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What types of secret agents did Sun Tzu describe in The Art of War?
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In his classic work The Art of War, Sun Tzu emphasized that reliable intelligence is essential for successful military strategy, noting that foreknowledge of the enemy can only be obtained through human sources. He categorized these secret agents into five distinct classes:12
- Local spies: Inhabitants of a locality who are recruited to provide information.
- Inward spies: Enemy officials who are subverted or bribed to provide intelligence.
- Converted spies: Enemy agents who are captured and turned to work for one's own side.
- Doom (or expendable) spies: Agents who are intentionally fed false information to be captured, ensuring they pass that deception to the enemy.
- Surviving spies: Agents who return from the enemy camp with reports of the enemy's situation.
Sun Tzu stressed that a commander must treat these agents with the utmost care, as they are the key to maintaining an effective intelligence organization and achieving strategic victory.12