intelligence (government)

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In military and political affairs, information, often secretly or illegally obtained, about other countries. Counter-intelligence is information on the activities of hostile agents. Much intelligence is gained by technical means, such as satellites and the electronic interception of data.

.BTXT:

The British intelligence services consist of M(ilitary) I(ntelligence) 6, the nickname of the Secret Intelligence Service, which collects foreign intelligence and operates mainly under Foreign Office control; the counter-intelligence Security Service, known as M(ilitary) I(ntelligence) 5, which is responsible directly to the prime minister for internal security; and Government Communications Headquarters (GCHQ), which carries out electronic surveillance for the other two branches. The chief of MI6 is John McLeod Scarlett (from 2004) and the director-general of MI5 is Jonathan Evans (from 2007). The overall head of intelligence in the UK is the chair of the Joint Intelligence Committee (Richard Mottram from 2005). US equivalents of MI6 include the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) and the National Security Agency; the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is responsible for US counter-intelligence. Double agents increase their income, but may decrease their lifespan, by working for both sides (for example, Mata Hari); moles are those within the service who betray their own side, usually defecting (fleeing to the other side) when in danger of discovery (for example, Kim Philby); a sleeper is a spy who is inactive, sometimes for many years, until needed.

The motive for work in intelligence may be service to country (T E Lawrence, John Buchan, Graham Greene, Ian Fleming, and John Le Carré afterwards used their experiences in their books), money, or idealism (for example, the German scientist Klaus Fuchs or the art historian Anthony Blunt). From 1991, in a government move to reduce secrecy and increase the accountability of the British intelligence services, information was gradually released into the public domain. The names of those in charge, and the whereabouts, of MI5 and MI6 were made public (until 1992, MI6 did not officially exist in peacetime). (GCHQ's base in Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, was already public knowledge.) It was also announced that, in future, the accounts of all three branches of the service would be audited by the National Audit Office. In the 1990s, following the end of the Cold War, MI5 began to participate in some criminal investigations formerly conducted solely by the police, and, more recently, has devoted increasing resources to counter-terrorism operations.

.UTXT:

The Central Intelligence Agency is responsible for gathering foreign intelligence and for coordinating the reports of the several independent intelligence agencies. These include military intelligence branches within each armed service; the National Security Agency, responsible for technical intelligence gathering; and intelligence officers within the State Department and other executive agencies. Domestic intelligence is the responsibility of the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Double agents are motivated by money, ideology, or dissatisfaction to provide information to the ostensible enemy, often doing great damage. Moles are double agents who betray their own security services. Sleepers are agents who assume a normal life in the target country, often inactive for years until needed.

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