Intel gathering

For the CIA to function, we have to handle a harsh and ugly reality

The reality of gathering intelligence is a lot less glitzy. It's something you and most people probably don't want to know.

There are three general ways the United States gathers intelligence about what is going on around the world. There is the consumption of open-source intelligence, or what appears in media outlets or statements by governments across the world. This is stuff that is allowed to be seen.

But as anyone who has been through high school knows, what someone says and does in public and what they may say or do in private can be two completely different things. That “friend” of yours may be supportive of your desire to go out with someone to your face, but in private, they may like that person, too, and are trying to beat you to the punch.

The same is true of geopolitics, only this time, the stakes are much, much higher. China will talk a good game about human rights and respecting intellectual property in public all the time. What they do when America’s back is turned, though, may reflect their true feelings. Then there are those who don’t just talk, but who are planning something nefarious.