Some Principles of Human Intelligence and Their Application

Human intelligence (HUMINT), which is the oldest of the intelligence disciplines, has through the course of the twentieth century, been less emphasized by the U.S. Army relative to the technical disciplines of signals intelligence (SIGINT) and imagery intelligence (IMINT). HUMINT should remain a key component of an intelligence system, as it can cue and be cued by the other disciplines and combine with them to be more effective than any of them would be by itself. Additionally, the Army is involved in low- and mid-intensity campaigns around the world and Army doctrine for these types of operations identifies the importance of HUMINT in their conduct. Army leadership has expressed dissatisfaction with the current state of Army HUMINT and stated that it needs improvement. In order to make such an improvement, principles of HUMINT are necessary so that the HUMINT system and its components--including the individual HUMINT collectors--may be properly designed or trained. Such principles may be derived from writings of theorists and practitioners of HUMINT. All of the civilizations of the ancient world practiced HUMINT in one form or another, and many of them left behind extensive writings on the theory and practice of HUMINT This was particularly true of the ancient Chinese and Indians, for whom HUMINT in its various forms was integral to their statecraft. The civilizations of the ancient Near East and classical period in the Mediterranean also engaged in HUMINT and left behind a record of it. Governments and militaries also employed HUMINT throughout the twentieth century, and there is an extensive body of both history and theory from twentieth century practitioners and theorists. From all of these writings, which almost completely agree, one can see that HUMINT collectors should be people of the best personal quality, mature and experienced, and with good knowledge of the areas on which they are collecting. Other writings on leadership, business, and training practice

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