POPOV, PIOTR.Not much is known about Lieutenant Colonel Piotr
Popov, except that he was a Soviet GRUofficer who in 1953 offered
to spy for the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA). He told the CIA
everything he knew about the GRU and its operations, especially in
running illegal agents. Soviet authorities arrested and executed
Popov in 1958.POSITIVE INTELLIGENCE. Positive intelligence is espionagein-
tended to acquire intelligence information and may include human
intelligence (HUMINT) collection, maps, photographs, ciphers,
codes, and translations.POSSE COMITATUS ACT. The Posse Comitatus Act, passed in 1878
after the end of Reconstruction, was intended to prohibit federal
troops from supervising elections in former Confederate states. It
generally prohibits federal military personnel and units from acting
in a law enforcement capacity within the country, except where ex-
pressly authorized by the Constitution or Congress. The original act
only referred to the army, but the air force was added in 1956, and the
navy and marines have been included by regulation of the Depart-
ment of Defense(DOD).
There are a number of exceptions to the act. These include national
guard units while under the authority of the governor when used pur-
suant to the federal authority to quell domestic violence. In Decem-
ber 1981, Congress passed additional laws clarifying permissible
military assistance to civilian law enforcement agencies—including
the Coast Guard—especially in combating drug smuggling into the
United States. Posse Comitatus clarifications emphasize supportive
and technical assistance (e.g., use of facilities, vessels, aircraft, intel-
ligence, tech aid, surveillance, etc.) while generally prohibiting direct
participation of Defense Department personnel in law enforcement
(e.g., search, seizure, and arrests). For example, Coast Guard law en-
forcement detachments (LEDETS) serve aboard naval vessels and
perform the actual boarding of interdicted suspect drug smuggling
vessels and, if need be, arrest their crews.
The George W. Bushadministration sought changes to the law af-
ter the terrorist attacks of 11 September 2001to give the federal
government authority to use the national guard in emergencies, cur-158 • POPOV, PIOTR05-398 (2) Dictionary.qxd 10/20/05 6:27 AM Page 158