ABSTRACT
Intelligence is the crucial link, if not the point of departure, within the chain of counterterrorism measures. 2 On account of this interrelation and the fact that police services, BKA and FBI execute intelligence tasks as well, this chapter considers a broader interpretation of intelligence than the activities of intelligence and security services alone. Obviously, major differences exist between intelligence and security services like the Dutch BVD or the West German Bundesamt für Verfassungsschutz on one side and the American FBI (but also the German Bundeskriminalamt) on the other. Contrary to the former, the latter two agencies also have investigative competences and are authorized to prosecute and arrest. This means that, in this chapter, not only the more ‘passive’ activities of the regular intelligence and security services is examined, but also the more offensive intelligence operations aimed to ‘disrupt’ or arrest radical targets.
