You don't have to be in a shooting war to have an adversary who means you no good. Think about a neighbor who moves your fence line, helps himself to your garden produce, and tells lies about you to other neighbors who then stop waving at you. Your enemy entices your teenaged children into destructive behaviors, convinces your spouse that everything you think you stand for is a lie.
These are the tools of hybrid war. Guns and bombs are not always involved in a struggle between countries, except in later stages or as means of intimidation. There may be skirmishes, proxy wars against weaker allies, and boundary encroachments, but the primary weapons of hybrid war before the shooting begins is intelligence. Sleight of hand, disinformation, assets with influence, and penetration agents play a crucial role in the struggle against a target. These intelligence operations are designed to confuse, disorient, and destabilize the enemy prior to conquest.
Sun Tzu considered unity of command and purpose to be one of the five pillars of a successful campaign. Dividing and demoralizing the population and troops of an enemy with rumors and whisper campaigns has always been a cost effective prelude to invasion. Sabotage adds distraction and fear. With our dependence on computer systems to control everything from keeping the lights on to feeding the people, an enemy need not leave the comfort and security of his own headquarters to cause serious damage.
Major grocery stores in the United States are at this moment experiencing cyber attacks. The problems will resolve only to be replaced by other disruptions. Pay attention to these.
The forces arrayed against us do not all march proudly behind tanks and missiles in May Day parades. They skulk into homes and minds with lies and confusion.
This is not a wild conspiracy theory. Hybrid war is a popular means of aggression in the age of weapons of mass destruction. The best defense for all of us—besides the pros whose job is to keep enemy spooks at bay—is truth. Seek it. Check everything, even the stuff you like to hear. It may indeed be too good to be true.
It was the moment of disaster, when silence gives the boundary between peace and violence.
The first four books of the Charlemagne Files Collection examine a history of atrocity, revenge, and heroism during the earliest years of the original team as they hone their skills and harden their ruthlessness to become Charlemagne, the premier freelance specialist team used by Western governments for black operations conducted without fingerprints. The books included in this volume are Trinity Icon (#1) Cetus Wedge (#2), Brevet Wedge (#3), and A Lighter Shade of Night (#4). The three novels and collection of short stories cover the activities of the team from the mid 1960s to the early 1980s.
I give you twelve hours life expectancy.
The Charlemagne Files Collection, Volume 2, introduces new members of the team during a time of change in the Cold War. The three books contained in this volume, Lion Tamer (#5), State of Nature (#6), and Vory (#7), span the years between the early 1980s and the early aftermath of the dissolution of the Soviet empire. For Charlemagne, the premier freelance specialist team used by Western governments for black operations conducted without fingerprints, it is a turbulent period of adjustment to a new era in which women become operational as both allies and adversaries.
Perhaps you harbor the illusion that you are safe with us?
In this, the third volume of the Charlemagne Files Collection, the Cold War resumes in three novels spanning the 1990s: Swallow (#8), Quiet Move (#9), and Goat Rope (#10). Old enemies re-enter the game with evil intent, vintage deception schemes, and modern weapons that challenge the tradecraft and fighting skills of Charlemagne, the premier freelance specialist team used by Western governments for black operations conducted without fingerprints.