The contemporary French intelligence and counterintelligence system consists of an amalgam of units dating from the time of Napoleon I and an organization developed by General Charles de Gaulle as leader of the Free French in World War II. From 1946 until 1981 the major French intelligence service was the SDECE. In 1981 the SDECE was reorganized as the DGSE (General Directorate of External Security). Although the agency changed its structure, it retained its traditional functions: foreign intelligence, counterespionage outside France, and overseas covert political intervention.

Another major French intelligence agency is the Second Directorate of the National Defense Staff, which combines, to some degree, formerly separate army, navy, and air force agencies. Charged with gathering foreign military intelligence for the French general staff, it is no doubt influenced by the traditions and doctrines of the French army’s old Deuxième Bureau. The DST (Directorate of Territorial Security), a third important member of the French intelligence system, is responsible for internal security, playing a role similar to that of the American FBI. It is controlled by the Ministry of the Interior.

The SDECE and DGSE have been shaken by numerous scandals. In 1968, for example, Philippe Thyraud de Vosjoli, who had been an important officer in the French intelligence system for 20 years, asserted in published memoirs that the SDECE had been deeply penetrated by the Soviet KGB in the 1950s. He also indicated that there had been periods of intense rivalry between the French and American intelligence systems. In the early 1990s a senior French intelligence officer created another major scandal by revealing that the DGSE had conducted economic intelligence operations against American businessmen in France, and in 2002 it was charged that the DGSE had uncovered compromising information on French President Jacques Chirac on behalf of his opponents.

China

Foreign intelligence and counterintelligence in China is the province of the MSS. The organization of the MSS is similar to that of the former KGB, with bureaus responsible for foreign intelligence, counterintelligence, and the collection of scientific and technical intelligence. Chinese intelligence operations are conducted by officers under diplomatic cover as well as under nonofficial cover as businessmen and scholars. Its operations have been fairly successful, especially in the United States. In 2000, for example, a U.S. congressional committee concluded that Chinese intelligence “stole classified information on every currently deployed U.S. intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) and submarine-launched ballistic missile (SLBM).”

The Military Intelligence Department of the General Staff Department of the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) is China’s second largest intelligence organization. It collects information through military attachés and intelligence officers under academic and business cover. The PLA, the navy, and the air force also collect human intelligence and signals intelligence. Although little is known about Chinese signals intelligence, it is believed to be controlled by the Sixth Bureau of the air force staff.

The Chinese communist leadership always has been concerned with dissent, whether political, social, or religious. Both the People’s Armed Police and the MSS closely watch suspected dissidents. During the 1990s and into the 21st century, members of the Chinese spiritual movement Falun Gong frequently were harassed and arrested by the authorities.

The Chinese Communist Party collects foreign intelligence independently of the MSS and the armed forces. The International Liaison Department of the General Political Department of the Communist Party Central Committee carries out operations in the United States and Taiwan.

Israel

Since its creation in 1948, the State of Israel has met its obvious need for intelligence and counterintelligence with services that have gained a first-class reputation. One mark of their professionalism is that less is known about them than about other systems.

The Israeli intelligence establishment comprises several autonomous organizations. The Central Institute for Intelligence and Security, popularly known as Mossad, carries out foreign espionage and covert political and paramilitary operations, including the assassination of Palestinian terrorists and other figures. Its head reports directly to the prime minister.

Shin Bet, which takes its name from the Hebrew initials for General Security Services, conducts internal counterintelligence focused on potential sabotage, terrorist activities, and security matters of a strongly political nature. Shin Bet is divided into three wings responsible for Arab affairs, non-Arab affairs, and protective security—i.e., the protection of Israel’s embassies, its defense infrastructure, and El Al, the national airline. During the 1980s Shin Bet’s reputation was tarnished when it was revealed that its agents had beaten to death two Palestinians held in connection with the hijacking of a bus. In the 1990s Shin Bet came under international scrutiny for its use of torture against some Palestinian detainees and for its role in the assassinations of alleged Palestinian militants. It also was criticized for its failure to prevent the assassination of Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin in November 1995. In the aftermath of the ensuing scandal, the head of Shin Bet was forced to resign.

The Intelligence Corps of the Defense Forces, commonly referred to as Military Intelligence (or Aman), constitutes a third major Israeli intelligence organization. Some observers view it as a rival to Mossad, and conflicts between the two agencies have been reported. Its chief is the military intelligence adviser to the minister of defense.

The Lekem Bureau of Scientific Relations was a small, clandestine intelligence organization that recruited spies in Western countries until it was disbanded in 1986 following the arrest of Jonathan Pollard, a U.S. naval intelligence analyst who sold highly classified U.S. intelligence documents to Israel. (Immediately after Pollard’s arrest, Israel apologized to the U.S. government and claimed that contacts with Pollard were not authorized by senior intelligence officials.) According to some sources, the duties of the bureau have been assumed by an office in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.