ATHENA EXPLAINS | Conceptual Keys on Intelligence

Following the kidnapping and subsequent murder on Chilean soil of a former Venezuelan lieutenant accused of conspiracy by Nicolás Maduro’s regime, Athenalab clarifies some concepts regarding intelligence, as there have been increasing demands to improve this function of the State of Chile.

Is national intelligence a new concept?

For 2,500 years, both in the East and the West, Herodotus, Thucydides, and Sun Tzu have highlighted the necessity of having useful information, not only for the strategic conduct of an armed conflict but also for the political management of a State. In the 21st century, there is broad consensus that the instruments of a State’s national power can be summarized by the acronym DIME: diplomatic, informational, military, and economic. The information for decision-making is what we now call intelligence. It is a key and destabilizing factor of power and advantage when determining courses of action. Therefore, it is an ancient concept.

What is intelligence as a function of the State?

There are multiple ways to define intelligence, depending on where the focus is placed. It can be on the method of obtaining information, the process itself, its products, the institutions that make up intelligence systems, or the laws governing the processes. But in the broadest sense, intelligence is useful information, as it is a product oriented toward a purpose, where information is collected, analyzed, and processed to serve the decision-making process.

What constitutes a national intelligence system?

An intelligence system always operates in a particular environment, where the values professed by each society are reflected in the checks and balances established to safeguard individual freedoms while reconciling this with the acquisition of necessary information for the protection of the community and the rule of law. In other words, each system reflects the culture and society in which it develops. In liberal democracies, the Legislative Power plays a crucial role in defining by law the architecture of the intelligence system that the State will establish, the allocation of powers that each component of the system will have, its checks and balances, and also its funding. The Judicial Power also plays an important role in resolving jurisdictional disputes, violations of the law, or potential offenses or crimes committed in the acquisition and processing of information. Finally, the Executive must also have controls over its own intelligence apparatus to ensure it does not operate for its own benefit or serve political ends.

What types of intelligence exist in an intelligence system?

The following types of intelligence are organized at the national level:

• Human Intelligence (HUMINT)
• Signals Intelligence (SIGINT)
• Measurement and Signature Intelligence (MASINT)
• Geospatial Intelligence (GEOINT)
• Open Source Intelligence (OSINT)

It is relevant to have all these types of intelligence at the highest level of the intelligence system, as they complement each other and allow for a better national overview. These types of intelligence are complemented by the strategic intelligence services of the armed forces and those belonging to the police.

What is counterintelligence?

Counterintelligence is a function aimed at adopting protective measures against actions harmful to national interest and security, including actions to deter or neutralize negative actions and potential effects.

At the national level, the main purpose of counterintelligence is to protect the State’s capacity to undertake actions that safeguard national interest and security from hostile acts that seek to infiltrate institutions, manipulate decision-making processes, and extract information regarding strategies, methodologies, and actions aimed at preserving national security.

John Griffiths, Head of Studies at AthenaLab

March 6, 2024