Counter-intelligence and Counter-terrorism Organizations

Counter-intelligence And Counter-terrorism Organizations

Counterintelligence, and closely related counterterrorism, may well be a source of positive intelligence on the opposition's priorities and thinking, not just a defensive measure. Still, foreign intelligence capability is an important part of early warning. Not all nations maintain offensive counterespionage and counterterrorism capability, and, of course, not all countries can have a worldwide presence. "Charles Burton Marshall wrote that his college studies failed to teach him about espionage, the role of intelligence services, or the role of propaganda. "States’ propensities for leading double lives—having at once forensic and efficient policies, one sort for display, the other to be pursued—were sloughed over." This window into the “double lives” of states of which Marshall wrote is a less familiar dimension of CI work, one that national security decisionmakers and scholars alike have largely neglected.

(USNDU-Van Cleave-2007) inferred from Marshall's remark, "the positive intelligence that counter-intelligence may supply—that is, how and to what ends governments use the precious resources that their intelligence services represent—can help inform the underlying foreign and defense policy debate, but only if our policy leadership is alert enough to appreciate the value of such insights." She emphasizes that CI is directed not at all hostile actions against one's own countries, but those originated by foreign intelligence services (FIS), a term of art that includes transnational and non-national adversaries.

Nations have different structure for counter-intelligence and counter-terrorism organizations. There will usually be separate civilian and military organizations. The civilian side may be split by foreign and domestic responsibilities, or by intelligence versus law enforcement responsibility.

Other countries also deal with the proper organization of defenses against FIS, often with separate services with no common authority below the head of government.

The counter-terrorism page primarily deals with special police or military organizations that carry out arrest or direct combat with terrorists. This page is intended to deal with the other aspects of counter-terrorism: the national authority over it, identification and monitoring of threats, clandestine and covert interference with their internal organization (and detection of and interference with their finances), and warning of planned attacks. A final category is mitigation of incidents, which may be the organization that also deals with major accidents and natural disasters.