ABSTRACT
The activities of law enforcement officers at both the local and federal levels, or private detectives, or attorneys preparing a case for trial, or investigative journalists, or even manufacturers attempting to learn the secrets of competitors—all entail activities that are used in clandestine operations. Clandestine operations usually involve much the same organizational machinery, whether the operations be foreign intelligence collection, counterintelligence, or covert action. The Federal Bureau of Investigation, which is subordinate to the Department of Justice, was designed initially as a law enforcement agency. The early public drama of its work came during Prohibition days. The end purpose of clandestine operations continues to be reporting from the field on significant subject matter. Clandestine intelligence operations are somewhat labor-intensive, involving detailed one-on-one meetings between agent and case officer. The problems of operational security and communications add to this labor-intensive situation, in which cover is but one aspect of the problem.
