Miles Copeland Jr.
Miles Copeland Jr. | |
|---|---|
| Born | July 16, 1916 Birmingham, Alabama, U.S. |
| Died | January 14, 1991 (aged 74) |
| Occupation(s) | Musician, entrepreneur, intelligence operative |
| Known for | One of the original founders of the CIA; involvement in 1949 Syrian coup d'état and 1953 Iranian coup d'état; intelligence analyst and author |
Miles Axe Copeland Jr. (July 16, 1916 – January 14, 1991) was an American musician and entrepreneur, recognized as one of the original founders of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA). He was notably connected to Egyptian leader Gamal Abdel Nasser and was a prominent commentator on intelligence matters. Copeland played significant roles in covert missions including the March 1949 Syrian coup d'état and the 1953 Iranian coup d'état.
As a conservative thinker influenced by James Burnham, Copeland had associations with the political publication National Review. In a 1986 interview with Rolling Stone, he expressed that the CIA ought to take a more assertive role in toppling governments and leaders opposed to American interests.
Early life
Copeland was born in Birmingham, Alabama to a physician and did not complete higher education.
Although he claimed to have been a jazz performer and briefly played with the Glenn Miller orchestra, these statements are not supported by his CIA records and remain disputed.
He married archaeologist Lorraine Adie and was the father of music manager Miles Copeland III, booking agent Ian Copeland, film producer Lorraine (Lennie) Copeland, and drummer Stewart Copeland, who co-founded the rock band The Police.
Formation of CIA
At the start of World War II, Copeland enlisted in the National Guard and reached out to Alabama Representative John Sparkman, who facilitated a meeting with William J. Donovan. Although they connected well, Copeland was not recruited into Donovan's Office of Strategic Services (OSS); instead, he joined the Corps of Intelligence Police, later known as the Counterintelligence Corps (CIC). While stationed in London, he reportedly obtained the highly classified "Bigot" clearance and took part in planning for Operation Overlord.
Following the transition of OSS into the Strategic Services Unit in 1945, Copeland became part of what evolved into the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA). During his London posting, he developed a lasting admiration for British culture and married Lorraine Adie, a Scottish woman he met during wartime when she served with the Special Operations Executive.
CIA tenure
After World War II and with the establishment of the CIA, Copeland was assigned to organize intelligence efforts across the Middle East. Operating out of Damascus, Syria as a CIA case officer under cover as a "cultural attaché," he played a role in supporting the March 1949 Syrian coup d'état. Alongside Kim Roosevelt, he helped orchestrate Operation Ajax, which led to the 1953 removal of Iranian Prime Minister Mohammad Mosaddegh.
In 1953, Copeland shifted to private consulting at Booz Allen Hamilton, while continuing to serve as an unofficial CIA operative. He provided counsel to Egyptian leader Gamal Abdel Nasser on establishing the secret police (Mukhabarat) and other strategic initiatives. Together with Richard P. Mitchell, he conducted intelligence operations targeting Egypt’s Muslim Brotherhood, identifying important military contacts for potential coup planning.
By 1957, while based in Beirut, Copeland maintained connections with individuals such as Kim Philby, whom he monitored on behalf of CIA Counterintelligence Chief James Jesus Angleton.
Copeland voiced opposition to large-scale paramilitary CIA endeavors like the unsuccessful 1961 Bay of Pigs Invasion, arguing that their size made secrecy difficult to maintain.
Described as possessing a "Machiavellian sense of pessimism," shaped by his mentor James Burnham, Copeland stressed that governments are primarily concerned with retaining power. He believed rulers must accept their subjects’ irrational tendencies and rely on political repression—though sparingly when feasible—to uphold revolutionary regimes.
In his book The Game Player, Copeland recounted being dispatched to Egypt to evaluate an assassination plot against Nasser, with instructions to dissuade such an attempt. He candidly discussed hypothetical assassination methods with Nasser, who highlighted practical challenges involved in carrying them out.
Retirement
In May 1957, Copeland stepped down from his role at the CIA to establish the consulting firm Copeland & Eichelberger in Beirut alongside his associate James Eichelberger, while still occasionally undertaking assignments for the agency. He relocated to London in 1970, where he frequently appeared as an intelligence analyst on British television, engaged in journalism, authored several books on international affairs including an autobiography, and contributed articles to the conservative American publication National Review. Additionally, he collaborated with Waddingtons to develop the board game The Game of Nations, which drew inspiration from his writing and portrays superpower rivalries within a fictional setting.
Copeland’s autobiographical works combine a literary flair with certain embellishments, making it challenging to fully verify his narratives about clandestine operations. During the 1970s, he was an outspoken defender of the CIA against scrutiny from bodies such as the Church Committee. In 1988, he penned "Spooks for Bush," advocating that the intelligence community largely supported George H. W. Bush’s presidential campaign; Copeland had also publicly identified Bush as his preferred CIA director.
Books
- The Game of Nations: The Amorality of Power Politics. Published by Simon and Schuster in New York and Weidenfeld & Nicolson in London (1969).
- Without Cloak or Dagger: The Truth About the New Espionage. Released by Simon and Schuster in New York (1974).
- Issued in the United Kingdom under the title Real Spy World. London: Weidenfeld and Nicolson (1974).
- Beyond Cloak and Dagger: Inside the CIA. Published by Pinnacle Books in New York (1975).
- The Game Player: Confessions of the CIA's Original Political Operative. London: Aurum Press (1989).
See also
Bibliography
- Copeland, Miles, Jr. (1969) The Game of Nations: The Amorality of Power Politics.
- Copeland, Miles, Jr. (1989). The Game Player: Confessions of the CIA's Original Political Operative. London: Aurum Press.
- Kahana, Ephraim and Muhammad Suwaed (2009). The A to Z of Middle Eastern Intelligence. Toronto: Scarecrow Press, p. 65.
- Meyer, Karl E. and Shareen Blair Brysac (2009). Kingmakers: The Invention of the Modern Middle East. New York: W.W. Norton & Co., pp. 348–380.
- Wilford, Hugh (2013). America's Great Game: The CIA's Secret Arabists and the Making of the Modern Middle East. New York: Basic Books.