"The mysterious intelligence general and the super spy"

We rarely read non-fiction works about our intelligence operatives, both in the past wars against foreign invaders and in the current period of protecting and building the country.

That is understandable. Because all intelligence workers determine from the beginning when entering this job that they must accept a stormy life in a very quiet life. The quieter, the more unknown the better, because of the secrecy of the mission to be carried out, because of the people to be protected, because of the results of the work to be completed. Even when they have completed their mission and retired, not everything related to their activities can be revealed.

Therefore, it is truly precious when there are authors and works that have made an effort to mention some of the difficult and dangerous work, the life-and-death battles, the extraordinary silent sacrifices... of intelligence workers, even if only mentioning a possible part of their entire working life. The Mysterious Intelligence General and the Super Mission by Hoang Hai Van - Tan Tu, is such a book.

A super double agent

This is a story about the life of the brilliant intelligence activist Dang Tran Duc (Ba Quoc), but few people know about it, due to the nature of his work and personality. The book is a collection of articles published in Thanh Nien newspaper in 2004 about Ba Quoc's life before 1975, and especially the period after 1975 with even more glorious achievements than the previous period that few people know about. The book was introduced by Senior Lieutenant General Nguyen Chi Vinh, member of the Party Central Committee (term XI, XII), Director General of General Department II (2000 - 2009), Deputy Minister of National Defense (2009 - 2021), an excellent student of General Dang Tran Duc.

Reading the book, we will know how a lonely but extremely intelligent Dang Tran Duc infiltrated the enemy's intelligence agency and completed many extremely difficult and dangerous missions. During his career, Mr. Ba Quoc infiltrated two leading intelligence agencies in the South: the Department of Social and Political Research (under the Ngo Dinh Diem government), and the Central Intelligence Special Commission (under the Nguyen Van Thieu government).

He had countless reports and valuable information about the enemy and carried out many brave and intelligent actions to neutralize the enemy's plots and tricks, discover our cadres working as henchmen for the enemy, incite and exploit internal conflicts within the enemy, and rescue our cadres from dangerous situations...

For example, as a person working in the enemy's secret service, once he got information that our people would be captured, Mr. Ba Quoc single-handedly carried out a rescue of "his people", the secretary and 9 special zone committee members of Saigon - Gia Dinh, whom he had never met at that time. The rescued secretary was only later known to be Mr. Nguyen Van Linh (former General Secretary ). How the rescue was carried out ingeniously to avoid detection is described in detail in the book.

During the decades of living in the enemy's heartland, Mr. Ba Quoc used his identity as a spy for the enemy to act as intelligence for us. An extremely difficult, dangerous, and "unique" job as Senior Lieutenant General Nguyen Chi Vinh wrote: "Mr. Ba Quoc is a super double agent. A spy who can enter the Presidential Palace, the Ministry of Defense, the Saigon Army General Staff or other key agencies of the enemy is extremely rare, but a spy who is located right in the enemy's intelligence agency to participate in directing the enemy's intelligence force to attack us internally, in Vietnam there is only Mr. Ba Quoc, and abroad it is also extremely rare to find such a formidable spy."

After the country's reunification, Mr. Ba Quoc continued to travel from the South to the North, all the way to the Cambodian battlefield, taking on many other important responsibilities in the intelligence industry in response to the country's new requirements, and there were many tasks and achievements that he could not share or reveal due to the nature of his profession.

Not only that, he also devoted himself to training and educating many intelligence operatives for the country, as a responsibility, and one of his outstanding students was Senior Lieutenant General Nguyen Chi Vinh.

Legacy

There are jobs that others see as sacrifices, but for those involved, it is a mission, a responsibility that must be done and done well, there is nothing to tell. For Mr. Ba Quoc and those working in intelligence, because of professional qualities, because of discipline requirements, it cannot be told and must not be told. For them, completing the mission well is the important thing.

But for later generations, what can be known and is known is necessary for the continuation of life, for the continuation of a nation.

Reading the book, if we feel admiration for Mr. Ba Quoc's professional activities and his personality, we will also feel many emotions because of the silent sacrifices in his personal life. And we will appreciate even more the lessons and legacies he left behind.

And this is one of his characteristics. When the author asked about the years he worked as a spy in enemy territory, "Did the revolution subsidize any expenses?", he replied, "No, the revolution did not give me anything. I only have one belief. That is the belief in regaining independence and freedom for the Fatherland, the belief in the fight for justice."

His life and character clearly demonstrate integrity, humility, and lack of ambition. He demonstrates confidence in the career he has chosen, loyalty to the country and organization; unconditional service to the people; loyalty and devotion to family, comrades, and colleagues; and tolerance towards others.

In the introduction, the author also wrote: "The legacy he left behind is invaluable in the treasure trove of Vietnamese military and political science, and that legacy will be immortal through all time. It needs and will be passed down through generations... He left many lessons, but the most important is "learning from him how not to make mistakes on the silent battlefield, because the battlefield is not a "school" for intelligence officers, making mistakes is irreparable".

He left behind many lessons about intelligence operations. But the first lesson he imparted was about the people's hearts. In the most difficult times, the people sheltered, nurtured, and protected him, creating an outstanding Ba Quoc, devoted to the revolutionary cause.

Readers may not be satisfied with the "modest" material in the book about the life and work of intelligence officer Dang Tran Duc, but with the author's many efforts under possible conditions, it is a book worth reading and pondering.

According to First News Publishing House

Source: https://dantri.com.vn/van-hoa/ong-tuong-tinh-bao-bi-an-va-diep-vu-sieu-hang-20230419092811575.htm