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In the James Bond films, SPECTRE (Special Executive for Counter-intelligence, Terrorism, Revenge and Extortion) is an international terrorism organization that aims to control the world, or at least to make a boat load of money while trying. SPECTRE is headed by Ernst Stravo Blofeld, a criminal mastermind who insists upon unconditional loyalty and success, where the price for failure is certainly death, generally via some organizationally-public means. SPECTRE retains its members loyalty in much the same way that they conduct their business in the world: through terrorism.

The general tactic behind SPECTRE operations is to facilitate war between the East (Soviet Bloc) and the West (NATO) and when one side wins, SPECTRE will step in and destroy the weakened superpower that's left standing. SPECTRE has pursued this goal in a number of ways, from interfering with American space launches (Dr. No) and manipulating spies on both sides to give them valuable intelligence equipment (From Russia with Love), to stealing nuclear bombs (Thunderball) and hijacking American and Russian spacecraft (You Only Live Twice). Other schemes include classic Blofeld plots of gaining himself a title (Count de Bleuchamp) and a pardon (On Her Majesty's Secret Service) and holding the world for ransom using a diamond satelite superweapon orbiting in outer space to destroy nuclear targets (Diamonds Are Forever).

SPECTRE is organized in a strict hierarchy, with No. 1 as supreme leader and subsequent agents holding progressively diminished responsibilities. No. 1 answers to no one, No. 2 only answers to No1. No 3 answers to both Nos. 1 and 2, and so on. In the event that one of the agents is killed (either by outside operatives or by internal cleansings), the subsequent agents get promoted, never breaking the hierarchy.

In the films, SPECTRE never appears after For Your Eyes Only, when Bond drops Blofeld into a smokestack, apparently killing him, in the opening scene.