From http://www.weblog.ro/soj/2006-01-02/Basic+Learning%3A+Intelligence+Agencies.html#61433
Note: SOJ is a member of the Indy-Weblogs group and is currently residing in Romania.
Today's Basic Learning: American Intelligence Agencies
I see a lot of talk here and there about American intelligence agencies, most recently about the CIA and the NSA.That being said, occasionally you will see articles which read that America has fifteen separate intelligence agencies. As such, I thought I'd list each one and give you a brief description of what each one does.
First, the so-called "independent" agencies, which of course do work in conjunction with other intelligence bodies but are roughly self-contained:
a.. CIA - (Central Intelligence Agency) - Probably the best well-known of them all, the CIA has approximately 5,000-7,000 members. The CIA is a morphed descendant of the Office of Strategic Services, which was created during World War 2. The CIA is run by an individual appointed directly by the President and is not necessarily a veteran of the agency (although the current director, Porter Goss, is one). The CIA's focus is usually on non-domestic issues (i.e. foreign affairs). The CIA not only gathers information but operates abroad, including overthrowing governments and inserting/handling spies. The CIA technically reports to the Congress but in practice more often serves the White House in a more direct manner. Despite the name "Central", the CIA has never really been responsible for centralizing intelligence gathering/implementation efforts in the United States. This agency has field operatives and also collects/analyzes data.
b.. NCS - (National Clandestine Service) - This is a new organization, created after 9/11/01, that is semi-independent. It is a semi-attached division of the CIA and its secret director reports to the CIA. The NCS' task is to coordinate so-called HUMINT or "human intelligence", as opposed to intelligence gathered from electronic or remote means. The NCS is analogous to the CIA's former Directorate of Operations but the NCS also coordinates between other intelligence agencies.
The following are intelligence agencies which are divisions of federal agencies. Of course, all agencies cooperate with one another to some degree as well as provide and coordinate information with law enforcement and the government:
a.. INR - (Bureau of Intelligence Research) - Originally part of the OSS, it split from the CIA in 1947 and is now a part of the State Department. It is a very small agency (approximately 165 agents) and its primary task is to analyze foreign policy of the United States. This agency does not have field operatives and focuses only on data analysis.
b.. FBI - (Federal Bureau of Investigation) - Roughly the domestic counterpart of the CIA, the FBI is a large organization amongst whose tasks is gathering, analyzing and distributing intelligence to further its counter-terrorism and counter-intelligence activities. It should be noted that in recent years the FBI has expanded its mission to several overseas countries, including but not limited to, Afghanistan and Saudi Arabia. The FBI is a division of the Department of Justice.
c.. IN - (Department of Energy - Office of Intelligence) - A division of the Department of Energy, the IN's role is to collect, analyze and distribute intelligence about foreign nuclear energy capabilities/resources as well as nuclear weapons (and their proliferation). The IN was created to monitor the nuclear weapons' program of the (then) Soviet Union.
d.. OIA/TFI - (Department of the Treasury - Office of Intelligence and Analysis and the Office of Terrorism and Financial Intelligence) - These are two twin divisions of the Department of the Treasury, the OIA primarily focuses on gathering and analyzing intelligence to combat financial crimes and moneylaundering. The TFI also determines bank accounts of terrorists and/or criminals which need to be seized/frozen. The OIA/TFI works extremely closely with its sister organization, the U.S. Secret Service (USSS), in its anti-counterfeiting efforts.
The following agencies are either directly part of or work alongside the Department of Defense (Pentagon): a.. DIA - (Defense Intelligence Agency) - A division of the Department of Defense, its primary focus is on providing "combat intelligence" to the military. It was created in 1958 to combine the different military branches' intelligence divisions. This agency has field operatives and also performs data collection and analysis.
b.. NGA - (National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency) - This agency is a part of the Department of Defense but different from the DIA. It's primary task is to collect, analyze and distribute "geo-spatial" information, which means information gleaned from satellites, especially maps and photographs. This agency was formerly known as the National Imagery and Mapping Agency prior to 2003. This agency has no field operatives.
c.. NRO - (National Reconnaissance Office) - This agency is a part of the Department of Defense but different from the DIA. The NRO's role is very similar to the NGA as the NRO was founded in 1960 to gather and analyze data from satellites (not just photographic data but also interception/monitoring of data being transmitted via other satellites and the ground). The existence of the NRO was classified before 1992. Essentially, the NRO controls the satellites while the NGA uses the data to provide maps and provide data on demand.
d.. NSA - (National Security Agency) - This is by far the largest intelligence agency although little about it was known the last decade. The NSA's role is to collect, analyze and disseminate information known as SIGINT or "SIGnals INTelligence". In a nutshell, this means monitoring all forms of electronic communication including radio, the internet and telephones. The NSA also focuses on creating and cracking ciphers, algorithms and encrypted data. The NSA is the author and controller of Echelon, the program that theoretically can monitor and analyze most of the world's telephone and data traffic.
e.. ONI - (Office of Naval Intelligence) - This is the oldest American intelligence agency, created in 1882 and still in operation today. It's goal is to collect, analyze and distribute information useful to the U.S. Navy. The National Maritime Intelligence Center (NMIC) is a coordinating body which brings employees of the ONI together with the Marine Corps Intelligence Agency (MCIA), Coast Guard Information Coordinate Center (ICC), Naval Information Warfare Activity (NIWA) and Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) and U.S. Customs Service to provide a repository for maritime intelligence gathering, analysis and distribution.
f.. MCIA - (Marine Corps Intelligence Agency) - The MCIA is the intelligence wing of the Marine Corps and works very closely with the ONI.
g.. AIA - (Air Intelligence Agency) - Roughly analogous to the ONI, the AIA provides what is called "aerospace" intelligence, information gleaned from aerial reconnaissance. The AIA was created in 1993 and its information is used in real-time for aircraft flying missions and helps coordinate and control attacks and firing missiles, amongst other things. It also produces classified sophisticated software used in military aircraft. The AIA also coordinates foreign aerial reconnaissance for such various purposes as the monitoring of treaties, etc.
h.. AI - (U.S. Army Intelligence) - Army intelligence is primarily focused on coordinating "battlefield" intelligence as well as creating the software/programs (and equipmet) in order to obtain it.
i.. CIFA - (Counter-Intelligence Field Activity) - Almost nothing is publically known about the CIFA. It's basic task is to run the Department of Defense's counter-intelligence activities. One unclassified role known about the CIFA is that it manages the Joint Protection Enterprise Network (JPEN). The JPEN is roughly a database of law enforcement "gossip". Anything suspicious, weird or unconfirmed noted by military departments as well as law enforcement agencies is fed into JPEN.
The following agencies have been created or consolidated as a result of the creation of the Department of Homeland Security.
a.. CGI - (Coast Guard Intelligence) - The CGI's primary task is to collect, analyze and distribute intelligence concerning domestic maritime activity as well as international maritime activity such as drug/human trafficking.
b.. IAIP - (Information Analysis and Infrastructure Protection) - The IAIP's main role is to distribute information from intelligence agencies to law enforcement and local government agencies. The IAIP is also tasked with keeping track of vulnerabilities to the nation's infrastructure, particularly analyzing weaknesses to potential terrorist attacks.
The above are roughly the "15 intelligence agencies" that are usually referred to, give or take, although depending on how you count them there's either more or fewer than 15.
Since 2005, there has been a cabinet level position called Director of National Intelligence, an administration and coordinator of all federal intelligence agencies. These duties were (more or less) previously performed by the director of the CIA.
Then there are little "pocket agencies" that are rarely mentioned or spoken about, including my old "buddies" at the Office of National Counterintelligence Executive (NACIC otherwise known as ONCIX). Little public information about this agency is known other than it is a liaison between the CIA and the White House and is designed to coordinate counter-intelligence activity.
Why the good people at the NACIC would be watching me is entirely beyond my ken to understand but in these paranoid times, I suppose its normal.
There's also the President's Foreign Intelligence Advisory Board (PFIAB). There's little known about them except that it's a group of up to 16 members of people not in the government (or at least who are retired from gov't service) who analyze and offer recommendations to the White House on intelligence and counter-intelligence operations. Although the members' names are not known, the current chairperson is Brent Scowcroft.
Note: in prior administrations, the members of the PFIAB were public knowledge. Since Bush came into office, only the name of the chairperson is known.
Wrap...
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