Intelligence Operations
Grades
6–8, 9–12
An intelligence operation is the process by which governments, military groups, businesses,
and other organizations systematically collect and evaluate information for the purpose of
discovering the capabilities and intentions of their rivals. With such information, or
intelligence, an organization can both protect itself from its adversaries and exploit its
adversaries' weaknesses.
Depending on the type of organization involved, intelligence operations can result in many
different types of information. Strategic or national intelligence is information about foreign
nations that is collected by governmental intelligence agencies. Strategic intelligence
commonly encompasses national security, political, economic, and social trends in the target
nation. Military intelligence is produced by specially trained military or civilian analysts and
usually includes the strengths, weapons technology, and estimated military capabilities of
actual or potential enemies. Industrial intelligence is information gathered by a business firm
concerning its rivals in the marketplace. Political intelligence, as practiced in the United
States, is usually concerned with ascertaining the campaign strategy of a political opponent.
Political intelligence can also apply to the efforts of a ruler to uncover conspiracies.
Counterintelligence embraces the wide variety of activities undertaken to forestall an
adversary's intelligence efforts. This is accomplished by physically protecting one's own
sensitive information and by penetrating and disrupting hostile intelligence organizations.
Covert operations are often undertaken by intelligence agencies, but these are distinct from
intelligence operations whose purpose it is to gather information. Covert operations are
activities aimed at the disruption of another nation's political process: they can include the
dissemination of propaganda, the encouragement of dissidents, acts of sabotage, and even
assassination.
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Collection
Whether conducted by a governmental agency or a business firm, intelligence operations
follow the same pattern. The first step in generating intelligence is always the collection of
information. Overt collection is the acquisition of nonsecret "open source" material. To
obtain highly sensitive information, however, it is usually necessary to resort to clandestine,
or secret, collection.
Intelligence derived from clandestine collection generally falls into three categories: human
intelligence, signals intelligence, and photographic intelligence. Human intelligence is simply
information gathered by and from human agents. Espionage, or spying, is one time-honored
method of obtaining human intelligence. Whereas other forms of clandestine collection often
provide a greater volume of information, especially data of a technical nature, human
intelligence is essential for uncovering the thinking, as opposed to the activity, of the
adversary. An outstanding example of human intelligence collection is the Soviet Rote
Kapelle ("Red Orchestra") spy network that permeated German-occupied Europe in the early
days of World War II.
A second form of clandestine collection is known as signals intelligence — the interception
of electronic communications and other emissions. Signals are intercepted by a variety of
methods, including the tapping of telephone lines and the monitoring of radio transmissions.
Messages intercepted in this manner are often in code. Cryptology, the study of making and
breaking codes, has become a science in itself over the years. The "Berlin Tunnel" (1955–56),
which was essentially a massive wiretap undertaking, is a dramatic example of signals
intelligence collection.
Another, relatively new form of clandestine collection is photographic intelligence conducted
from aircraft. Reconnaissance aircraft can also utilize thermography and advanced radars to
reveal details indiscernible in visible light. Photo intelligence from aircraft is especially
valuable for monitoring the movement of military forces on the ground and for spotting the
construction of military facilities. The Cuban Missile Crisis of 1962 began when American
U-2 reconnaissance aircraft revealed the presence of offensive Soviet missiles in Cuba.
The advent of the reconnaissance satellite has revolutionized clandestine collection. In 1961
the United States first orbited its Satellite and Missile Observation System (SAMOS), a
photographic-reconnaissance satellite apparently designed for the express purpose of locating
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and monitoring Soviet intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) sites. Since then, the United
States and other nations have launched photoreconnaissance satellites on a regular basis.
Other reconnaissance satellites include "ferrets" that eavesdrop on electronic signals
undetectable from ground stations and satellites that identify missile launches through
infrared sensing.
Evaluation and Utilization
The collection of raw intelligence is not an end in itself. Raw intelligence must be combined
with related data, significant information must be identified, and extraneous material
("noise") deleted. Computerized data storage systems aid greatly in bringing together the
related pieces of information that make up a complete intelligence picture. Human intuition
and creativity play important roles in developing the "informed guesses" that fill gaps in the
picture. This process of digesting raw intelligence, known as evaluation, yields a product that
is usable by policymakers. It is up to the policymaker to utilize the intelligence that he or she
receives in a timely and responsible manner.
One of the greatest intelligence achievements in history, the British "Ultra secret" of World
War II, clearly illustrates the relationships that exist among collection, evaluation, and
utilization of intelligence. The collection phase of "Ultra" consisted of intercepting coded
German radio messages (which had been encrypted by their Enigma machine) and passing
them through a secret computerlike device that rendered them into clear German. The
evaluation phase involved translating the messages and fitting them together to build up
patterns of German military activity. This intelligence was then transmitted secretly to Allied
officials and commanders for utilization on the battlefield. Similarly successful intelligence
operations contributed to such major historical events as the English defeat of the Spanish
Armada in 1588, the 1917 Zimmermann Telegram incident during World War I, and the U.S.
naval victory at the Battle of Midway in 1942, during World War II.
Conversely, the Japanese surprise attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941 demonstrates the price of
intelligence failure — more specifically, the failure to evaluate fully and act upon abundant
raw intelligence. Other infamous intelligence failures include the unpreparedness of the
Soviet Union to meet the German invasion of 1941, the Bay of Pigs fiasco of 1961, and the
1972 Watergate break-in, which represented a political intelligence operation gone badly
awry. In part, the unhappy U.S. involvement in the Vietnam War can be blamed on the failure
to act on intelligence warnings against U.S. intervention.
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Intelligence Organizations
One reason, perhaps, for the frequency of U.S. intelligence failures is the fact that not until
1942, with the creation of the Office of Strategic Services (OSS), was there a focal point for
the collection and dissemination of strategic and military intelligence. Today, the United
States officially has two national intelligence organizations. The principal agency for
intelligence activities and covert operations abroad is the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA).
The National Security Agency (NSA) is responsible for collecting signals intelligence from
all over the world and for overseeing the integrity of American secret communications. Some
sources suggest that there is a third highly secret national intelligence agency responsible for
satellite surveillance. Other members of the American intelligence community include the
Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA), which provides military intelligence to the Department
of Defense, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), which performs
counterintelligence activities within the United States.
Whereas the United States is a relative newcomer to the field of national intelligence, Great
Britain boasts an intelligence tradition dating from Queen Elizabeth I. Today the British
intelligence community consists of two major branches. MI-5, the British equivalent of the
FBI, is responsible for counterintelligence activities. MI-6, also known as the Secret
Intelligence Service (SIS), is analogous to the CIA; it ran the "Ultra" program in World War
II.
Perhaps no nation is more reliant on accurate intelligence for its survival than Israel.
Consequently, Israel has developed an excellent intelligence apparatus in three parts. The
Central Institute for Intelligence and Security (Mossad) conducts external espionage and also
performs covert operations abroad. General Security Services (Shin Bet) is responsible for
counterintelligence and internal security. The Intelligence Corps of the Defense Forces
(Aman), largest of the three, focuses on military intelligence.
The former Union of Soviet Socialist Republics was heavily dependent on its intelligence
community, though for a different reason. Its premier intelligence agency, the Committee for
State Security (KGB), traditionally doubled as a secret police force. Outside the Soviet
Union, the KGB conducted espionage, spread "disinformation" designed to discredit
adversary nations, and attempted to destabilize foreign governments. Within the Soviet
Union, the KGB — like its predecessors, the Cheka and the NKVD — enforced the
dictatorial rule of the Communist party by crushing any and all public dissent. In retreat and
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under constant press attack after the abortive coup of August 1991, the agency was
reorganized under a new chief. Today it is the Ministry of Security of Russia.
Christopher F. Gabel
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repr. 1985); Farson, A. Stuart, et al., Security and Intelligence in a Changing World (1991);
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