Government Intelligence Agencies

Most of these agencies have three purposes: to spy on other countries, to counter terrorists (both inside and outside their national borders), and to prevent domestic disturbances (riots, coups, or political elections that could turn out badly for the ruling party).  More frequently, however, intelligence agencies are being used for a fourth purpose: to spy for the benefit of their country's corporations.

Given their vast amount of funding and the nature of an intelligence agency's power, it's unlikely that intelligence agencies will fade away soon.  If anything, they will grow stronger, using global threats to justify their continued existence.  For information about the official purposes of different intelligence agencies, browse through the following web sites.

Please note that the government interprets your viewing of DoD web sites (anything with .mil extension) as tacit agreement to monitoring while connected to those sites.

            Terrorism and Counter-Terrorism
 

Federation of American Scientists  A privately funded, nonprofit organization that studies the use of science, technolofy, and public policy for global security.  Here you can find links to intelligence agencies along with documents, records, and historical archives related to intelligence agencies and their activities.

 Strategic Intelligence, Military Intelligence, Economic Intelligence
Check out these three great sites put together by the Political Science Department at Loyola College in Maryland.  These are unofficial sites for researchers, students, and interested browsers who just wants to know more about the intelligence community.  These are very complete sites which include links to intelligence agencies both domestic and abroad; lots of official documents; and more.  Also includes info on Echelon, which is often pretty elusive.

KimSoft Intelligence and Counter-Intelligence  This site contains a large number of links to intelligence organizations, research documents, books, and global intelligence activities.

Central Intelligence Agency  The CIA homepage provides information about the CIA, employment opportunities, publications & reports, speeches & testimony, links to other intelligence agencies, and more.

Defense Intelligence Agency  Here you'll find official information about a relatively little-known intelligence agency designed to provide information to the Department of Defense.

Federal Bureau of Investigation  Apply for a job, learn who made the list of top ten most wanted fugitives, read reports about crime statistics in the United States, and learn what the FBI is doing to make your neighborhood safer (or at least how they're spending your tax money).

The Intelligence Community Home Page  Contains official U.S. Government information (otherwise known as propoganda) about the many American intelligence agencies, including little-known ones such as Army, Navy, and Marine Intelligence.

National Imagery and Mapping Agency  One of the newest intelligence agencies, NIMA consists of the friendly folks who map the world so long-range bombers know what targets to hit and cruise missiles know how to navigate across enemy territory.

National Reconnaissance Office  This agency is responsible for tracking spy satellites in orbit and supplying spy satellite information to the CIA and other government agencies.

National Security Agency  The premiere code-cracking intelligence agency in the world is NSA, whose Fort Meade, MD, facility contains the largest number of supercomputers in one location in the world.

Canadian Security Intelligence Service  Official site for Canada's intelligence agency, which is charged with foiling espionage and terrorist acts within Canadian borders.  Information is provided in both French and English.

Terrorism

Counter Terrorism  This site provides the complete texts of various American antiterrorist legislation, terrorist facts, and tips for avoiding becoming a terrorist victim yourself.

The Counter Terrorism Page  Provides links, documents, and discussion groups related to terrorism, counterterrorism, and international crime.

International Terrorists Links Page  Contains links to official and unofficial terrorist web pages along with facts about different terrorist groups.  I never realized there were so many terrorist groups around until I checked out this page.  Looking through here, you may find that some terrorist groups have legitimate grievances.  Reading information supporting a terrorist group's point of view will help you learn why they have banded together and what they hope to achieve.  Best of all, knowing more about terrorists and where they operate, you might be able to decrease the chances that you'll become their next victim.

The Terrorism Research Center  Dedicated to informing the public of the phenomena of terrorism and information warfare.  This site features essays and thought pieces on current issues, as well as links to other terrorism documents, research and resources.

ERRI Counter-Terrorism Archive  Provides the latest news about terrorist activities worldwide.