Tolkien was, I believe, writing about his experience in the First and Second World Wars, where he would have spent a lot of time without any female contact. He was part of the fellowship of men who went to war, and I think, really, that's what he's writing about.
Since real spies are so good, you never really know what actual spying is. But I do think spying is a lot more dangerous than we are led to believe.
We believe that's the best opportunity we have to get Saddam Hussein to disarm.