foreign intelligence service

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Definition

Noun: 1. A government agency responsible for collecting, analyzing, and using information about foreign governments, non-state actors, and events outside its own country's borders. Its primary mission is to conduct espionage and provide intelligence to protect national security and inform foreign policy.

Usage
  • The term is a formal and general category for any nation's external intelligence agency.
  • It is often used in political, diplomatic, and security contexts.
  • Example: "The foreign intelligence service provided a critical briefing to the president on the emerging crisis."
Advanced Usage
  • The term can be used generically or specifically. When capitalized (e.g., as a proper noun like "the Foreign Intelligence Service"), it often refers to a specific agency, such as Russia's SVR (Sluzhba Vneshney Razvedki).
  • It is frequently contrasted with a "domestic intelligence service," which focuses on threats within a country's own borders.
Variants and Related Words
  • Intelligence agency: A broader term that can include both foreign and domestic services.
  • External intelligence agency: A direct synonym.
  • Espionage agency: Emphasizes the clandestine information-gathering aspect.
  • Secret service: While sometimes used generically, this often specifically refers to an agency tasked with protecting dignitaries (e.g., the U.S. Secret Service).
Synonyms
  • Spy agency
  • Intelligence service
  • External security service
Related Phrases
  • Foreign operations: The activities conducted by a foreign intelligence service abroad.
  • Intelligence gathering/collection: The core function of such a service.
  • Counterintelligence: The activity of protecting a state's secrets from other foreign intelligence services.
Noun
  1. Russia's intelligence service responsible for foreign operations, intelligence-gathering and analysis, and the exchange of intelligence information; collaborates with other countries to oppose proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, terrorism and organized crime

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