human intelligence

military intelligence

Also known as: HUMINT

Learn about this topic in these articles:

In intelligence: Sources of intelligence
…eavesdropping and code breaking; and human intelligence, which involves the secret agent working at the classic spy trade. Broadly speaking, the relative value of these sources is reflected in the order in which they are listed above. A photograph, for example, constitutes hard (i.e., reliable) intelligence, whereas the report of…
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In military intelligence: Human agents
Often called HUMINT, human intelligence is provided by people rather than by technical means and is very often provided by spies and covert agents. Spies are often a prime source of information about a nation’s political leaders, strategies, and political decisions. The Soviet colonel Oleg Penkovsky, for example,…
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