries and the need to secure one's territory. These institutions were all those under the security service; some of which, have been mentioned earlier on in this study. These are exclusive to the United Kingdom arena but other countries have similar bodies though under different names. These institutions have two roles if summed up. One is to coordinate the activities of the security service; this removes inconsistencies and ensures that the personnel available is up to the task and well equipped to deliver in whatever position they are charged with. The next role is to ensure that the roles allocated to each of the bodies are carried out to the fullest in accordance to the guidelines issued by the constituting body. PART TWO The last part has been founded on the writing of writers who have seen the formation of the security service and have mainly dealt with the historic facts of the formation. This part however will be more current as it reviews current government policies in ensuring security in the future. These are highly borrowed from studies done in the current period by individuals who have adequate knowledge on matters of security; among them being Sir David Omand a Professor of war studies. (Omand 2009) He notes that unlike in the past when the war setting was quite predictable, the situation has changed in current times because individuals have invented new war structures and military power has shifted from governments to individuals or militias. Such as maybe illustrated by the continuous threats posed by terrorist groups. He continues to say that the world has become static that a movie or a script written is bound to lead to a massive degree of damage. He says that in view of the static situations that are currently facing the world, it is important for countries to always ensure that they review their defence mechanisms by evaluating their today's position in regard to yesterday's position more importantly, in anticipation of future positions. (Omand 2009)He says there is only one way to ensure this, implementing anticipatory policies. Implementing anticipatory policies This is the making of predictive judgements which help to visualize the situation of the world in the future. This would be followed by implementation of policies that world minimise the risk to society, this would include prevention of the situation where possible and preparation of an event when it is not possible to prevent. The research by the security guru cements the whole topic of whether the security service is a result of imagination. This final says that the way to perfectly structure the security detail is by anticipating for particular situations in the future. The element of anticipatory policies is no different than the imagination of future situations. The summary is then simple; the formation of the security service charged with the responsibility of prevention and preparation of future threats to security is as a result of imagination. This is clearly evidenced by this study. References Andrew, C (1987). Her Majesty's secret service Penguin Publisher. Knighteley, P (1986). The second oldest profession: Spies and spying in the twentieth century.WW Norton& Co Inc. French, David. (1978): "Spy Fever In Britain 1900-1915." Historical Journal 21 Nicholas Hiley (1990). Intelligence and National Security, Volume 5 Issue 4 1990, Routledge Publisher. Thompson, B (2009).History of Espionage and Intelligence: http://reg.ucsc.edu/soc/aci/fall2006/his.html, Retrieved November 2, 2009. Omand, D (2009). The national Security Strategy: Implications for he UK intelligence community:http://cicentre.com/reports/National_Security_Strategy_UK_Intel_Implications_feb09.pdf. Retrieved on November, 5 2009. Read More