During which phase are relationships built with potential targets?

The Developing Phase is where relationships are intentionally built with potential targets. This phase involves establishing trust, understanding the targets’ motivations, and leveraging personal connections to facilitate further engagement. During this phase, operatives often employ social techniques to create a rapport, which can lead to gathering sensitive information or influencing the targets’ perceptions.

Building relationships at this stage is crucial for successful intelligence operations, as it lays the groundwork for future interactions and enhances the likelihood that the target will be receptive to the operative's agenda. By fostering these relationships, operatives can gain deeper insights and access to information that would otherwise be unavailable.

In contrast, the other phases each have distinct focuses: Spotting Phase concentrates on identifying potential targets based on intelligence requirements; Assessing Phase evaluates the targets’ vulnerabilities and likelihood of cooperation; and Handling Phase deals with managing established relationships to achieve desired outcomes. Thus, the Developing Phase specifically addresses the necessity of relationship-building with targets, making it the correct choice in this context.