US Intelligence Agencies

July 21, 2004 12:30 PM

On the radio yesterday there was talk of forming a Spy Czar to oversee the 15 different intelligence agencies. I can name maybe 7 different intelligence agencies. What are all 15?
posted by drezdn to law & government (8 comments total)

From Slate.
posted by smich at 12:42 PM on July 21, 2004

From intelligence.gov:

Army, Navy, Air Force, and Marine Corps Intelligence Organizations –each collects and processes intelligence relevant to their particular Service needs.

Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) - provides accurate, comprehensive, and timely foreign intelligence on national security topics to national policy and decision makers.

Coast Guard Intelligence – deals with information related to US maritime borders and Homeland Security.

Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) - provides timely and objective military intelligence to warfighters, policymakers, and force planners.

Department of Energy – performs analyses of foreign nuclear weapons, nuclear non-proliferation, and energy security-related intelligence issues in support of US national security policies, programs, and objectives.

Department of Homeland Security (DHS) - prevents terrorist attacks within the United States, reduces America's vulnerability to terrorism, and minimizes the damage and recovers from attacks that do occur.

Department of State – deals with information affecting US foreign policy.

Department of Treasury – collects and processes information that may affect US fiscal and monetary policy.

Federal Bureau of Investigation – deals with counterespionage and data about international criminal cases.

National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (NGA) – provides timely, relevant, and accurate geospatial intelligence in support of national security.

National Reconnaissance Office (NRO) - coordinates collection and analysis of information from airplane and satellite reconnaissance by the military services and the CIA.

National Security Agency (NSA) - collects and processes foreign signals intelligence information for our Nation's leaders and warfighters, and protects critical US information security systems from compromise.

All the responsibilities of the CIA, DIA, NSA, NRO, and NGA are concerned with intelligence. Therefore each of these organizations in its entirety is considered to be a member of the Intelligence Community.

The other organizations are concerned primarily with missions and business other than intelligence, but do have intelligence responsibilities. In these cases, only the part of the organization with the intelligence responsibility is considered to be a part of the Community. In the case of the US Navy, for instance, only their Office of Naval Intelligence is an IC member. The rest of the Navy supports the DoD in missions other than intelligence.
posted by ChasFile at 1:42 PM on July 21, 2004

I've been waiting for a place to discuss this.

By statue, the Director of Central Intelligence, commonly perceived as the head of the CIA is in charge of all intelligence gathering agencies of the US Government.

So, what we're *really* talking about here is promoting the DCI to cabinet level. But no one's saying it that way. I wonder why.

I don't see that we gain anything: DCI has to be confirmed by the Senate, *anyway*.

Those 15 agencies, BTW: listed here.
posted by baylink at 4:05 PM on July 21, 2004

I know that "by statue" was just a typo, but can't you just picture a huge installation with George Tenet standing in the middle of a circle of prostrated intelligence directors?
posted by smackfu at 5:20 PM on July 21, 2004

Hooded and naked?
posted by namespan at 6:32 PM on July 21, 2004

Somebody "in charge of all intelligence gathering agencies of the US Government" would still only oversee only those agencies that have intelligence as their main mission, leaving Treasury, State, DHS, etc., dangling, as far as that org chart goes.
posted by NortonDC at 6:51 PM on July 21, 2004

So, what we're *really* talking about here is promoting the DCI to cabinet level. But no one's saying it that way. I wonder why.

Actually, the debate was a few weeks ago, and it was whether the DCI should be so promoted -- or whether he had better remain in charge of the CIA itself, and not be distracted by political duties. The consensus recommendation from the commission is therefore the creation of a separate, superior Intelligence Czar.
posted by dhartung at 1:18 AM on July 22, 2004

You know, this all seems to be part of the internal battle that's been going on between the Pentagon and the CIA. By effectively demoting the DCI, the Pentagon gets to have their own guy as Intelligence Czar.
posted by bshort at 8:02 AM on July 22, 2004