Diversions in the Art of War

I view much of the world through analogies, so when I’m not writing about something whimsical like UFOs or Bananas, I am usually on the lookout for historical experiences that might be applied to current events. Admittedly, I sometimes find myself reaching a bit and have produced my share of strained comparisons, but on other days, they just fall into my lap. Such was my news search earlier this week when I read back-to-back stories about events commemorating the 78th anniversary of D-Day in Europe, and the reported “caravan” of an estimated six to ten thousand refugees headed for our southern border.

I still think that the former president was ill-advised to characterize migrants from the south as rapists and murderers. That was not only bad politics, but by comparison, it minimized the known threats associated with drugs and human trafficking. Completely lost in the discussion is what I consider to be the greater threat, which is the opportunity for those entities who would like to conduct another 911-style attack to move people and materiel across an unguarded border.

Those threats have always been on my mind with regard to our dysfunctional immigration policies, but the juxtaposition with the anniversary of D-Day presented a more clear illustration.

Does anyone recall “Operation Bodyguard” or “Operation Fortitude?” Whether you recognize it by its code name or not, you may have heard stories about inflatable tanks and a “phantom army.”

Operation Bodyguard was the code name for an umbrella group that operated in conjunction with Britain’s MI5 and MI6 organizations (domestic and foreign intelligence, respectively).

Bodyguard conducted counterintelligence campaigns throughout the war and included no fewer than six separate operation groups and 36 subordinate deception plans.

Bodyguard had its first notable success in 1943 when it launched a corpse out of a submarine off the coast of Spain. The corpse, that of a deceased civilian, was dressed in a military uniform and cuffed to a briefcase-carrying what were ostensibly secret battle plans. The documents contained details for allied landings in Sardinia and Greece, and were intercepted by German intelligence. When the actual invasion took place in Sicily, allies were met with light resistance because German command had reinforced the areas where the attack was expected. FYI: A movie about the event titled, “Operation Mincemeat” starring Colin Firth was released in 2021. It is not a documentary and even includes the obligatory romantic subplot, but it’s worth a watch if you have the opportunity.

As a part of Operation Bodyguard, Operation Fortitude was launched to ensure that Allied troops would be met with minimal resistance upon landing at Normandy Beach, or what we now know as the D-Day invasion. Bodyguard included a wide variety of deceptions that were intended to redirect attention to two fictional armies, one north and one south.

The northern operation created the illusion of a buildup of forces that would invade Europe through Norway. Fabricated dispatches and planted intelligence included fictitious purchases of cold-weather gear and discussions of the performance of weapons and vehicles in sub-zero climates. A similar plan was executed to mimic the buildup for an invasion at Pas de Calais, the shortest crossing point from Britain to France.

Fortitude planners creatively imagined how a massive troop buildup would be detected by the Axis powers, and provided the enemy with every reason to believe that troops and materiel were being assembled. Tactics included false radio communications, choreographed troop movements, disinformation planted with known and turned German operatives, and even heated radio arguments about tactics between fictitious officers.

Of course, the part of the plan that we find so curious today is the construction of phony equipment including tanks, trucks, planes and landing craft. When the time came, further simulation of an invasion was achieved with hundreds of uniformed dummies released on parachutes and the dropping of metallic chaff to create the appearance of large bomber formations on radar. As whimsical as it seems, it was all deadly serious and most importantly, Operation Fortitude was successful in reducing resistance at Normandy and is often hailed as one of the most successful counterintelligence operations of World War II.

Having now been reminded of all that, let’s take another look at the current situation on the Southern Border. The pertinent news is that a large migrant caravan, with estimates ranging from six to ten thousand folks, are on its way to our border. The caravan originated in Venezuela and has picked up travelers along the way through Panama, Nicaragua, Honduras, Guatemala and Belize. The migrants or immigrants, depending on where we find them, have now crossed Mexico’s southern border and are on their way to ours.

Watching the video provided by Reuters, they all look like nice folks and 40 years ago, I may have gone down there to hang out with them. The fact is that I’m not 40 years younger and although their ranks include a substantial number of women and children, the majority appear to be males of military age, and that concerns me.

I won’t dwell on the administration’s perfunctory response to the influx of migrants because, quite frankly, I haven’t figured out what their game is yet. What can be understood is that, in anticipation of a caravan of many thousands, our Customs and Border Protection (CBP) authorities are trying to guess where the caravan will attempt to cross the border and are diverting resources from other areas to meet the challenge. Does anything here sound familiar?

Let’s take it a step further. What if an unfriendly entity wanted to sneak another Mohamed Atta, a briefcase nuke, trafficked human beings, drugs or some other destructive force into the United

States? It seems to me that an influx of thousands of migrants would provide numerous opportunities.

Borrowing from drone-swarm tactics, terrorists could simply blend in with the migrants, having confidence that the border agents will be overwhelmed and individual scrutiny will be at a minimum. In that regard, the caravan would act as a Trojan Horse of a sort. The more likely scenario is that as CBP manpower is diverted to meet the surge, other areas will be left unmonitored and vulnerable to all manner of ills.

In Sun Tzu’s time-honored treatise, “The Art of War,” Tzu asserts that “All warfare is based on deception. Hence, when we are able to attack, we must seem unable; when using our forces, we must appear inactive; when we are near, we must make the enemy believe we are far away; when far away, we must make him believe we are near.” Whether we care to characterize unlawful border crossings as an act of war or not has little bearing on the situation. Where I think we all can agree, is that the attacks on September 11 were indeed an act of war, and that we should continue to take measures to make sure that it doesn’t happen again. In doing so, I think we underestimate our foe at our own peril, and my sincere hope is that our folks at the border are a step ahead of them, just as we were at Normandy.