9781422284056

What Intelligence Agencies Do

Almost everydevelopedcountry in theworld includes an intelligence agency as an essential part of its government apparatus. Inmost coun- tries, the police provide the main source of domestic law-and-order enforcement. Diplomatic relations abroad provide the main forum for relationships between countries. Intelligence agencies, however, work by secret or undercover operation, enabling them to gather information that might otherwise be hidden or suppressed. In this way, intelligence agencies are vital for government policy making, The seal in the lobby of the George Bush Center for Intelligence in Langley, Virginia. The official CIA headquarters is named for former President George H. W. Bush, Director of the CIA from 1976 to 1977. Words to Understand Bug: a concealed listening device Covert: secret, undercover Harbor (v.): to give shelter or refuge to Subversive: a systematic attempt to overthrow or undermine a government or political system by persons working secretly from within

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