ACCESSION NUMBER:00000
FILE ID:96041102.POL
DATE:04/11/96
TITLE:11-04-96  FACT SHEET: OVERVIEW OF U.S. INTELLIGENCE ACTIVITIES

TEXT:
(Intelligence responsibilities span various agencies) (700)

(The following fact sheet provides an overview of some of the entities
involved in U.S. intelligence.)

CENTRAL INTELLIGENCE AGENCY. The CIA collects information abroad and
has "executive agency" responsibility for human source collection,
including foreign counterintelligence. It produces intelligence
through participation in the national intelligence estimate (NIE)
process, through preparation of special research projects, and through
generation of current intelligence products. It is the only agency
within the community authorized to conduct covert activities, although
the president could direct other agencies to be involved. And,
although its operations are conducted almost entirely outside the
United States, it can be involved in counterintelligence activities at
home in support of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, as well as in
certain limited domestic activities that support overseas collection
operations.

DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE. The DOD collects and produces foreign military
and military-related intelligence. Its attaches and other military
officers abroad are an important source of information feeding into
the overall collection effort. DOD agencies normally considered
members of the intelligence community include:

Defense intelligence Agency -- DIA, whose director is headquartered in
the Pentagon, produces military and military-related intelligence for
the Defense Department. It also provides military input for national
intelligence products (such as the NIEs) and supervises the work of
all military attaches abroad.

National Security Agency (NSA) -- The community's signal intelligence
operating arm and the largest member of the community, NSA also has a
wealth of computer-assisted analytical expertise and a huge data base
with which to support the national intelligence effort. It controls
numerous "listening posts" at strategic locations throughout the world
that can eavesdrop on (and break codes in) virtually any electronic
communication.

National Reconnaissance Office (NRO) -- Although the reconnaissance
collectors are under the DOD, they serve requirements generated by the
entire national security establishment. These assets include
satellites in strategic reconnaissance programs -- the so-called
national technical means of collection -- such as those capable of
verifying compliance with treaties on arms control or
nonproliferation, or providing timely battlefield intelligence during
hostilities like the Persian Gulf war.

Central Imagery Office (CIO) -- This office is charged with
interpreting imagery collected by the NRO vehicles and other
collectors and furnishing these to the intelligence community as a
whole.

Intelligence and counterintelligence elements of the armed forces --
Each of the services has intelligence and counterintelligence
capabilities at both strategic and tactical levels.

FEDERAL BUREAU OF INVESTIGATION. Although primarily a domestic
investigative and law enforcement agency, the FBI has extensive
domestic counterintelligence and security responsibilities.
Additionally, it may, at the request of the DCI, become involved in
counterintelligence activities conducted outside the United States.

DRUG ENFORCEMENT ADMINISTRATION. The DEA, also under the supervision
of the attorney general, collects and produces intelligence on foreign
and domestic aspects of narcotics trafficking. It may also participate
with the State Department in overt collection of general foreign
political, economic, and agricultural information relating to its
narcotics mission.

DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY. The DOT overtly collects and produces
intelligence related to U.S. foreign economic policy, and it also is
responsible for the Secret Service. The role of the DOT in
intelligence is growing in importance in a world of "geoeconomics,"
where the economic instruments of power are gaining in importance.

DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY. The DOE participates with the State Department
in overt collection of information on foreign energy matters,
particularly nuclear energy, and it also produces such intelligence as
the secretary of energy may need to discharge the duties of the
office.

DEPARTMENT OF STATE. Diplomatic reporting is, of course, a valuable
information-gathering resource. Representatives of the State
Department stationed overseas report to Washington on developments
relevant to U.S. foreign policy, including information about foreign
political, sociological, economic, and scientific trends or events.
For the rest of the community as well as for the secretary of state,
the department, through its Intelligence and Research bureau,
generates intelligence products pertinent to U.S. foreign policy. The
secretary of state works closely with the DCI, and the State
Department with the CIA, in a continuing endeavor to ensure that
intelligence activities are both useful to and cognizant of American
foreign policy.
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