Intelligence_ From Secrets to Policy - Mark M. Lowenthal [72]
Diplomatic reporting is a type of HUMINT, although it tends to receive less credibility in some circles because of its overt nature. After all, the foreign government official knows, when speaking to a diplomat, that his or her remarks are going to be cabled to that diplomat’s capital. An espionage source is likely to be thinking the same thing. Nonetheless, some people prefer more traditional HUMINT, even if the source’s reliability remains uncertain, rather than diplomatic reporting.
HUMINT requires time to be developed. Clandestine service officers need to learn a variety of skills (foreign languages; conducting, detecting, or evading surveillance; recruiting skills and other aspects of HUMINT tradecraft; the ability to handle various types of communications equipment; weapons training; and so on). Like all other professions, it takes time to become adept. In the case of HUMINT officers, it takes up to seven years, according to some accounts.
In addition to gaining the skills required for this activity, officers have to maintain their cover stories—the overt lives that give them a plausible reason for being in that foreign nation. There are two types of cover: official and nonofficial. Officers with official cover hold another government job, usually posted at the embassy. Official cover makes it easier for the agent to maintain contact with his or her superiors but raises the risk of being suspected as an agent. Nonofficial cover (NOC, pronounced “knock”) avoids any overt connection between the officer and his or her government but can make it more difficult to keep in contact. NOCs need a full-time job that explains their presence; they cannot make contact with superiors or colleagues overtly. (This led to a bureaucratic problem for the CIA in that NOCs had to at least appear to be paid at a level commensurate with their cover job, which was sometimes higher than their government salary. This then raised the issue of being liable for taxes higher than their actual salary. Congress authorized the CIA to pay NOCs “in a manner consistent with their cover.”)
For the CIA, at least, some limits exist on the jobs that NOCs can hold. Clergy and Peace Corps volunteers are off-limits. Journalism is an ideal cover for a NOC, as journalists have a plausible reason for being in a foreign country, for seeking out officials, and for asking questions. However, professional journalists have long protested any such use of cover, arguing that if one spy posing as a journalist were to be unmasked, then all journalists would be suspect and perhaps in danger. Proponents counter that journalism is a profession like any other and should be available for use. All told, the use of NOCs is more complex than is official cover for spies.
Some HUMINT sources volunteer. They are called walk-ins. Spies Oleg Penkovsky of the Soviet Union, Aldrich Ames of the CIA, and Robert Hanssen of the FBI were all walk-ins. Walk-ins raise a host of other issues: Why have they volunteered? Do they really have access to valuable intelligence? Are they real volunteers or a means of entrapment—called dangles? Dangles can be used for a number of purposes, including identifying hostile intelligence personnel or gaining insights into the intelligence requirements or methods of a hostile service. According to press accounts reporting on the investigation led by former FBI director and DCI (1987-1991) William H. Webster, the Soviet Union suspected that Hanssen was a dangle and protested to the United States. The United States denied the charge but did not follow up.
In addition to recruiting foreign nationals, HUMINT officers may undertake more direct spying, such as stealing documents or planting sensors. Some of their information may come through direct observation of activity. Thus, HUMINT can involve more INTs than just espionage.