Duško Popov was one of the most colorful British double-agents during the World War II. Originally from Yugoslavia, Popov was recruited by the German intelligence service, the Abwehr, but then secretly informed British authorities in Belgrade about his recruitment.
He was thereafter run by MI6 and MI5, who would codename him TRICYCLE, apparently on account of his penchant for sex threesomes. He was a womanizing playboy, who spent money
like water— “enough to make my eyes water,” as one of his MI5 case officers noted.
In July 1941, Popov’s German handlers dispatched him on a mission to the United States, where he was tasked with finding specific information for Germany and its allies. That
German-requested information included details about Pearl Harbor.
The British passed Popov, and his intelligence, over to the FBI. Popov’s exorbitant lifestyle, however, alienated J. Edgar Hoover’s straight-laced FBI. They failed to give him the attention it deserved.
Was the FBI’s failure to act on Popov’s intelligence about Pearl Harbor an intelligence failure? Many have claimed so. As you can see above, Pearl Harbor features prominently in Popov’s questionnaire. But so do other places. As is frequently the case with intelligence failures, Popov’s intelligence only seems blindly obvious with hindsight. Only after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, in December 1941, did Popov’s previous information take on a new significance.
What do you think?