Morality & Ethics Facing the War on Terror: To What Extent Can Intelligence Be Defined

as Moral or Immoral?

- Nancy Dakroury

From the smallest unit of a society, according to Aristotle, the family to the society and state

always face threats to their own security and thus, their existence. Such threats can be posed by

other states, communities, or non-state actors like terrorist groups. Terrorism, for instance, in

today’s globalised world is more complicated than before, this is mainly because but not limited

to, the increase in the number of transnational terrorist organizations and their capabilities. The

existence of such terrorist organizations and their different allegiances with others do put the

national security at stake, not just for a single state, but as well as for the whole surrounding

region. Due to the presence of continuous threats, civil and military intelligence services are

created in order to help in protecting their nations from the threatening objects. In other words,

intelligence is made in order to foresee the enemy’s future steps, intentions and study its

behaviors. For intelligence to be conducted it has its methods in order to get the needed

information and sees the overall situation and this is where the question of morality is placed. In

this paper, I aim to examine intelligence’s methods in order to explore to what extent is

intelligence ethical or unethical in counterterrorism. Furthermore, my argument is that

intelligence is neither moral nor immoral, and this is due to the complexity of the surrounding

nature and events. Accordingly, this paper will be divided into three parts, firstly, it will address

the concept of terrorism and intelligence as a method to counterterrorism, second, it will examine

surveillance and other acts of intelligence, and third, theoretical analysis will be provided.

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1. Terrorism and Counter Terrorism Responses

1.1. What is Terrorism?

On November 2022, a bombing took place in Taksim Square in Turkey which led to the

death of six people, a child included and tens were wounded (BBC, 2022). On March 2019, mass

shootings occurred as a terrorist attack in two mosques in Christchurch in New Zealand that led

to killing fifty-one people (RNZ, 2019). Corresponding with this attack in the next month, the

National Tawheed Jammath, a terrorist group in Sri Lanka targeted Christians on Easter while

carrying out a lethal attack as a response (Rawat, 2019). The two last examples can reflect how

terrorism has become international. As much as it may seem obvious to be defined, there is no

‘correct’ definition of what terrorism actually is which makes it controversial. I suppose that the

difficulty in defining terrorism lies in drawing the agreement on the legitimacy of the use of

violence, which is usually argued depending on the violence is directed to whom, by whom, how

and for what ends. For instance, the use of violence can be practiced by terrorist organizations, as

previously mentioned, but also by states in order to achieve a certain political goal. And although

states engage in these activities, different agencies that are linked with governments do intend to

exclude governments when it comes to defining what terrorism is. This can be seen in the United

Nations Panel definition of terrorism, as an act that harm civilians or ‘compel’ the government to

do or abstain from doing a certain action (United Nations, 2004) or the European Union when it

did address terrorism in the same manner, through defining it as an act that unduly ‘compel’ a

government and offense civilians (Council of the European Union, 2002). However, states

committing terrorism themselves can be seen in different situations. For instance, Israel can be

characterized as an example of state terrorism due to the terrorism perpetration against the

Palestinians living in the occupied territories of 1967. Other (democratic) states can be also

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committing terror through securitizing the existence of people from other nations inside their

states while dictatorships can terrorize their own populations through coercion, etc. Therefore,

there has been a difficulty to address to the conceptualization of terrorism.

1.2. Counter Terrorism, its Methods and Intelligence

Responding to violence with violence has been the zeitgeist, or the present norm, of the

21st century when it comes to addressing insurgencies while peace-building measures have been

largely ignored especially after the attacks of 9-11 (Gunaratna, 2017). Over the decades,

governments managed to build toolkits in order to counter terrorism, this includes: focusing on

reactive ways to detect and kill terrorists to disrupt their operations known as the tactical and

operational counter terrorism, and preventive counter terrorism known as the strategic counter

terrorism (Gunaratna, 2017). Therefore, it can be argued that are various ways in order to counter

terrorism, and intelligence is one of them and its role is certainly influential. Though, intelligence

may seem as a ‘peaceful’ method that mainly entail collecting data about different entities or

persons, its work can definitely be violent (Moran, 2020). Furthermore, it can also be dangerous

as the information provided can have brutal consequences. For instance, the United States

invaded Iraq based on a flawed intelligence (Gunaratna, 2017), which its role will be discussed

in the next section, in regard to their unverified claim of the presence of WMD. As a result of

such invasion, the Iraqi administrative structures and security was dismantled and eventually

became an incitement for recruiting terrorists in order to fight the US and its NATO allies as

occupiers.

Intelligence is defined as the process of collecting important requested information, that

mainly concerns the national security of a certain state (Moran, 2020). Upon this, the information

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get requested, collected, (supposedly critically) analysed and then provided to the government

from the intelligence agency. However, an important element that must be present throughout the

whole process and it is secrecy (Moran, 2020). Secrecy is vital in this process due to the

sensitivity of the information as well as the methods used in order to conduct and get this

information (Moran, 2020). Furthermore, intelligence is considered important because it alerts

the state to threats that concern the national security, although it may not be this accurate as it

was the case with Iraq 2003. Consequently, intelligence itself became a service of activity and

also a product and accordingly, it is a form of power (Moran, 2020). And as much as intelligence

cannot be seen as an end itself, it is an essential governmentally justified mean. Unlike how

politics may function, intelligence has a different conflicting nature, as it is also used between

‘ally’ states. For instance, there was a spying war between the US and its allies in the run up of

Iraq’s 2003 invasion (Moran, 2020). To sum up, the nature of the use of intelligence is different

from one state to another, each has its own methods and concern and priorities. However, the

nature of collecting the information is essential as what state X have, is also essential for state Y,

etc. Lastly, sources of intelligence vary, but the most common ones can be present in the

following: Human Source Intelligence which entails collecting different sensitive information

from individuals, Signals intelligence, Open Source Intelligence, etc. Although the sources are

many and can help in accumulating the needed information, the problem of failure is always a

present and has severe consequences. Failure can occur in the failure of prediction of a certain

event, or failure of validate the information before proceeding with future actions. Therefore, the

methods used and the problem of failure is what raises different questions on the ethics and

mortality.

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2. The Black Side of Intelligence: Surveillance and Beyond

To perform a big range of counter-terrorism functions, the tendency of a formal

surveillance state was precipitated in order to empower intelligence organisations and security

(Henschke, Alastair, Scott & Seumas, 2021). Consequently, many states’ security apparatus was

changed from a decumbent bureaucracy into a ubiquitous institution. Furthermore, recent

advancements in computer science and technology have promoted intelligence states to have

deeper insights into the individuals’ lives (Henschke, Alastair, Scott & Seumas, 2021). This was

further empowered by the political climate post 9-11 which did further enable, under the

auspices of national security and counter terrorism, the institutionalisation of the intelligence

state. The rise of this state combines the features of both; security and surveillance states,

collecting data that help in protecting the homeland, proactivating policies that are targeted to

combat terrorism (Henschke, Alastair, Scott & Seumas, 2021). All of these tend to raise concerns

in regard to the mass surveillance and its exacerbated programs by data surveillance in relation to

its ethical conduct. Moreover, the intelligence state’s encroachment on citisens’ personal data has

a high potential to erode privacy’s boundaries.

Surveillance is done in many ways, but there are two common methods: Bulk Data

Collection (BDC) or Targeted Data Collection (TDC) (Henschke, Alastair, Scott & Seumas,

2021). BDC is committed when the scope of data collection is wide and includes thousands of

records that are not associated with the targeted ones. For instance, if a certain intelligence

agency is to collect records associated with IS’s (Islamic State) leader, Al- Qurashi, then it is not

BDC, rather TDC. The opposite occurs when this intelligence agency wants the data records of

all people that go into and out of Syria, then there certainly will be many data collected of

different Syrians who do not have an association of IS leader. Therefore, it may seem unethical

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to do so, because the intelligence agency does know that these people did not engage with

terrorist attacks and do not have connections with terrorists, yet the intelligence agency collected

their data. If an intelligence agency is to conduct TDC, then it would be completely

understandable since this person or entity does pose a (potential) threat, however, the BDC

cannot be justified. If BDC is conducted in order to explore further links and thus, other threats,

then it can be justified, again however, some constrains must be present on this evaluation

(BDC). For instance, the group filtered and collected data upon must essentially post an actual

threat to the collecting state, artificial intelligence shall not be a method of filtration and the

collected data must be tied to a certain filter and a propose and then deleted when this filter’s

justification no longer holds. To conclude, BDC can be a valuable and efficient tool to counter

terrorism, however, some constrains must be applied.

Political assassinations, sabotaging, helping in a change of an existing government to

replace it with another, these all are elements that intelligence plays a role in. For instance, the

CIA (Central Intelligence Agency) of the United States did publicly admit its involvement in the

coup against Mosssadegh, Iran’s pervious elected Prime Minister (Zahrani, 2002). Mossadegh

was quite known to be a loved figure by Iranians due to his introduced economic and social

policies, one of which was the nationalisation of the oil industry of Iran which was controlled by

Britain. Furthermore, he refused to offer the British any involvement with the oil industry in Iran

which made Britain appeal for the US in order to help (Zahrani, 2002). This help was offered

through the CIA, an intelligence service in order to cause a flame that would later overthrow

Mossadegh and restore the power to an ally of them, the Shah. Apart from Iran, nearly more the

forty governments in South American, on its own, were replaced due to the interference of the

United States in the 20th century (Moran, 2020). All conducted in the name of national security,

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moreover, the United States and its government with the support of its intelligence, did kidnap

‘suspected’ terrorists, tutored them and built secret prisons (Moran, 2020). And the concept of

morality was absolutely absent in the case of Iraq’s Abu Ghraib, which held thousand of

detainees that included innocent civilians as well as dangerous leaders of terrorist groups and

insurgency (Bell, 2018). It was a scandal because it was the United States that invaded Iraq, in

the name of promoting democracy, had footage leakage of human right violations of physical

abuse and that included torture and rape (Bell, 2018).

3. Intelligence in the Eyes of Utilitarianism: Theoretical Analysis

There are many theories to be discussed as framework in regards to intelligence; however,

I decided to choose the theory of utilitarianism due its main focus on morality. The theory of

utilitarianism mainly advocates for different actions and activities that can be committed in order

to foster happiness for the people and oppose the opposite (Stanford Encyclopaedia of

Philosophy, 2014). If such theory is directed towards making political decision, for instance, it

would aims for the ‘betterment’ of the society as whole. Being influenced by Thomas Hobbes’s

account on the Human nature, Jeremy Bentham argued that human beings are usually ruled by

two ‘masters’, pleasure and pain. As he stated that we, as humans, always tend to seek pleasure

and avoid the occurrence of pain (Stanford Encyclopaedia of Philosophy, 2014). Upon his view,

he promulgated the conception of ‘utility’ to be standard for governments to establish policies

and promote happiness for the ‘greatest amount of people’ (Bourcier, 2020). Therefore,

according to the theory of utilitarianism, pleasure or happiness is the only thing that has an

intrinsic value. The controversial principle that utilitarianism entails and also advocates for is

that as long as the action promotes the maximum benefit and happiness, then it is. In other

words, utilitarianism does not really care whether the results of this action are moral or not.

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Much before Bentham, many other theorists argued, directly or indirectly, the essentially of

intelligence. For instance, the famous Italian philosopher, Machiavelli, argued that the security of

a state must be prioritised regardless; this consequently, justifies the acts of the ruler and gives

the ruling elite a green light to execute extraordinary policies aimed for national security (Viotti

& Kauppi, 2012). The codes of morality differ; this is essentially because morality itself is a

contested concept. In other words, what is moral for you to do is not necessarily moral for me

and vice versa.

In the case of surveillance, the information is collected for the benefit of the public,

although the ordinary citizen may not have an access to this information, intelligence’s

surveillance can be perceived as a moral act. In other words, accumulating this information

benefit the public since it is aimed to protect them. However, what makes this difference of the

morality extent is for what and for whom is the benefit gained. For instance, in the case of the

CIA and Iran’s Coup against the Mossedegh, it would be 100% perceived, according to

Machiavelli, as moral in the eyes of the western bloc and the Americans. It is an act where

service intelligence interfered to help an ally, as well as their national security, from an object

that would freeze their economic interests. And according, this act does benefit the public of the

western bloc. However, it is extremely difficult to perceive this as a moral act from an Iranian

perspective as in their situation; it was the USA’s CIA and the British, being backed by other

western powers, which interfered in the nation affairs and threatened the Iranian national

security. For the populations of Britain and the US, they are secure from whatever threatens their

national security or oil supply, thus, pleasure is achieved and utilitarianism prevails. The same

could have been argued for the Iranian population when the law of nationalisation was applied.

Furthermore, the goal of reaching the utilitarian victory of good over evil was also used in

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justifying the torture of Abu Ghraib prison. Utilitarianism recognises that long-term interests of

the concerned must be enhanced by the moral standard (Stanford Encyclopaedia of Philosophy,

2014). The torture of the prisoners, from the lens of utilitarianism, can be justified for the sake of

the information. In other words, if pressure is to be put on those ‘suspected’ prisoners, through

experiencing the pain (which the humans run away from according to utilitarianism), they will

eventually confess their affiliations, if any, and further vital information that concerns the

national security. In this case, pleasure is gained by the intelligence as they succeeded in getting

the needed information as well as the people due to their provided safety. It is the utilitarian

concept of accepting wrong acts, happening to the smaller number in order to achieve the greater

good, happening to the majority.

Conclusion

Indeed without system, order and security, anarchy on the national level would prevail. This can

be proved simply by looking at the international system and how anarchical it can be due to the

lack of an international (strong) governing body. Hobbes, for instance, did perceive the

essentiality of the existence of such ‘coercive’ governing entity on the international scale in order

to provide ‘terror’ as a punishment for any breach or violation that can occur between states

(Sheikh, Hassan & Rashid, 2020). Looking for the bigger picture, due to the lack of this strong

international governing body, nation states are living in anarchy and consequently, they will seek

self-preservation and aims to build their hegemonic power. To address this moral code, it would

be difficult to be applied due to the non-existence of this body, as its existence would state moral

obligations between states and their relations. Therefore, each state will continue to fend for

itself and employ all possible existent means in order to achieve its ends and maintain or even

strengthen its position in the international system. Military war, intelligence or spy craft are not,

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unfortunately, expectations to this rule. It would be silly to claim to the absolute truth and spot

the right or the wrong or even say what the ethical code of conduct is. Therefore, researchers,

academics or philosophers will continue to debate the origin of morals and ethics according to

their opinions and views. Because every government, or state, is influenced by certain ideals and

therefore, notions and values tend to differ and vary. Governments usually, but not always, are

elected by their people who perceive them as efficient enough to protect their rights and secure

their lives. Consequently, the government would find itself in a very morally just position to

utilise all means in their intelligence agencies to fulfil their role. Even of this entails being

immoral towards the others, regardless the other is an organisation, person or another state.

Finally, it can be concluded that intelligences can neither more moral nor immoral. Because in its

essence, it serves the national security of a certain state, the government and its population even

if it entails stepping over other states’ rights. It has always been the Hobbesian conception of

‘survival’ living among us.

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