text: General Background and Basic Principles of the Law of Armed Conflict
  so. While engaging in these activities, these persons forfeit entitlement to the privileges of combatant status
  and may be punished after a fair trial if captured (see DOD Law of War Manual, 4.17).
  Spies
  1-76. A person may be considered a spy when, (1) acting clandestinely or under false pretenses, (2) in the
  zone of operations of a belligerent, (3) he or she obtains, or endeavors to obtain, information, (4) with the
  intention of communicating it to a hostile party (HR art. 29; see also Uniform Code of Military Justice
  [UCMJ] art. 106). During war, any person—military or civilian—whose actions meet all of these elements
  may be considered a spy under LOAC. The following discussion elaborates upon the elements of spying.
  Acting Clandestinely or Under False Pretenses
  1-77. Acting clandestinely or under false pretenses means deliberately concealing or misrepresenting one’s
  identity and conduct (see DOD Law of War Manual, 4.17.2.1; consider AP I art. 46(3)). For example,
  members of the armed forces may meet this element when they wear disguises, such as civilian clothes or
  enemy uniforms in an attempt to conceal their true identities as members of the opposing armed forces.
  Soldiers and Marines who act openly, such as by wearing the uniform of the armed forces to which they
  belong, do not meet this element (consider AP I art. 46(2)). For example, a ground reconnaissance team or
  couriers who wear their normal military uniforms would not meet this element. In addition, observers on
  military reconnaissance aircraft are not regarded as acting clandestinely or under false pretenses.
  In the Zone of Operations of a Belligerent
  1-78. A person must engage in acts of espionage in the zone of operations controlled by a belligerent to be
  considered a spy. “Zone of operations” has been construed broadly to include areas supporting the war effort.
  A person, however, who engages in surveillance or information gathering from outside territory controlled
  by a hostile party would not meet this element and would not be considered a spy.
  Obtains, or Endeavors to Obtain, Information
  1-79. A person may be punished as a spy regardless of whether he or she succeeds in obtaining information
  or in transmitting it to the enemy. Nevertheless, a person must obtain or attempt to obtain information to be
  considered a spy. For example, airmen who parachute into enemy territory after their aircraft has been
  disabled and disguise themselves in civilian clothing simply to avoid capture would not be spies.
  With the Intention of Communicating It to the Hostile Party
  1-80. A person must act with the intention of communicating the sought-after information to a hostile party
  to the conflict to be considered a spy within the meaning of this rule. Nevertheless, people who seek to send
  information to a State not involved in the conflict may still commit acts punishable by the offended State and
  their conduct may fall within the broader category of secretive, hostile acts behind enemy lines.
  Saboteurs and Other Persons Engaging in Secretive, Hostile Acts Behind Enemy Lines
  1-81. In addition to spies, other persons acting clandestinely or under false pretenses (for example, wearing
  a disguise) with a hostile purpose behind enemy lines are treated like spies under LOAC. They, too, lose the
  privileges of combatant status while engaged in those activities behind enemy lines. For example, saboteurs
  acting clandestinely or under false pretenses in the zone of operations of a belligerent are treated as spies.
  Activities besides sabotage that are helpful to one side’s war effort done behind the other side’s lines may be
  punished as well, often under the rubric of war treason, secretly entering the lines, or activities hostile to the
  security of the State. These kinds of activities almost necessarily take on the character of spying because the
  person who conducts these activities would also take that opportunity to collect intelligence. Indeed, these
  actions are often reported as spying even though the actual purpose of these activities may not be to gain or
  transmit intelligence but to take other sorts of actions that would further the conflict. Thus, a belligerent’s
  presence with a hostile purpose on territory controlled by an opposing State, while operating clandestinely
  or under false pretenses, suffices to make that person liable to treatment as a spy under LOAC (see DOD
  Law of War Manual, 4.17.3).