Glossary of Intelligence Terminology - Updated

GLOSSARY of Intelligence Terminology

Agent – An individual who acts under the direction of an intelligence agency or security service to obtain, or assist in obtaining information for intelligence or counter-intelligence purposes.

Agent of Influence – An individual who can be used to covertly influence foreign officials, opinion molders, organization or pressure groups in a way that will generally advance objectives, or to undertake specific action in support of objectives.

Agent Provocateur – An agent employed to stir up trouble, create chaos and generally make mischief (primarily in the opposition camp).

Analysis – A stage in the intelligence processing cycle when collected information is reviewed to identify significant facts; the information is compared with and collated with other data, and conclusions, which also incorporates the memory and judgment of the intelligence analyst.

Asset – Any resource – a person, group, relationship, instrument, installation or supply at the disposition of an intelligence agency for use in an operational or support role. The term is normally applied to a person who is contributing to a clandestine mission, but is not a fully controlled agent.

Assessment – Part of the intelligence process whereby an analyst determines the reliability or validity of a piece of information. An assessment could also be a statement resulting from this process.

Backstopping – A team for providing appropriate verification and support of cover arrangements for an agent or asset in anticipation of inquiries or other actions which might test the credibility of his or its cover.

Basic Intelligence – Factual, fundamental and generally permanent information about all aspects of a nation, - physical, social, economic, political, biographical and cultural, which is used as a base for intelligence products in support of planning, policy making and military and covert operations.

Bigot List – A restrictive list of person who have access to a particular and highly sensitive class of information.

Biographical Leverage – Blackmail

Biological Agent – A micro-organism which causes disease in humans, plants or animals or causes deterioration of material.

Biological Operation – Employment of biological agents to produce casualties in humans or animals, and damage to plants or material; or a defense against such an attack.

Black – A term use to indicate reliance on illegal concealment of an activity rather than a cover.

Black Bag Job – Warrant less surreptitious entry, especially an entry conducted for purposes other than microphone installation, such as physical search and seizure or photographing documents.

Black List – A counter-intelligence listing of actual or potential hostile collaborators, sympathizers, intelligence suspects.

Black Propaganda – Propaganda that purports to emanate from a source other than the true one.

Blown – To blow the cover, expose, often unintentionally, personnel, installations, or other elements of a clandestine activity or organization.

Brush Contact – rapid, seemingly accidental contact between an agent or asset and a case officer or control agent to exchange material, most often in a crowded public place to confuse surveillance.

Bug – A concealed listening device or microphone, or other audio surveillance device; also, to install the means for audio surveillance of a target.

C – The initial denotes the chief or head of the British Secret Service

Case – An intelligence operation in its entirety; the term also refers to a record of the development of an intelligence operation, how it will operate, and the objectives of the operation.

Case Officer – A staff employee responsible for handling agents.

Chemical Agents – A chemical compound which, when disseminated, causes incapacitating, lethal or damaging effects on humans, animals, plants or materials.

Chemical Operations – Using chemical agents – excluding riot control, to kill or incapacitate for a significant period.

Chief of Station – Agent assigned to head and overseas intelligence unit, normally part of an embassy.

Cipher – Any cryptographic system in which arbitrary symbols or groups of symbols represent units of plain text.

Clandestine Intelligence – Intelligence information collected by clandestine sources.

Clandestine Operations – Intelligence, counter-intelligence, or other information collection activities and covert political, economic, propaganda or paramilitary activities, conducted so as to assure the secrecy of the operations.

Code – A system of communication in which arbitrary groups of symbols represent units of plain text.

Code Word – A word which has been assigned a classification and a classified meaning to safeguard intentions and information regarding a planned operation.

Collation – The assembly of facts to determine the relationship among them in order to derive intelligence and facilitate further processing of intelligence information.

Collection – The acquisition of information by any means and its delivery to the proper intelligence processing unit for use in the production of intelligence.

Communications – A method or means of conveying information from one person or place to another, not including direct unassisted conversation or correspondence.

COMIT- Communications Intelligence – Technical and intelligence information derived from communications by someone other than the intended recipient, not including the press, propaganda or broadcasts.

Company – Nickname for the CIA.

Compartmentation – The practice of establishing special channels for handling sensitive intelligence information, limited to individuals with a special need for that information.

Concealment – A provision of protection from observation only.

Confusion Agent – An individual dispatched by his sponsor to confound the intelligence or counter-intelligence apparatus of the opposition, rather than to collect or transmit information.

Control – Physical or psychological pressure exerted on an agent or group to ensure that the agent or group responds to the direction of Case Officer, intelligence agency or service.

Control Agent – Case officer responsible for the actions of an agent or asset.

Counterespionage – Aggressive operations against another intelligence service to reduce its effectiveness or to detect and neutralize espionage.

Counterinsurgency – Military, paramilitary, political, economic, psychological and civic action taken by a government to defeat subversive insurgency within a country.

Counterspy – An agent put into place where he can betray or mislead the opposition.

Courier – A messenger responsible for the secure physical transmission and delivery of documents and material.

Cousins – British SIS nickname for the CIA.

Cover – A protective guise used by a person, organization or installation to prevent identification with clandestine activities and to conceal the true affiliation of personnel and true sponsorship of activities.

Covert Action – Any clandestine activity designed to influence governments, events, organizations, or persons, including political and economic action, propaganda and paramilitary activity.

Covert Operations – Operations planned and executed against governments, installations, and individuals so as to conceal the identity of the sponsor or else to permit the sponsor’s plausible denial of the operation. 

They differ from clandestine operations in that emphasis is placed on concealment of identity of sponsor rather than on concealment of the operation. 

Critical Intelligence – Information of such urgent importance that it is transmitted at the highest priority to the President and other decision makers before passing through regular evaluation channels.

Cryptanalyst – Trained analyst who works at breaking codes and ciphers by attempting to recover the “key” (specific method) used in encryption, usually mathematicians who work with super-computers to attack computer-generated codes.

Cryptanalysis – The breaking of codes and ciphers into plain text without initial knowledge of the key employed in the encryption.

Cryptography – The enciphering of plain text so that it will be unintelligible to an unauthorized recipient.

Current Intelligence – Summaries and analysis of recent events.

Cut-Out – A person who is used to conceal contact between members of a clandestine activity or organization.

Dead Drop – Site where agents can leave and exchange messages with other agents or their control, most often in nooks and crevices in remote public areas (a hole in the wall) to avoid contact between those “filing” (inserting material) in the Dead Drop and those “servicing” it (remove material).

Deception – Measures designed to mislead a person or entity by manipulating, distorting or falsifying evidence to induce a reaction.

Decrypt – To convert encrypted text into plain text.

Deep State - The hidden underworld that underlines the public state.. 

Defector – A person who for political or other reasons, has repudiated his country and may be in possession of information of interest.

Directive – Basically any executive branch communication which initiates or governs departmental or agency action, conduct or procedure.

Dirty Tricks – Covert and Clandestine operations used in U.S. politics.

Discard –  Expendable agent or asset deliberately sacrificed to deflect attention from other, more important agents or operation.

Disinformation – Deliberately placed information, often inaccurate, used to counteract or support a covert intelligence operation.

Dissemination – The distribution of information or intelligence products (in oral, written or graphic form) to departmental or agency intelligence consumers.

Double-Agent – A person engaged in clandestine activity for two or more intelligence or security services who provides information to one service about the other, or about each service to the other, who is wittingly or unwittingly manipulated by one service against the other.

Drone - A weaponized remote controlled surveillance plane. 

ELINT – Electronic Intelligence – Technical and intelligence information derived from the collection (or interception) and processing of electromagnetic radiations (noncommuncations) emanating from sources such as radar.

Expendable Agent – One that can be used and given up to the enemy or killed.

Fluttered – To be examined by a polygraph lie-detector

Front – Legitimate appearing entity created to provide cover for agents and assets, usually a commercial, corporate or charity foundation.

Great Game – A person who works in intelligence is said to be “in the game.”

High Grade Intel – Very important and protected secrets or records from a targeted nation.

Illegal – Espionage agents sent under false passports into foreign countries and not associated with the official embassy operations.

Legal – An agent operating in a foreign country under diplomatic cover, providing diplomatic immunity in the event of blow cover or arrest.

Legend – The false biography of an agent to provide cover.

Letter Box – Place, address or person (Also see: Cut Out) used as a go-between to receive and pass on messages and instructions.

Measles – A murder carried out so efficiently that death appears to be accidental or due to natural causes.

MI5 – British Counter-Intelligence Service.

MI6 – British Secret Service, operating mainly overseas, with HQ at Century House,London.

MI8 – US cryptographic service established after WWI by Herbert O. Yardley, precursor of the NSA.

MI9 – WWII organization established to set up escape routes for Allied prisoners of war.

Mole – An agent ordered to infiltrate the opposition services in order to send back information or an asset inserted into the political, intelligence or military structure of a target nation with the specific objective of rising to a key position, at which point the asset is “switched on” to provide high-grade intelligence.

Music Box – Wireless radio transmitter

Naked – Operating without assistance

Neighbor -  Another branch of the same intelligence service.

One Man Bay of Pigs – A phase used to describe an incompetent agent who has made a hash of things.

One Time Pad – Cipher device that uses a pad with sheets of random numbers that are used to encrypt messages once, then discarded. Since each sheet is readable only to someone on the other end with the same pad, eh system is theoretically unbreakable.

Orchestra – A network of spies operating together, unknown to each other, but controlled by the same operator.

Pavement Artist – Surveillance team.

Playback – The technique of using a captured agent’s radio, computer email or phone to feed misleading information to the agent’s control.

Plumbing – The work undertaken to prepare for a major operation.

Propaganda – Any communications supporting objectives which are designed to influence opinions, emotions, attitudes or behavior of any group.

Proprietaries – A term used to designate ostensibly private commercial entities capable of doing business which are established and controlled by intelligence services to conceal their affiliations in support of clandestine operations.

Psychological Warfare – The planned use of propaganda and other actions to influence the opinions, emotions, attitudes and behavior of groups so as to support the achievements of policy objectives.

Reconnaissance – A mission undertaken to obtain information by observation or other detection methods.

Requirement – A general or specific request for intelligence information.

Resident Director – Head of the Russian Secret Service network.

Safe House – Secure place for meetings and living during operations.

Sanction – Intelligence agency approval for killing of agents.

Sanitize – The deletion or revision of report or document so as to prevent identification of the intelligence sources and methods.

Security Measure – Special action taken to protect information or personnel.

Sensitive – Something which requires special protection from disclosure.

Sheep Dipping – The use of a military instrument or officer in a civilian capacity and cover.

Signals – As applied to electronics, any transmitted electronic impulse.

SIGNIT – Signals Intelligence – Interception, processing, analysis, and dissemination of information derived from foreign electrical communications. It is composed of three elements – COMIT, ELINT and TELINT.

Sleeper – A deep-cover agent planted in opposition territory with orders to lie low and work up contacts over a period of years before being introduced into the network.

Source – A person, thing or activity which provides intelligence information.

Special Projects – Nickname for covert and clandestine operations.

Station – Chief office of an intelligence agency in a foreign country, most often located in an embassy.

Stroller – A walking pedestrian equipped with walkie-talkie radio.

Sterilize – To remove from material to be used in covert and clandestine operations, any marks or devices which can identify it as originating with the sponsoring organization.

Strategic Intelligence – Intelligence required for the formation of policy and military plans and operations at the national and international level.

Subversion – Actions designed to undermine the military, economic, political, psychological or moral strength of a nation.

Surreptitious Entry – Black Bag Operation, breaking and entering to obtain information.

Surveillance - Systematic observation of a target.

Tactical Intelligence – Intelligence supporting plans and operations at the unit level.

Target – A person, agency, facility, area or country against which intelligence operations are directed.

Toxin – Chemicals which are not living organisms, but which are produced by living organism that are lethal.

Traffic – Messages carried over a telecommunications network.

UNSUB – Unknown Subject

Walk-In – An agent who volunteers or offers his services.

Watch List – A list of words, names, entities or phrases that can be employed by computer, passenger 

manifests or boarder guards to select out required information from a mass of data.

XX Committee – the Double-Cross Committee set up during World War II to control and exploit double and turned Nazi agents in Britain.

FBI GLOSSARY By M. Wesley Swearington

ADD – Associate Deputy Director

ADDIC – Assistant Director in Charge

AG – Attorney General of the USA

AIRTEL – A written memorandum between FBI field offices or Bureau headquarters. It is a 1950s acronym for a memo sent via air mail in teletype format. Over the years it became bastardized into the usual verbose bureaucratic memo as opposed to the short and abrupt teletype format. The AIRTEL was originally created to save money; however, it still requires the immediate handling of investigative leads and the immediate distribution by the clerical staff to the intended receiver.

Apalachin – The turning point in the FBI’s investigation of the American Mafia. The largest ever known meeting of mobsters took place in 1957 in Apalachin, New York, which was discovered accidently by a New York State Trooper. This huge discovery embarrassed Hover’s FBI into fully investigating organized crime.

ASAC – Assistant Special Agent in Charge of an FBI Field Office.

AUSA – Assistant United States Attorney.

Black Bag Job- The FBI’s term for an illegal search. The term originated from the use of a black leather bag to carry lock picking tools, cameras, steamers, letter openers, flashlights, and other equipment to conduct an illegal search after picking a lock.

Brick Agent – Agents who work in the field offices conducting investigations.

Bureau – The term used by FBI Field Agents when referring to FBI headquarters inWashington , D.C., also known as FBIHQ

Bug – A hidden microphone placed in an office or private residence, which is different from a wire tap on a telephone, often done without a court order or Attorney General approval making the information inadmissible in court.

C-1 –The FBI’s Criminal Squad Number One in Chicago, which handled the investigation of organized crime, also known as the Top Hoodlum Program (THP) squad.

CIA “asset” – An informant, a source, or assassin used by the CIA, but is not a government employee.

“Chop” – To kill.

“Clip” – To murder gangland style.

COINTELPRO – The FBI’s code word for the counter-intelligence program, which was in operation from the mid-1950s until April 21, 1971. COINTELPRO continued under individual case titles.

Consiglieri – A highly placed advisor or counselor in an organized crime family.

 “Dry Clean” – To take evasive action to detect a physical surveillance.

“ELSUR” – The FBI’s code word for electronic surveillance in the form of a bug or wiretap.

FBIHQ – FBI Headquarters in Washington, D.C.

“FISUR” – The FBI’s code word for physical surveillance.

“Hit” – To kill.

“Honey Trap” – Using a women to blackmail 

La Cosa Nostra (LCN) – La Cosa Nostra was the term given to organized crime families by law enforcement.

“Made Guy” – An actual member of the Chicago’s LCN mob family.
“marked card” – “canary trap” (Tom Clancy Patriot Games0 “barium meal” (Peter Wright, Spycather)  was a practice in intelligence circles of slightly altering items in Oswald's biography and using these items as "marked cards" as they passed information back and forth with each other. If an unauthorized person had access to a particular spelling of a name, for example, that "marked card" indicated that there had been a leak. A leaker might be a defector. 

“MO” – The FBI’s bug placed in Sam Giancana’s office in Chicago.

SAC – Special Agent in Charge of a field office.

“Rub Out” – To kill

Tap – A wire tap usually placed on a telephone through the telephone company with a court order, or with the approval of the Attorney General.

THP – Top Hoodlum Program.

“Whack” – To kill.

ACRONYMS

ABC – American Broadcasting Corporation

ACLU – American Civil Liberties Union

AF1 – Air Force One

AFOSI – Air Force Office of Special Investigations

AFSC – Armed Forces Security Agency

AID – Agency for International Development

AIM – Accuracy In Media

AKA – Also Known As
AMBOT - Cuban Case Officers/Reports?

AP – Associated Press
API - Aerospace Industries Association 

BNDD – Bureau of Narcotics and Dangerous Drugs

BNE – Board of National Estimates

BNNMC – Bethesda National Naval Medical Center, Maryland.

BTW – By The Way
CAC - Caribbean Action Center - Debriefed refugees 

CAP – Civil Air Patrol

CAR – Cuban Aid Relief

CBS – Columbia Broadcastings System

CDIP – Consolidated Defense Intelligence Budget

CFI – Committee on Foreign Intelligence
CFR - Council on Foreign Relations 

CIA – Central Intelligence Agency

CI – Counter-Intelligence
CIC - Counterintelligence Corps (USA) 

CIG – Central Intelligence Group (1946-47 predecessor of CIA)

CIS – Counter-Intelligence Staff (CIA)

CJCS – US Chairman, Joint Chiefs of Staff (US DOD)

CNN – US Cable News Network

COINTELPRO – FBI counter-intelligence program directed at US domestic activities.

COMINT – Communications Intelligence – Technical and intelligence information derived from communications by someone other than the intended recipient, not including press, propaganda or public broadcasts.

COMIREX – Committee on Imagery Requirements and Exploitation, established in 1967 to succeed COMOR as the USIB subcommittee responsible for management and collection planning for U2 and satellite reconnaissance.

COMOR – Committee on Overhead Reconnaissance, a USIB subcommittee established in 1960 to coordinate intelligence collection requirements among the Departments for the development and operation of all overhead reconnaissance systems.

COMPADRE – A CIA operation in the Philippines.

COMSEC – Communications Security

CONDOR – A CIA operation to replace the government in Chile

CONUS – Continental United States – U.S. territory, including adjacent territorial waters located within the North American continent between Canada and Mexico.

COS – Chief of Station, CIA, FBI or Secret Service in different cities.
CRC – Cuban Revolutionary Council – CIA Cuban group established to replace the government of Cuba after the overthrow of Castro.

CREEP – Committee to Re-Elect the President (Nixon) 
CRF - Cuban Revolutionary Front
CSS – Central Security Service

CSIS – Canadian Security Intelligence Service.
CUI - Controlled Unclassified Information Office of ISSO 

DAS – Defense Attache System

DCI – Director Central Intelligence (CIA)

DCID – Director of Central Intelligence Directive – A directive issued by the DCI which outlines general policies and procedures to be followed by the intelligence community, more specific than a NSID.
DCS – Domestic Contact Service – A component of CIA CIG, responsible for domestic sources for foreign intelligence information, renamed Domestic Contacts Division in 1951, became component of DDI in 1952, renamed DCS in 1965; transferred to DDO in 1973 and renamed Domestic Collection Division (DCD).

DDA – CIA Directorate of Administration, established in 1950, responsible for personnel, budget, security, medical services and logistical support for overseas operations.

DDCI – Deputy Director, Central Intelligence – Second person in line of CIA command.

DDI – Directorate of Intelligence – CIA, created in 1952, responsible for production of finished intelligence (excluding scientific and technical intelligence since 1963)and for collection of overt information.
DDO – Deputy Director of Operations or Directorate of Operations, CIA.

DDP – Directorate of Plans, created in 1952 from the integration of OSO and OPC, also known as the “Clandestine Service,” responsible for clandestine collection.

DDR – Directorate of Research, created in 1962, predecessor to the Directorate of Science and Technology.

DDS – Deputy Director for Support, CIA
DDS&T – Directorate for Science and Technology, organized in 1963, combining OSI, the Data Processing staff, the Office of ELINT, the DPD and Office of Research and Development.

DEA – Drug Enforcement Administration

DEFCON – Defense Condition 1 – 5 Military Alert status and posture at any given time.

DGI – Direccion General de Intelligenca – Cuba’s Secret Service

DGSE – Direccion General de Securite Exterieure – French Secret Service

DIA – Defense Intelligence Agency – created by Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara in 1961, responsible for production of military intelligence.

DINA – Chilean Secret Police

DIOP – Defense Intelligence Objectives and Priorities.

DIRDIA – Director Defense Intelligence Agency

DIS – Defense Investigative Services

DISCOVERER – First recon satellite, launched by Lockheed in Calf. In Aug. 1960.

DISIP – Venezuelan Intelligence Service.

Division Five – FBI Counter-Intelligence

DKIQs  - Defense Key Intelligence Questions

DMA – Defense Mapping Agency

DNC – Democratic National Committee

DOD – Department of Defense

DOE – Department of Energy

DO J – Department of Justice
DPC- Dallas Petroleum Club 

DPD – Dallas Police Department (Texas)

DRE – Directoate Estudente Revolution – Anti-Bastista, Anti-Castro Cuban group.

ELINT – Electronic Intelligence – Technical and intelligence information derived from the collection or interception and processing of electromagnetic radiations (non-communications) emanting from sources such as radar.
EXCOM – Executive Committee established in 1965 for the management of overhead reconnaissance for CIA and DOD.

FBI – Federal Bureau of Investigation

FFCGIJP – Fund For Constitutional Government Investigative Journalism Project (DC)

FOIA – Freedom of Information Act.

FOIA/PA – Freedom of Information Act/ Privacy Act

FPCC – Fair Play for Cuba Committee

FSO – Foreign Service Officer

FYDP – Fiscal Year Defense Plan

GAO – General Accounting Office

GCCS – Global Command and Control Stations 

GRU – Soviet Military Intelligence Service

GSA – General Services Administration.

HUMINT – Human Intelligence

HUAC – House Unamerican Activities Commiteee

HSCA – House Select Committee on Assinations.

IAB – Intelligence Advisory Board to DCI.

IBM – International Business Machines

IDC – Interagency Defector Committee - 

INB – State Department Bureau of Intelligence and Research

INCA – Information Council of the Americas

INS – US Immigration Nationalization Service

INSCOM – US Army Intelligence & Security Command, Fort Meade, Maryland.

IRR – Investigative Record Repository, Fort Meade, Md.

IRS – Internal Revenue Service

ISA – International Security Affairs DOD
ISCAP - Interagency Security Classification Appeals Panel
ISSO - Information Security Oversight Office 

ITM – International Trade Mart (New Orleans)

J-2 – Joint Staff for Intelligence DOD

JAG – Judge Advocate General USN - 

JAG – Joint Analysis Group established in 1962 to provide regular assessments of Soviet and Chinese military strengths.

JCS – Joint Chiefs of Staff

JEDBURGH – Scotland, OSS-OSO training base during WWII and name given to commando teams parachuted into Nazi occupied Europe before D-Day.

JFK Act – John F. Kennedy Records Act of 1992 established the JFK Assassination Records Collection at the NARA and the temporary Assassination Records Review Board.

JFK ARC – JFK Assassination Records Collection at Archives II, College Park, Md.

JFK Library – Presidential Library, Boston, Mass.

JMWAVE – CIA Cuban operations base at University of Miami, Florida.

JRC – Joint Reconnaissance Center

JURE – Anti-Castro Cuban group.

KGB – Soviet National Intelligence Service.

KYP – Greek Intelligence Service

LAN – Local Area Networks 

LBJ Library – President LBJ Library, Austin, Texas.

LI – CIA LI crypts refer to Mexico City CIA station.

LSU – Louisiana State University, New Orleans
LTV - Ling-Tempo-Vought 

MAW – Military Airlift Wing, Andrews AFB 

MI5 – British Counter-Intelligence Service

MI6 – British Foreign Intelligence Service

MI8 – British Cryptography

MFF – Mary Farrell Foundation/Files – 

MOSSAD – Mossad Le Aliya Beth – Israel’s Intelligence and Security Service.

MRBM – Medium Range Ballistic Missile

MSCMS – Mystic Star Communications Systems 

MVD – Soviet Russian era ministry of Internal Affairs.
NAA - National Aeronautic Association 

NAACP – National Association for the Advancement of Colored People

NARA – National Archives and Records Administration

NATO – North Atlantic Treaty Organization

NBC – National Broadcasting Company

NBR – Not Believed Relevant – Excuse not to release FOIA or JFK Act records

NCA – National Command Authority

the nuclear “release authority,” as it is called, does not follow the Constitution’s line of succession. The release authority passes from a disabled or missing President to the Secretary of Defense, and then, if necessary, to the Deputy Secretary of Defense.

NCS – Net Control Station Andrews 

NEACAP – National Emergency Airborne Command Post 

NFIP – National Foreign Intelligence Program

NIH – National Institute of Health (Bethesda, Md.)

NINDB – National Institute of Neurological Diseases and Blindness.

NKVD – Predecessor of the KGB in Soviet Russia.

NORORN – No Foreign Dissemination

NPIC – National Photo Interpretation Center (CIA) Established in 1961to analyze photography derived from overhead reconnaissance.

NPR – National Public Radio
NRO – National Reconnaissance Office

NSA – US National Security Agency

NSAM – National Security Action Memorandum – issued by the President
NSC – National Security Council

NSC – US National Security Council, the senior decision making body of the Executive Branch, established in 1947.
NSIA - National Security Industrial Association
OAS - Organization of American States
OCSA - Office of Censorship and Special Analysis
OEP - Office of Emergency Planning
OGIS - Officeof Government Information Services
OIP - Office of Information (DOJ)

OJCS – Office of the Joint Chiefs of Staff 

OMB – Office of Management and Budget

ONI – US Office of Naval Intelligence

OO – Office of Operations, DDI, collected overt intelligence until 1965.

OPC – Office of Policy Coordination, a component of CIA established in 1948 with responsibility of conducting covert operations. Merged with OSO in 1952 to form DDP.

OPEC – Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries.

OSD – Office of the Secretary of Defense

OSI – Office of Scientific Intelligence, created in 1949, became component of DDI in 1952, transferred to DDS&T in 1963.

OSO – Office of Special Operations, DOD.

OSS – Office of Strategic Services – US Army Intelligence Agency 1942-45. 

PBCFIA – President Board of Consultants on Foreign Intelligence Activities, created in 1956, renamed PFIAB in 1961.

PCG – Planning and Coordinating Group of NSC.

PFIA – President’s Foreign Intelligence Advisory Board.
PIDB - Public Interest Declassification Board 

PLO – Palestine Liberation Organization
POGP - Project On Government Oversight 

POW – Prisoner of War.

PSB – Psychological Strategy Board, established in 1951 under NSC, charged with directing psychological warfare programs, replaced by OCB in 1953. 

PZPR – Cold War era Polish Secret Police and Intelligence Agency

RCMP – Royal Canadian Mounted Police
R&D – Research and Development

RDT&E – Research, Development, Test and Evaluation

ROCKCOM – Rockefeller Commission – President’s Commission on Central Intelligence Agency activities within the USA.

RYBAT – CIA crypt for “secret”
SACSA - Office of the Special Assistant Counter-Insurgency and Special Affairs of the Joint Chiefs Staff

SALT – Strategic Arms Limitation Talks

SAM – Surface to Air Missile

SAM – Special Air Mission

SAMOS – Satellite and Mission Observation System – First US recon satellite, 1961

SDECE – French Intelligence Agency

SEC – Securities and Exchange Commission

SHNS – Scripps-Howard News Service

SIC – Senate Intelligence Committee

SIGNIT – Signals Intelligence – Interception, processing, analysis and dissemination of information derived from foreign electrical communications. It is composed of three elements – COMIT, ELINT and TELINT.

SMERSH – Smyert Shpionam “Death to Spies” – Stalinist military counter-intelligence unit made famous by Ian Fleming.

SOD – Special Operations Division, Fort Detrick, Maryland

SOE – Special Operations Executive – British WWII program to develop covert operations against Nazi Germany and occupied Europe.

Special Group (Augumented) a US National Security Council subcommittee established in 1962 to oversee Operation MONGOOSE, a major CIA covert action program designed to overthrow Cuban premier Fidel Castro.

SPG – Special Procedures Group – est. 1947 to conduct covert psychological operations

SS – Secret Service

SSA – Social Security Administration

SSB – Single-Side-Band radio 

SSCI – Senate Select Committee on Intelligence

STB – Czech Intelligence Service

SUCCESS – Operation Success – Guatemala Coup, 1954

TELINT – Telemetry Intelligence
TOA – Technical Services Division, CIA
TRAX – Camp Trax – Cuban training base in Guatemala, 1960-1961

TWA – Trans World Airlines

U2 – US high altitude photo recon plane

UFC – United Fruit Company

UHF – Ultra High Frequency 

UM – University of Miami, home of JMWAVE.

UN – United Nations

UNSUB – Unknown Subject

UPI – United Press International news wire service

USIA – United States Information Agency

USIB – United States Intelligence Board, established 1958

USMC – United States Marine Corps

USPS – United States Postal Service

USSR – Union of Soviet Socialists Republics

VENONA – Coded Soviet Russian Communications Intercept.

WC – Warren Commission
WHCA – White House Communications Agency

WACL – World Anti-Communism League

XX Committee – The British Double-Cross Committee set up during World War II to control and exploit double and turned