C E N T R A L I N T E L L I G E N C E A G E N C Y
e are the nation’s first line of defense. We accom-plish what others cannot accomplish and go where
others cannot go. We carry out our mission by:• Collecting information that reveals the plans, inten-tions, and capabilities of our adversaries and providesthe basis for decision and action.
• Producingtimelyanalysisthatprovidesinsight,warn-ing and opportunity to the President and decision-makerschargedwithprotectingandadvancingAmer-ica’s interests.
• Conductingcovertactionat thedirectionof thePresi-denttopreemptthreatsorachieveUSpolicyobjectives.
mission history
heUnitedStatesGovernmenthas carriedout intel-ligenceactivities sincethedaysofGeorgeWashing-
ton,butonly sinceWorldWar IIhave theybeen coor-dinatedonagovernment-widebasis.PresidentFranklinD.RooseveltappointedNewYorklawyerandwarhero,GeneralWilliamJ.Donovan,toheadtheOfficeofStra-tegicServices(OSS)aftertheUSenteredWorldWarIIin 1942. The OSS—the forerunner to the CIA—col-lected and analyzed strategic information. AfterWorldWarIItheOSSwasabolishedalongwithmanyotherwaragencies and its functionswere transferred to the Stateand War Departments.
It did not take long before President Harry S. Trumanrecognizedtheneedforapostwar,centralizedintelligenceorganization. To make a fully functional intelligence of-fice,TrumansignedtheNationalSecurityActof1947es-tablishingtheCIA.TheNationalSecurityActchargedtheCIAwith coordinating the nation’s intelligence activitiesandcorrelating,evaluatinganddisseminatingintelligenceaffecting national security.
On December 17, 2004, President George W. Bushsigned the Intelligence Reform and Terrorism Preven-tionActwhichrestructuredtheIntelligenceCommunityby abolishing the position ofDirector of Central Intel-ligence (DCI) and Deputy Director of Central Intelli-gence (DDCI) andcreating theposition theDirectorofthe Central Intelligence Agency (D/CIA).The Act alsocreated thepositionofDirectorofNational Intelligence(DNI),which oversees the IntelligenceCommunity andtheNationalCounterterrorismCenter(NCTC).
IA’sprimarymissionistocollect,analyze,evaluate,anddisseminateforeignintelligencetoassistthePresident
and seniorUSGovernment policymakers inmaking deci-sions relating to national security. This is a complex process andinvolvesavarietyofsteps.First,weidentifyaproblemoranissueofnationalsecurityconcerntotheUSGovernment.In some cases,CIA is directed to study an intelligence is-sue—suchaswhatactivitiesterroristorganizationsareplan-ning—thenaplantocollectinformationisdeveloped. Thereareseveralwaystocollectinformation.Translatingforeign newspaper and magazine articles and radio and television broadcasts provides open-source intelligence.Imagery satellites take pictures from space, and analystswrite reports about what they see—for example, howmany airplanes are at a foreign military base. Signalsanalystsworktodecryptcodedmessag-essentbyothercountries.Operationsofficersrecruitforeignerstoprovideinformationabouttheir countries.
After the information is collected, intelligenceanalystspulltogetherrelevantinformationfromall available sources and assess it and what itmeans forUS interests.The result of this ana-lytic effort is timelyandobjectiveassessments,freeofanypoliticalbias,providedtoseniorUSpolicymakers in the form of finished intelli-gence products that include written reports and oralbriefings.It is importanttonotethatCIAanalysts only report the information and do not make policy recommendations.
CIA isnot a lawenforcementorganization.CIAand theFBIcooperateonanumberofissues,suchascounterintel-ligence and counterterrorism.
The CIAmay engage in covert action at the President’sdirection and in accordance with applicable law.
TheUSCongress has had oversight responsibility of theCIAsince theAgencywasestablished in1947.However,prior to the mid-1970’s, oversight was less formal. The1980IntelligenceOversightActchargedtheSenateSelectCommittee on Intelligence (SSCI) and the House Per-manent SelectCommittee on Intelligence (HPSCI)withauthorizing the programs of the intelligence agencies and overseeingtheiractivities.
what we do
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ItisnowthreedayssinceIhavereceived“ anyintelligence…Itisofsuchimportance to me to be regularly informed
thatImustrequestyousendexpressesdaily.
“
– George Washington
NCSTheNCSserves as theclandestinearmoftheCIAandthenationalauthorityforthecoordination, de-confliction, and evalu-ation of clandestine human intelligence (HUMINT) operations across the Intelli-genceCommunity.
TheNCS is the front-line source of clandestine intelli-genceoncriticalinternationaldevelopmentsrangingfromterrorism and weapons proliferation to military and po-litical issues.To gather this important intelligence, CIAoperationsofficers liveandworkoverseas to establish and main-tain networks and personal rela-tionships with foreign “assets” in thefield.TheNCSalsomanagesforeign intelligence relationships and carries out special activitiesauthorized by the President insupportofUSpolicygoals.
TheDIanalyzesall sourcesof informationto produce timely, accurate, and relevantintelligence that helps the President andotherschargedwithprotectingAmericaandadvancingUS interestsmake informedde-cisions. DI analysts use substantive exper-tise and a variety of sources andmethods,
including reports from spies, satellite photography, opensource information, and sophisticated sensors, to over-comefragmentaryreportingandouradversaries’effortstodeceive and deny information. In addition, the DI em-ploysstructuredanalyticapproachestoensureDIanalysisisrigorous,clear,freefrombias,andexplicitaboutinfor-mationgapsthatcouldchangeouranalyticjudgments.
TheDI’s flagship product is a classified daily electronicpublication,theWorldIntelligenceReview(WIRe).Pro-videdtoseniorpolicyandsecurityofficials,theWIReup-datesreadersoncurrentdevelopmentsandidentifiestrendsanddevelopmentsoverseasthathavethepotentialtoaffectUSinterests.TheDIisalsothelargestcontributortothePresident’sDailyBrief(PDB),anIntelligenceCommunityproduct under the direction of theDirector ofNationalIntelligence.ThePDBaddresses thenational security is-
sues of interest to the President andis given only tothe President, VicePresident, and tothose cabinet-levelofficials the Presi-dent designates are recipients.
TheDS&Taccesses, collects, and exploitsinformation to facilitate the execution of the CIA’s mission by applying innovative,scientific, engineering, and technical solu-tions to the most critical intelligence prob-lems.Itincorporatesover50differentdisci-plines ranging from computer programmers
andengineerstoscientistsandanalysts.TheDS&Tpart-ners with many other organizations in the IntelligenceCommunityusingbestpractices to foster creative think-ingandworkinglevelcoordination.OfficersintheDS&Tcontinually seek to push the boundaries of the state-of-the-art, infusing cutting-edge technologieswith effectivetargeting and tradecraft.
TheDSprovides a full rangeof integratedsupportservicestotheCIA.Theybuildandoperate facilities allover theworld; ensuresecure and reliable communications overmultiplenetworks;runasupplychainthatacquiresandshipsahugerangeofcritical,clandestineequipmenttoeventhemostre-
mote cornersof theglobe; secureCIAbuildings,people,data, andnetworks; helphire, train and assignCIAoffi-cersforeveryjobintheCIA;providemedicalservicesforemployeesaswellasintelligenceoperations;and,managefinancial and con-tracting businesses within the CIA.The DS ensuresCIA employees aresafe,secure,healthy,and fully able to carry on the CIA’smission worldwide.
ApublicationoftheCentralIntelligenceAgency.
ForadditionalcopiesorinformationonCIA,pleasewriteto:PublicAffairs
CentralIntelligenceAgencyWashington,D.C.20505
(703)482-0623
Orvisitourwebsiteat:www.cia.gov
OVERVIEW OF CIA’S ORGANIZATIONThe CIA is separated into four basic compo-nents. These directorates carry out the intel-ligence cycle—the process of collecting, analyzing, and dissem-inating intelligence information to top US Government officials.
OFFICE OF THE DIRECTOR OF THE CENTRAL INTELLIGENCE AGENCY (DIR)The Office of the Director has several staffs directly subordinate to the D/CIA that support him in his role as Director.
– Office of General Counsel– Office of Congressional Affairs– Office of Public Affairs– Office of Inspector General– Office of the Associate Director for Military Affairs– Office of the Chief Financial Officer – Chief for Policy and Coordination
– Office of the Chief Information Officer– DNI Open Source Center– Office of the Chief, Human Resources– Operations Center– Director’s Executive Support Staff– Office of Protocol– Employee Resources Center
national directorate ofclandestineservice intelligence science and technology support
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