Political Science

Whenever one thinks of Intelligence Agencies such as the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) or the National Security Agency (NSA), the first thing that would probably come into mind is spies working in secret, gathering confidential information or committing other covert acts in the interests of the governments whom they serve.  But in reality, there is more to intelligence gathering than merely the use of spies.  As the name suggests, intelligence agencies like those mentioned above primarily collect intelligence, process and analyze them and produce meaningful output that will be of use to the national command authorities.  But they have various ways in collecting intelligence or information, which is the raw form of the intelligence gathered.

The most widely known method is Human Intelligence or HUMINT.  This involves the use of people to gather intelligence through various sources.  This is done either overtly or covertly. The information they obtain can be open or closed sources such as getting information from news sources or anything made public to debriefing defectors or prisoners of war.  This is where the spies (intelligence agents) earn their keep.

The other form of collection is Signals Intelligence or SIGINT.  This involves listening in on communications ranging from radio communications to radar signals.  Electronic Intelligence or ELINT is also related to this form (Richelson 1995, 420).  Imagery or IMINT entails the use of information obtained from satellites, usually photographic images which are then studied by special interpreters and analysts.

The other form is called Measurement and Signal Intelligence or MASINT.  This involves the use of other forms of data or information taken outside SIGINT or IMINT such as radioactive yields, acoustics and even seismic frequencies or geologic data such as water and soil samples.

In conclusion, there is more to intelligence gathering than the use of spies or secret agents but despite the availability of different methods or techniques, the human factor would still play a key role in this practice.