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Because intelligence work is vital to national security, the classic targets of espionage are military secrets, environmental government secrets, and information regarding threats to other governments. This information might consist of new weapons systems, military strategies, or information about the stationing of troops. Information on foreign or monetary policies or any information revealing internal tensions in a government is also valued by decision-makers. In combating crime, intelligence agents work undercover to check the flow of illegal drugs into and out of the country or to interrupt terrorist activities before they occur. Safeguarding Global and National Security Secrecy and deception are major factors in intelligence work. Most intelligence operations must be secret, or covert , because only by stealth can information that an enemy wants to hide be discovered. Intelligence work relies on building a detailed and long-term picture of enemy activities and requires many years of information-gathering and analysis. Countries will often actively attempt to blur the picture that another government has of its economic or military activities. For this reason, intelligence agencies are continually adjusting their assessments. In other words, the picture is never static, but is constantly evolving. Intelligence agencies must keep pace with every new development and change over time.

Here, a member of the Irish Republican Army (IRA) practices with a homemade rocket launcher. Such groups are difficult for the intelligence agencies to infiltrate because of their roots in the local community.

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GOVERNMENT INTELLIGENCE AGENCIES