Lucas Adcock
Staff Writer
Even before the Central Intelligence Ag-ency (CIA) was created in 1947, intelligence itself played a large role within the global system. Spies were meticulously utilized to gather information using human intelligence, or HUMINT. Before the digital age, HUMINT was the only reliable source of information gathering, and intelligence collection and distribution. Once the digital age was born, it allowed some of the world’s greatest powers to obtain intelligence on each other in ways that no government would have ever before deemed possible. After the start of the 20th century, the emergence of war with more advanced technologies allowed nation-states across the globe to experiment with their technologies in hopes of being the sole superpower. Once Harry S. Truman was catapulted into office as President of the United States, he knew that the U.S. would need a new way to gain intelligence; a new age for the intelligence community (IC). After the trial and error of the Office of Strategic Services (OSS) which was created by President Roosevelt, came the birth of an entirely new and nearly independent agency – the CIA. The agency would go on to pave the way for a systematic approach to intelligence collection and grow relations throughout the intelligence community. Now, it sits atop the U.S.’ IC, analyzing and using various methods of collection capabilities on foreign intelligence with our nation’s national security in the forefront of its mind, or as recent history has shown us – perhaps not. The role of intelligence within the IC can be understood by looking at multiple forms of collection methods and deciphering their cohesion with one another.
Intelligence collection is vital to the national security of the United States. Jami Miscik, author of “Intelligence and the Presidency,” says that the essential mission of intelligence is to provide our nation’s top leaders “with the timeliest information available on global affairs and national security issues.” Although it is understood by our nation’s leadership that the IC plays an essential role in the national security of the U. S. that does not mean that previous presidents have always had an appreciation for the community itself. President Dwight D. Eisenhower called intelligence “a distasteful but vital necessity.” President Truman had a similar mindset and openly admitted that he never intended for the CIA to be a “Cloak & Dagger Outfit” but merely “as a center for keeping the President informed on what was going on in the world.”
Although President Truman was caught blindsided by his sudden rise to power, he eventually saw the inevitable need for a better intelligence collection agency and was later persuaded by Major General William “Wild Bill” Donovan, a father of American intelligence and a founding force behind the CIA, to do just that.
Once the CIA was officially established, it began carrying out covert operations during the Cold War and thus the intelligence collection began.
During this era, the CIA, while not directly the cause, assisted in emergency planning for nuclear war by building the Greenbrier Bunker beneath The Greenbrier in White Sulphur Springs. This bunker was built to house members of United States Congress in the event the Cold War turned a little too cold – a nuclear winter. This bunker was a continuity-of-government facility, not directly a CIA headquarters or base, though there was a definitive possibility of CIA training and operations even throughout surrounding counties like our very own, Pocahontas. The bunker beneath The Greenbrier was just remote enough to keep it from the public eye until it was exposed in 1992, following the end of the Cold War.
But during that time, clever HUMINT tactics were still heavily utilized as the digital age was still on the brink of existence, and with the creation of the atomic bomb shortly after Truman came into office, the U.S. saw imminent dangers posed to its national security. Thus, the need for the agency within the IC became even more prevalent. One subset of clandestine operations that the CIA has employed is that of counterintelligence (CI), which is information gathered and activities conducted to identify, deceive, exploit, disrupt or protect against espionage, other intelligence activities, sabotage or assassinations conducted for or on behalf of foreign powers, organizations or persons, or their agents or other international terrorist organizations or activities. Within CI, the collection of information is used to accomplish these goals, just as they are with other clandestine operations. Through offensive measures, the CI activities can be performed, and the CIA can also take the information received and coordinate with the U.S.’ other agencies within the IC.
While not a primary location, West Virginia provided the IC with excellent remote training grounds, allowing for Federal training exercises, intelligence-related contractor work, and a military and communications infrastructure in more remote locations.
The IC operates with numerous intelligence collection capabilities amongst its agencies, and with this, a particular question is posed: can the differences in the type of collection capability impact one another, and if they can, is it positive or negative? Using two collection capabilities that are still widely used today, as examples, this question can be answered as a general consensus about different collection methods within the IC and the differences between them. We’ll use HUMINT and technical intelligence (TECHINT) for this example.
Understanding the different forms of intelligence that espionage provides is the most important step in differentiating and comparing them, which will ultimately explain the role of intelligence within the IC.
HUMINT is one of the oldest forms of espionage intelligence gathering. Used as far back as the ancient Egyptians, it was, and still is today, utilized by humans to acquire intelligence on enemies that may hold valuable information that could prove to be beneficial in order to hold a specific place of power in what is now known as the international system. The world we live in today is arguably considered a multipolar system, meaning that multiple state actors hold most of the power; and while this is the case, espionage, regardless of the type, is utilized to keep these major actors on top in the global system.
Human intelligence is undeniably the most personal form of intelligence gathering. Although it is very useful, it is one of the most difficult kinds of intelligence to implement into espionage roles. This is mainly because so much training is involved, including foreign language training, medical training, cover training, and more. One vital use of HUMINT is the exploitation of foreign agents, or more commonly referred to as recruitment. Without local assets physically going into these foreign places, there would really be no way for anyone to recruit spies or “intelligence officers” unless of course they were a defector, meaning they commit treason by providing information to another country’s intelligence department from your own. These defectors were usually people who had access to these intelligence secrets already by holding a certain clearance level. So, while this form of intelligence was highly sought after and provides deep personal insight that others may not, it does have limitations that TECHINT exceeds in.
TECHINT is a slightly more unique form of intelligence because it is made up of several different types. It includes Image Intelligence (IMINT) and Geospatial Intelligence (GEOINT), Communications Intelligence (COMINT), Electronic Intelligence (ELINT), Signals Intelligence (SIGINT), and recently added, Social Media Intelligence (SOCMINT). As these types of technology quickly became more advanced, the entire world began utilizing it for intelligence collection.
Electronics Intelligence was one of the first forms of TECHINT and it remains broad in definition. This form of technology was used by the military, especially in the 50s and 60s when it was first beginning to take shape. It was mostly utilized for detecting information about offensive air-to-ground missiles including what type they were and the distance at which they were located. This technology was especially important during the Cold War era when the Soviets were developing these types of missiles. Luckily, there was a defector at the time by the name of Adolf Tolkachev who provided the CIA with billions of dollars’ worth of information on similar Soviet missiles. By meshing these two forms of intel, the U.S. was able to gain the upper hand during the time.
Both the strengths and limitations of HUMINT and TECHINT have been compared and debated for many years, and the question has been weighed – is one more valuable than the other regarding the information it produces? In short, no. They work in harmony. TECHINT plays a vital role in intelligence collection as it relates to Unmanned Aerial Vehicles or (UAVs). Although UAVs are one of the strongest platforms for collection, without the proper integration of HUMINT, the intel it collects would not be as useful. The photographs from these vehicles only produce a 2D image, which does not allow the developers who interpret them to understand the full picture. With the help of HUMINT assets on the ground, details about the photographs can be provided. For example, a human asset may be able to determine what is inside a warehouse where an enemy is building certain devices, or hidden areas inside compounds that could not be seen otherwise. Without the intertwining of these different types of collection methods, the UAV program would be susceptible to failures and misinformation.
So, while each form of collection may have its own usefulness in certain areas and flaws in others, each can provide useful intelligence in its own way.
Together, they can provide intelligence that has the power to change the world.
