 2500 years after Sun Tzu How to become a spy (and why not) |
Double agents  "The enemy's spies who have come to spy on us must be sought out, tempted with bribes, led way and comfortably housed. Thus they will become double agents and available for our service. It is through the information brought by the double agent that we are able to acquire and employ local and inward spies.""It is owing to his information, again, that we can cause the doomed spy to carry false tidings to the enemy."    Sun Tzu (500 BC): The Use Of Spies 
CIA: The Use Of Journalists |
Counterintelligence |
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How to become a spy (and why not) "Why Not?" Well, if you are asking that, you are ready to fill any of those two applications. But if you want to avoid it, then you should learn something about intelligence recruitment approaches ... | Application to join the C I A What it meansbeing a spy Application to joinThe Mafia | Foreign Intelligence Recruitment Approaches Security Awareness and Reporting of Foreign Contacts
Presidential Decision Directive PDD/NSC-12 05 August 1993 |
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The Law applies to everyone else "What, then, are the higher priorities likely to be for intelligence collection-but not necessarily for (U.S.) national security policy-in the foreseeable future? We would list the status of nuclear weapons and materials throughout the former Soviet Union; political and military developments in Iraq, Iran, and North Korea; potential terrorism against U.S. targets in the continental United States and overseas; unconventional weapons proliferation; and political-military developments in China. A second category of important but somewhat lower priority intelligence targets would include political developments in Russia and relations between Russia and the former Soviet republics; Mexican stability; the stability of Egypt and Saudi Arabia; Indo-Pakistani relations; developments affecting Middle East peace negotiations; and the activities of international criminal organizations." "Political and military developments in Bosnia and the Balkans would necessarily be a high priority if the U.S. military were involved significantly. We would not include on this list such subjects as environmental protection, population growth, or general political and economic developments where open sources are normally sufficient." "The correct response to such cases is not to expect the intelligence community to be prepared for everything, everywhere. This would waste resources, leave high-priority targets with inadequate coverage, and still not be enough given the unlimited potential for the unexpected. Instead, the president and the DCI (directors of central intelligence) should consider creating a formal intelligence reserve corps for dealing with so-called "pop-up" issues. Such a corps could consist of former intelligence professionals, academics, and others with particular geographic and functional expertise. Working with a point of contact in the intelligence community, they would be asked to collect data, provide reports, and be available to work full time if a crisis suddenly developed in their area and if their expertise were required." "Clandestine operations for whatever purpose currently are circumscribed by a number of legal and policy constraints. These deserve review to avoid diminishing the potential contribution of this instrument. At a minimum, the Task Force recommended that a fresh look be taken at limits on the use of nonofficial "covers" for hiding and protecting those involved in clandestine activities. In addition, rules that can prohibit preemptive attacks on terrorists or support for individuals hoping to bring about a regime change in a hostile country need to be assessed periodically." ( Making Intelligence Smarter The Future of U.S. Intelligence) "The collection of intelligence can be accomplished in a variety of ways, the most important being the interception of communications and other signals (SIGINT), satellite photography or imagery (IMINT), and reports from human sources (HUMINT). There is also measurement and signature intelligence, or MASINT, which enhances understanding of physical attributes of intelligence targets. Intelligence analysis reflects conclusions or judgments reached by individuals with access to information from many sources, of which secret information made available by intelligence community collection systems is only part." "A second task for the clandestine services is covert action, that is, the carrying out of operations to influence events in another country in which it is deemed important to hide the hand of the U.S. government. Historically, covert action has included such activities as channeling funds to selected individuals, movements or political parties, media placements, broadcasting, and paramilitary support. Such operations can be designed to bolster the capabilities of friendly governments in dealing with challenges to them and their societies. Covert measures can also have the opposite purpose, to weaken a hostile government." ( Making Intelligence Smarter, The Future of U.S. Intelligence) Reports from the Associated Press revealed that CIA Director John Deutch made the agency's intentions clear in a letter to Louis D. Boccardi, president and chief executive officer of The Associated Press, and W. Thomas Johnson, president of Cable News Network. Deutch wrote. `We do not use American journalists as agents or American news organizations for cover, nor do I have any intention of doing so. `As you know, past DCI's (directors of central intelligence ) have reserved the right to make exceptions to this policy. The circumstances under which I--or, I believe, any DCI -- would make an exception to this policy would have to be genuinely extraordinary.' (The Indianapolis News, Apr. 23, 1996) In other words, if the CIA wants to use the media as cover for its secret agents or recruit journalists to be spies, it will. What about foreign (non-U.S.) journalists? "Working with a point of contact in the intelligence community, they would be asked to collect data, provide reports, and be available to work full time if a crisis suddenly developed in their area and if their expertise were required." (Making Intelligence Smarter) | |
 On 22 May 1996, the House of Representatives voted an amendment to the CIA budget banning the foreign intelligence agency from using journalists as spies. But another text adopted by Congress provides for waivers to this rule if the president gives exceptional authorisation and the congressional intelligence committees are informed. CIA director John Deutch said in February that the agency could have recruited American journalists on "very, very rare occasions", despite a 1977 instruction forbidding the practice. The Washington Post had revealed that the CIA had in the past used American journalists and media as a cover for its activities. The 1977 instruction does not apply to foreign journalists, some of whom are still recruited by the CIA, according to the Post. The new amendments do not prevent CIA agents passing themselves off as journalists. ( Reporters Sans Frontieres: The Americas - United-States)  Both Beilenson and Specter became irritated when asked about specific types ofcovert operations. Specter, questioned about bribery of foreign officials,responded: "That's a ridiculous question.... We don't engage in bribery--that'sagainst the law." On the other hand, he said, "Paying for information is notbribery."Ex-CIA officer MacMichael laments: "This splitting of hairs... How would it beregarded in the United States if an official of the United States, for payment,offered information to a foreign government? Would that be legal in the U.S.?[Specter's] statement is the most extraordinary distinction I've ever heard." When asked specifically about the dangers of practices like paying foreignjournalists to write knowingly false stories that often work their way back intoAmerican living rooms, Specter replied: "I have not seen that come before theIntelligence Committee." When asked again how committee members could possibly beunaware of such well-documented practices, Specter - answered haltingly: "I havenot voted for any funds which involve bribery." If Committee members are so ill-informed, it's partly because the CIA won'tprovide correct answers unless the questions are posed in precisely the rightway. Former CIA officials say they take advantage of unartful questioning inorder to withhold information. "We'd go down and lie to them consistently," says ex-CIA officer Ralph McGehee." In my 25 years, I have never seen the agency tell the truth to a congressional committee." The Law applies to everyone else CIA: Out of control, Russ W. Baker, Village Voice, In the Post-Soviet Era, Congress Slumbers and the Intelligence Community Creates New Bogeymen to Vanquish | |
"We are honest men; 
