Talk:Intelligence (information gathering)
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I'd thought I'd run this by here first.
I'm thinking about doing a radical update on this page. Possibly as a catch-all area for the subject of intelligence with a more concrete framework in the article. The definition on the article is kind of narrow and the different areas relating to this article are pretty sub-par.
Firstly, I'd write about how information gathering is a notable dimension of strategy, statecraft and war. Then I'd write about how intelligence is inherently intertwined with deception and surprise.
Secondly, I'd write about the main tasks of intelligence: collection, analysis, counter-intelligence and covert action.
With collection I'd write about the main collection areas - HUMINT, OSINT, IMINT, SIGINT etc. and possibly tie them into other wiki-articles and possibly update these articles because they are lacking.
A generic Intelligence analysis area for the differing collection areas hasn't been written up yet so I'd add that. The only article for analysis is the SIGINT collection analysis area of cryptanalysis, so I'd link to that.
The current counter-intelligence article needs fleshing out and could be coalesced with this main article.
With the covert action I'd write about the various methods of concealed influence and paramilitary actions.
I'd also thought I'd add some material about information gathering in general. I'd concentrate on the three main areas of information gathering those being:
So what do you guys think? Are there any objections to myself fleshing out the articles and/or adding a more concrete framework to this area of knowledge? Thanks. --The Donbreakyourarmi 16:33, 18 Jun 2005 (UTC)
I dont know who is writing this page, but intelligence is not inherently intertwined with deception and suprise. It is however intertwined with a country's foreign affair policies and international politics in general. nwilliams111 18Jan06
I agree in general that this page could be a lot more informative and indeed accurate. Firstly, the title should be altered as 'intelligence gathering' is, as mentioned above, only one aspect of what is known as the 'intelligence process'. As part of the page's expansion I wonder if it could include a short piece on the academic discipline of 'intelligence studies', which would tie in nicely with the bibliography of academic works already present. Although still a relatively small discipline, it has a lot to offer discussions in both the public sphere and policy-making sphere as to effective intelligence conduct, and there is a recent development of literature asking in what ways it is possible or wise to act in accordance with ethical principles when gathering and using intelligence material. Intelligence studies also compliments the study of history (most people who study it are in fact historians and intelligence studies has been described as a 'branch of history') and is deemed by many to be a 'missing dimension' when periods of history are studied with the role of intelligence left out. It is true that intelligence is crucial during war time, but it is also a major function of states during peacetime, and as such I think this should be acknowledged. Intelligence/strategic deception is a fascinating subject and I would be very pleased to see it have its own page featuring some of the great successful deception plots from military history, such as Operation Fortitude South and Operation Mincemeat, without which WWII could have taken a very different course. Finally, the way I see it intelligence gathering is most easily divided into information taken from open sources (such as newspapers and other publicly available sources) and covert intelligence gathering (espionage and other methods that intrude on privacy and can involve some deception) as the two raise very different questions of ethics, privacy and national sovereignty.
06/02/06
- I think this article should be kept a a level that covers governments and organizations in general and not make extensive use of U.S. terminology (xxxINT, etc.). Perhaps there should be a general article on strategic deception. Operation Fortitude and Operation Mincemeat both have articles, which could be linked. I'm not sure the open/covert distinction is so clear. Is satellite imagery open or covert? What about data mining commercial transaction records? Extensive use of video cameras in public areas a la UK? License plate number readers? --agr 15:39, 6 February 2006 (UTC)
[edit] Intelligence vs Espionage
I would suggest that "intelligence" can refer to "intelligence officers" or "intelligence agencies", as well as "collection" or "product". I was surprised to visit Category:Intelligence and find it dealing only with IQ matters and the brain. Everything about intelligence operations, organizations, etc, seemed to be under Category:Espionage. I was then surprised to see ELINT as a subcategory of espionage. I have long been under the impression that espionage deals with spies and spying, including those recruited and those who recruit. I think it is a useful description. Counter-espionage is typically an internal (domestic) affair and tends to deal specifically with ferreting out spies for another country from within domestic government agencies and government contract firms handling classified materials. Intelligence personnel handling communications inside an embassy aren't committing espionage. They aren't necessarily handling an espionage operation, but that could be one of their functions. You might say they have an intelligence function, or that they work in intelligence operations, or that they are simply labeled as intelligence. Couldn't you say, "See that guy over there in the black coat? He's intelligence."? Any thoughts? Pat 07:57, 15 March 2007 (UTC)
