“We can work out something about her, I’m sure,” Donovah said. “Which brings us to you.”
“What does that mean?”
“I’d like for you to come work with me, Chesty Donovan said.
“Doing what?”
“What do you know about intelligence?”
“Spying, finding out troop movements, order of battle, and that sort of thing, I guess. Other than that, absolutely nothing.”
“There’s more to intelligence than spying and military intelligence,” Donovan said. “I think of what we’re doing as strategic intelligence.”
“Bill, I really don’t know what you’re talking about,’ Chesty Whittaker confessed.
“Military intelligence is concerned with things of interest to the military. Navy intelligence concerns itself with the enemy’s naval capabilities. The Army is interested in the capabilities and weaknesses of the enemy ground and air forces. Strategic intelligence is concerned with the enemy’s overall intentions and capabilities.”
“Wouldn’t that be, for lack of a better term, ‘diplomatic’ intelligence?”
“State Department intelligence should deal with diplomatic intelligence,” Donovan said. “Strategic intelligence is the whole picture. Do you understand?”
“I don’t really know’ ” Chesty Whittaker confessed.
“My function, Chesty,” Donovan said, and then stopped. “Christ, that was a regal ‘my,’ wasn’t it? You know, I sort of like that thought. Anyway, the function of the organization I’m setting up… and it’s still in the formative stage… is to have a group of really knowledgeable people sift through all the intelligence gathered. I want them to see what this stuff means vis-A-vis the total conduct of the war without having to get caught up in the individual needs of the armed forces and the State Department. To boil it down in other words, for Roosevelt. Franklin does not want an Army or Navy p1cture, he wants a total picture of what’s going on in the world. He “Nants to know what’s likely to happen, who’s doing it, why they’re d what we should do in return.” doiag it, an Whittaker said.
460h erse Donovan said.
“And the rev 661 don’t understand.”
44When a strategic decision has been made, we need to be able to decide how it can best be accomplished-economically, quickly, considering available assewand the overall requirements for those assets. Who gets the ship /ping tonnage, for example, to what part of the world.” 460K,”Whittaker said, understanding.
66M we’re going to be responsible for dirty d finally, Chesty, o buy tricks. If we can buy some German general, we’re going t him’s “Espionage, you mean’
“Including espionage. There’s more to it than that.”
“Where are you going to get the people to do that sort of thing?”
“From all over. The people who are now looking at the big picture are known, somewhat irreverently, as the Twelve Disciples. Actually, so far there are only ten. I’d like you to be the eleventh.”
“I’m flattered, Bill,” Whittaker said.
6y(ulll work your ass off, and I’ll pay you a dollar a year’s Donovan said. as going to happen “Did your “Twelve Disciples’ know what w this morning?” Chesty Whittaker asked.
Donovan ignored the question.
“I asked you a question, Bill,” Chesty said.
“A question you should know I couldn’t answm” Donovan said.
It was a rebuke.
“I don’t know what good I would be,” Whittaker said. “I don’t know anything about this sort of thing.”
“You have been traveling all over the world since you were a boy,” Donovan said. ,You know a wide assortment of people, including a number of our enemies. Let me be the judge of the rest.9′
“Obviously,” Chesty said, “the war will require a mindboggling amount of heavy construction. That’s really my field, Bill. I build railroads and bridges. Wouldn’t I be more valuable doing that.
“No,” Donovan said simply. “You will be of greater value w(rking for me. There are a lot of people who can put up a bridge. Wba I need from you is your brains and your fund of knowledge.”
Chesley Haywood Whittaker was both flattered and excited. He was going to have an opportunity to meaningfully participate in the war they had just entered. He looked at Donovan.
“What kind of knowledge?” he asked.
“Just off the top of your head, Chesty, if I came to you and said it was necessary for the government to build an enormous plant, and do so rather secretly-“