Intelligence Collection

Book excerpt: This comprehensive book by one of the foremost authorities in the field offers systematic and analytical coverage of the "how and why" of intelligence collection across its three major stages—the front end (planning), collection, and the back end (processing, exploitation, and dissemination). The book provides a fresh, logical, and easily understandable view of complex collection systems used worldwide. Its ground-breaking organizational approach facilitates understanding and cross-INT collaboration, highlighting the similarities and differences among the collection INTs. The first part of the book explains how the literal INTs—open source, human intelligence, communications intelligence, and cyber collection—work. The second part focuses on nonliteral or technical INTs including imagery, electronic intelligence, and measurements and signatures intelligence. All chapters use a common format based on systems analysis methodology, detailing function, process, and structure of the collection disciplines. The third part is a complete chapter discussing the complexities of collection management in the United States. Rich, full color illustrations accompany the text with examples throughout the book on topics as diverse as battlespace situational awareness, terrorism, weapons proliferation, criminal networks, treaty monitoring, and identity intelligence.