A U.S. reconnaissance airplane collided with a Chinese fighter jet April 1 over the South China Sea.
The aircraft, which was equipped with advanced spying technology, was forced to make an
emergency landing. The ensuing standoff between the United States and China focused attention
on intelligence gathering tactics. The Cold War may be over, but spying continues and is
increasingly high tech.
In the United States, strategic information is gathered by the
Intelligence Community. This organization consists of 13
government agencies, including the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Central
Intelligence Agency, the National Security Agency and the Defense Intelligence Agency.
Columbia University compiled the
U.S. Intelligence Community site,
which offers a description of the agencies and links to declassified documents.
Learn how to use the Freedom of Information Act to obtain intelligence documents.
The following is a brief overview of a few intelligence organizations:
- Federal Bureau of Investigation
Founded in 1908 and based in Washington, D.C., the FBI investigates many offenses, including
white-collar crime, kidnapping, domestic terrorism and drug trafficking.
The FBI publishes a list of the
Ten Most Wanted Fugitives and
offers a reward for information leading to their capture. The FBI also publishes the
Uniform Crime Reports, which offer statistics on
recent crime in the United States.
Head to the FBI Reading Room to browse documents made available by the
Freedom of Information Act. The FBI kept files on many people, such as gangster
Al Capone, singer
Elvis Presley
and actress Marilyn Monroe.
- The Central Intelligence Agency
An independent agency, the CIA reports to the President of the United States. Its mission is to
collect information related to foreign intelligence and counterintelligence to help the president
make decisions about national security. Congress oversees the CIA's activities.
The public can access CIA research in the
World Factbook, which offers country
profiles and reference maps, and the
Factbook on Intelligence, which describes
the intelligence cycle.
The CIA's Electronic Reading Room is a collection of frequently
requested declassified material. Read actual documents about UFOs and the Bay of Pigs invasion.
Read the CIA's Frequently Asked Questions
to learn if the CIA is allowed to spy on Americans.
- National Security Agency
The NSA's mission is to "protect U.S. information systems and produce foreign intelligence
information." The NSA employs codemakers and codebreakers, mathematicians who design cipher
systems that protect the integrity of U.S. information systems. The research and development
initiatives of the NSA have ramifications not only in the scientific community, but also the
business world. Did you know that the NSA is partly responsible for the invention of the cassette tape?
The NSA also maintains the National Cryptologic Museum,
which houses a rare book collection, a cipher wheel and a German Enigma.
George Washington University houses the National Security Archives,
which contains a library of declassified U.S. documents.
The Archive's publications include
reviews of current and past events.
- National Counterintelligence Center
This agency coordinates the government's effort to identify and counter foreign intelligence
threats to national and economic security. The center is composed of counterintelligence and
security professionals from the 13 agencies of the Intelligence Community.
- National Reconnaissance Office
The NRO creates and operates reconnaissance satellites for the CIA and Department of Defense.
This technology alerts us to volatile spots around the world and aids our country in
planning military operations.
For more information on intelligence matters, visit GovSpot's collection of
Intelligence Reports. Spying aficionados
can subscribe to the Secrecy Newsletter, which reports
on security and intelligence policies.
--- C. Smith and J. Britten
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