Military intelligence

Military intelligence (abbreviated MI, int. Commonwealth, or intel. U.S.), is a military discipline that focuses on the gathering, analysis, protection, and dissemination information of tactical and strategic military value. This includes information about the enemy, terrain, and weather in an area of operations or area of interest, as well as information about political decision-making, military intentions, and dissidents. Intelligence activities are conducted during peacetime and in war.

Most militaries maintain a military intelligence corps with specialized intelligence units for collecting information in specific ways. Militaries also typically have intelligence staff personnel at each echelon down to battalion level. Intelligence officers and enlisted soldiers assigned to military intelligence may be selected for their analytical abilities or scores on intelligence tests. They usually receive formal training in these disciplines.

Military Intelligence in History

Attempts to gather tactically important information are seemingly as old as war itself. Spying is mentioned in both the Iliad and the Bible. The Romans had a network of spies and embassies that they used to collect valuable information, including the enviroment and socio-political information about neighboring states and peoples. Theoretical works on information gathering were written around 500 B.C.E. in ancient China, and reconnaissance was used to gather information by the Carthaginian general Hannibal (circa 200 B.C.E.), and Alexander the Great (circa 340 B.C.E.).

As governments became more organized, so did their militaries and military intelligence systems, eventually evolving into the complex and multi-faceted organizations of today. Technological advancements such as radio led to advancements in areas like cryptography, as well as more advanced systems to intercept and decode messages. MI has fueled many technological advances; the first world-wide computer network, for example, was not the internet, but the international network connecting surveillance stations.

The Intelligence Process

Collection

A great deal of information that MI agencies collect is publicly available. The population, ethnic make-up, and main industries of a region are examples of publically available information that has great military significance. The tonnage and basic weaponry of most capital ships and aircraft are often publicly available, and their speeds and ranges can often be reasonably estimated by experts using this information in conjuction with photographs. Intelligence libraries (many of which are now contained on a vast computer network) contain a vast amount of information, from the ballistic range of common military weapons to the phases of the moon. Information is also routinely gathered from newspapers and radio. Intelligence agencies often read the main newspapers and journals of every nation, as well as local television and radio programs.

Most intelligence services maintain or support groups whose sole purpose is to keep maps. Since maps also have valuable civilian uses, these agencies are often publicly associated or identified as other parts of the government. Some historic counter-intelligence services, especially in Russia and China, have intentionally banned or placed disinformation in public maps.

In addition to the collection of publicly available data, MI agencies also use specialized information gathering techniques and equipment to accure data. High altitude and satellite pictures are examined by photointerpreters, often to keep tabs on munition shipments and inventories. MI operatives also eavesdrop continuously on the entire radio spectrum, interpreting it in real time. In addition to public broadcasts, local military traffic, radar emissions, and even microwaved telephone, telegraph, and satellite traffic are monitored. One of the most famous traffic monitoring programs is the United States' "Echelon" system, part of an international system that monitors cellular phones and international long distance, among other things. Analysis of bulk traffic is normally performed by complex computer programs that parse natural language and phone numbers looking for threatening conversations and correspondents. In some cases, undersea or land-based cables have been tapped as well. In addition to mass monitoring systems, surveilance devices are often used to bug foreign embassies and dignataries.

While a vast amount of information is collected through electronic means, human intelligence, gathered by spies, remains an essential part of MI. Spies who are able to infiltrate an orginization and get close to the decision makers are often able to provide information about an individual's motives, rationals, and thought processes, information that is uniquely valuable to the successful negotiation of diplomatic solutions. It is also common for intelligence agencies to use diplomatic and journalistic personnel to collect and disseminate information. Oftentimes, journalists may have useful perspectives or analyses of international or political situations, even if they are not privy to classified information.

Analysis and Dissemination

Simply having information is not enough; information must be assessed and verified. A great deal of collected information is often inaccurate. "Counter-intelligence" agencies routinely work to prevent and control the dissemination of information, and often spread disinformation in order to confuse or mislead the enemy. For examply, during the Cold War both American and Soviet agencies used journalists to disseminate "exclusives" containing doctored and misleading information. In other cases, greed or revenge may drive sources to divulge false information.

Once information is verified, it is assessed in order to determine another's capabilities and vulnerabilities. In many cases, enemy capabilites are analyzed on a set schedule. Iminent threats, such as those between the United States and the USSR during the Cold War, may be continually monitored, while munitions depots may be monitored on a less frequent cycle.

Critical threats are usually maintained in a prioritized file, with important data, places, or situations analyzed on a set schedule. For example, nuclear threats between the USSR and the US were analyzed in real time by continuously on-duty staffs. In contrast, analysis of tank or army deployments are usually triggered by accumulations of fuel and munitions, which are monitored on slower, every-few-days cycles.

Packaging threats and vulnerabilities for decision makers is a crucial part of military intelligence. While intelligence agents do not develop policy or plans of attack, a good intelligence officer will often work closely with decision makers to anticipate their information requirements and tailor the information needed. Often, the quality and amount of information intelligence provides can mean the difference between a sucessful decision and a disasterous one.

United States

While spies and information gathering processes were heavily used during conflicts like the American Revolution and the Civil War, there was no official organization devoted to MI until May of 1917. Called the MIS (Military Intelligence Section), it grew from a mere three officers and two clerks at inception to 282 officers and 948 civilians by the end of the first World War. MIS produced daily and weekly intelligence summaries covering military, political, social, and economic topics, which were distributed to high level positions like the Army Chief of Staff, the Secretary of State, and the President.

The modern day US intelligence community is made up of many organizations, including the National Security Agency (NSA), the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), the Defense Intelligence Agency, and orginizations within each military branch. Military intelligence is primarily the responsibility of the DIA and MI groups within the armed services, but other agencies provide valuable support. Each agency has its own primary function; for example, the NSA is responsible for collecting, processing, and reporting SIGINT (Signals Intelligence), a type of intelligence derived from trasmitted signals, including electronic and communication intelligence.

United Kingdom

In the United Kingdom, there are also a number of agencies devoted to different aspects of MI, including the Secret Intelligence Service (SIS), the Security Service, and the Defence Intelligence Staff (DIS). The SIS, also referred to by its historical name "MI6" (Military Intelligence 6), originated in 1909 as the Foreign Section of the Secret Service Bureau, responsible for gathering intelligence overseas. After World War I, it became a seperate agency and began to be reffered to as the SIS. The Security Service, also known as "MI5" (Military Intelligence 5), also originated in 1909 as part of the Secret Service Bureau, and was responsible for domestic intelligence. For much of the twentieth century, The Security Service dealt primarily with subversion and Soviet espionage. After the end of the Cold War, the primary focus was changed, and the Security Service now considers international counter-terrorism its primary priority. The DIS, part of the Ministry of Defence, was created in 1964, merging the seperate intelligence staffs of the armed forces as well as civilian intelligence staff. The primary purpose of the DIS is to analyze intelligence gathered and provide assessments and strategic warnings to the armed forces and other decision makers.

Russia and the U.S.S.R.

During the Cold War, the Soviet Union had one of the most well known groups of MI and security agencies: the KGB. After the collapse of the Soviet Union, Russia restructured much of the KGB, and, in 1995, formed the FSB (a Russian acronym for "Federal Security Service of the Russian Federation). The GRU ("Main Intelligence Directorate") is one of the only organizations to retain most of its Soviet-era organization and approach. The main source of Russian military intelligence, the GRU engages in worldwide espionage and intelligence gathering. Other organizations include the SVR (Foreign Intelligence Service), a civilian intelligence collection agency which grew out of the KGB's First Chief Directorate, and FAPSI (Federal Agency for Government Communications and Information), created from the KGB's Eighth Chief Directorate, Eighteenth Administration, and Communication Troops. FAPSI's main objective is similar to the United States' NSA, and focuses primarily on electronic intelligence and counter-intelligence, or SIGINT.

France

Like many other countries, France utilized spies long before the advent of a modern intelligence community in the nineteenth century. Spies were used during the Middle Ages, and military intelligence played an important role during the Napoleonic era and the Age of Empire. When World War I began, France had one of the most organized and skilled intelligence forces in the world.

There are MI divisions within each of France's military branches (Army, Navy and Air Force), as well as within the Ministry of Defense; all are coordinated by the SGDN (National Defense General Secretariat). The DSGE (Directorate for External Security), an agency under the Ministry of Defense, was formed by merging various agencies after World War II, and is responsible for MI, strategic information, electronic intelligence, and counterespionage. The DPSD (Directorate for Defense Protection and Security) is primarily responsible for military counterintelligence and other military securities issues. The BRGE (Intelligence and Electronic Warfare Brigade) was created in 1993, and deals primarily in SIGINT intelligence, operating a number of monitoring facilities.

China

Historically, the Communist Party has controlled much of the military intelligence in China. Before the Communists took power in 1949, they used intelligence provided by the Central Department of Social Affairs, enabling them to emerge victorious on the battlefield. Once the Communist Party came to power, the Central Investigation Department was formed. During the 1950's, the Central Investigation Department had an office in every Chinese embassy. In 1977, intelligence officers were recalled from Chinese embassies, instead to be later sent out posing as businessmen, scholars, and journalists. In 1983, the Central Investigation Department was merged with counter-intelligence elements of the Public Security Ministry, and renamed the Ministry of State Security.

Global Impact of Military Intelligence

Military intelligence operations have had an obvious impact on world history. Not only has the acquisition of MI, both accurate and inaccurate, influenced the outcome of wars and political negotiations, but it has also greatly influenced the development of technology, particularly in the area of signals intelligence. Without world-wide pressure to develop better and more secure methods of communication (as well as the means of intercepting each newly developed technology), it is unlikely that the world's communications systems would be as technologically advanced as they are.

External links

• Office of the Director of National Intelligence
• Intelligence Resource Program of the Federation of American Scientists Reference

Further Reading

• N.J.E. Austin and N.B. Rankov, Exploratio: Military and Political Intelligence in the Roman World From the Second Punic War to the Battle of Adrianople. London: Routledge, 1995.
• Julius Caesar, The Civil War. Translated by Jane F. Mitchell. Baltimore, MD: Penguin Books, 1967.
• Cassius Dio, Dio's Roman History. Translated by Earnest Cary. New York: G.P. Putnam's Sons, 1916.
• Francis Dvornik, Origins of Intelligence Services. New Brunswick, NJ: Rutgers University Press, 1974.
• J.F.C. Fuller, A Military History of the Western World, Vol. 1: From the Earliest Times to the Battle of Lepanto. New York: Da Capo Press, 1987.
• Richard A. Gabriel and Karen S. Metz, From Summer to Rome; The Military Capabilities of Ancient Armies. New York: Greenwood Press, 1991.
• John Keegan, Intelligence in War. New York: Knopf, 2003.
• Charles H. Harris & Louis R. Sadler. The Border and the Revolution: Clandestine Activities of the Mexican Revolution 1910-1920. HighLonesome Books, 1988.
• Henry Landau, The Enemy Within: The Inside Story of German Sabotage in America. G.P. Putnam Sons, 1937.
• Sidney F. Mashbir. I Was An American Spy. Vantage, 1953.
• Nathan Miller. Spying for America: The Hidden History of U.S. Intelligence. Dell Publishing, 1989.
• Ian Sayer & Douglas Botting. America's Secret Army, The Untold Story of the Counter Intelligence Corps. Franklin Watts Publishers, 1989.
• Barbara W. Tuchman, The Zimmerman Telegram. Ballantine Books, 1958.

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