Washington Post copies Operation Garbo

Juan Pujol Garcia does not write for the Washington Post. He once had the talent to, but he died in 1988, at age 76--a decorated hero of World War II. Garcia's code name within British Security Service MI5 was "Garbo." Garbo was a Spanish citizen whose hatred of the European Communist and Fascist regimes of his time motivated him to volunteer, in 1939, to become a spy for the British. He had no experience in the espionage business. What he did have, though, was a vivid imagination. While he worked for MI5, his code name within German Intelligence was "Alaric." After most of the German spies in Britain were compromised early in the war, Garbo emerged as Abwehr's most reliable and trusted source of intelligence. Eventually, the German High Command decorated him with the Iron Cross.