ABSTRACT
During the Cold War substantial fi nancial and human resources were spent on intelligence by both sides of the Iron Curtain. Intelligence and security services in the East and West fought their own war, largely hidden from public view and mostly not in a very gentlemanly way. This chapter will discuss the ebb and fl ow of this “intelligence war” in general terms and in particular with respect to intelligence from human sources (Humint), signals intelligence (Sigint) and covert action, called “active measures” by the KGB.2 The main protagonists in this war were the KGB and the CIA. Both services were assisted at crucial junctures by allied services of member states of the Warsaw Pact and NATO, and by services from other parts of the world. The cooperation between US intelligence and security services and British services, which dated from the Second World War, was particularly close and far reaching.
