Israel is considered number one in “human intelligence” in the Middle East and perhaps the entire world, according to “Secret War in Iran” author Dr. Ronen Bergman. In an interview with Israel National News TV, the widely-known author said that although the United States “has the upper hand in electronics” to gather intelligence, Israel has the advantage in recruiting agents in the field.
He revealed that the Mossad was not necessarily behind the recent spies arrested in Lebanon. Hizbullah has charged that the Mossad deployed up to 25 people, including senior members of the Lebanese army, who were arrested for allegedly spying for Israel. “I do not know if the Mossad was involved, but it works primarily overseas,” Dr. Bergman said. He said that the government has other units that work from Israel.
Dr. Bergman explained that “human intelligence” is necessary despite advances in technology “because adversaries know that communication can be deciphered electronically.”
The main motivation of Arab spies is material benefits, and only “in rare cases are we talking about ideology,” said the intelligence expert. Other motives are personal advancement or ruining the careers of others.
In an article published in the weekend edition of the Wall Street Journal, Dr. Bergman wrote that the Mossad has succeeded in slowing down the Iranian nuclear program. He noted that an Iranian nuclear scientist has disappeared and that two cargo planes crashed while they were hauling material for the nuclear project. In other incidents, two laboratories burst into flames.
“The Israeli intelligence community has penetrated enemies like Syria, Iran, Lebanon, Hizbullah and Hamas,” he wrote. However, “The bottom line is that excellent intelligence is very important, but it can only take you so far. In the end, it’s the tough diplomatic and military decisions made by Israeli leaders that ensure the security of the state.”