CIA Analysis and Reporting in the United States
Central Intelligence Agency: How the CIA Gathers and Analyzes Intelligence Analysis and Reporting
CIA analysts have the difficult task of sorting through information from open sources, field officers, electronic intelligence, and intelligence from agencies in the United States and other countries. In many instances most of the information is a jumble of irrelevant facts that analysts refer to as noise. But buried in the noise there may be a critical signal, giving an insight that can prove crucial to U.S. national security. Once the analysts have sorted and assessed the available information, they prepare secret reports that are passed on to policy makers. CIA analysts also prepare overall reports for the president and his staff on a daily, weekly, and monthly basis. Although the DNI is now the president’s main intelligence adviser, the CIA director may also brief the president personally when requested to do so, or in the event of a sudden crisis.
In most cases the CIA has little role beyond providing information to the president and other policy makers. These leaders must take the responsibility for responding to threats to the country’s national security. But the CIA’s reports may sometimes prod policy makers in a certain direction, and in that way the CIA can have a large impact on the country’s policies. In 1998, for example, the CIA produced a report indicating that a pharmaceutical plant in Sudan was producing chemical weapons, leading U.S. president Bill Clinton to order the bombing of the plant. The bombing became controversial when outside experts disputed the CIA’s claim. (1)
In this Section: How the CIA Gathers and Analyzes Intelligence, CIA Field Officers, CIA Electronic Intelligence Gathering, CIA Information from Other Agencies and CIA Analysis and Reporting.
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