Essay Example on US Intelligence Community: Safeguarding National Security

The intelligence missions in the United States entails the efforts and activities undertaken to collect and provide important pieces of information regarding security in the United States. The intelligence community in the US, which entails a federation of 17 governmental agencies that work together although separately to conduct various intelligence activities for the nation. Considering the recent developments and threats regarding the national security in the US and the increased rate of terrorism, the intelligence community has recognized the need to evaluate and reinvent various aspects of intelligence processes to avert the security threats that the country has faced. Therefore, the US community has engaged in both the domestic and foreign intelligence missions that seek to collect information for the wellness of the citizens both locally and internationally. The domestic intelligence missions refer to the missions that dwell within the boundaries of the United States while the foreign missions entail the activities that are done internationally. Both the foreign and domestic intelligence missions have a primary purpose of protection of the US people and nation at large although they engage in different missions by the various agencies that are tasked with these responsibilities.

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Several paradigms have changed since the 9/11 attacks in the US which impacted on the US intelligence community for both the domestic and the foreign intelligence missions. It should be noted that the community saw the danger regarding the asymmetry that was posed by the terrorists regarding the use of unconventional as well as the relatively unsophisticated methods in the creation of massive losses and damages to property and life. In this regard, domestic intelligence established the dire need to investigate and raise several domestic intelligence issues that would aid the protection of the country from within. For the cooperation to ensure that there is security in the country, various domestic and foreign intelligence agencies have been collaborating although in different tasks and missions. One of the domestic intelligence agencies is the FBI intelligence branch. It should be noted that the FBI intelligence branch is one of the strategic leaders of the FBI's intelligence program. This branch takes various tasks including the driving of the collaboration with the aim of achieving full integration regarding the intelligence operations. On the other hand, the foreign domestic missions are handled by the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA). The foreign missions for the CIA include the engagement in research, development, as well as the deployment of the high-leverage technology for the purposes of intelligence.

The domestic intelligence missions entail the collection of information that provides important insights regarding the domestic state of security threat. It should be noted that the manner in which they should conduct themselves while engaging in the domestic mission is clearly spelled out in the law. Besides, the missions fulfill the intelligence priorities that are set by the president including the guidance of each step regarding the procedures that are set by the attorney general. Therefore, the domestic missions also include the investigation and resolution of cases that are based locally. For example, the FBI has successfully been adapting new threats that include the increased sophisticated approaches of gathering intelligence, analyzing, and disseminating the intelligence based on the findings. On the other hand, the CIA has been focusing on the two distinct areas of the oversight as well as the management of the covert operations as well as the sensitive details regarding those operations. The missions are managed by the legislative branch although a lot of conflicts has been noted between the two groups. However, the missions are more based by the presidential Executive Order 12333 of 1981 and other procedures that are approved by the AG. Therefore, there is a need for senior approval regarding the missions considering that the foreign intelligence collection missions include engagement with other countries.

The foreign intelligence missions involve the recruiting and management of agents which may not be part of the bigger body. It should be established that some of the people who work for the CIA are able to recruit as well as handling agents, which is the task of the operations officer. The CIA works with many experts in various fields such as computer specialists, accountants, engineers, mathematicians, auditors, psychologists, and physicians among many others. Therefore, the mission entails a lot of spying where the agents can provide various critical pieces of information that can be used to help the country. There is a need for such people to understand human nature, emotions, as well as motivations for the proper execution of their mandate. Conversely, the domestic intelligence missions entail people who work directly for the agencies both in uniform and undercover. Such people are able to gather the needed information of intelligence, to help the state understand as well as prioritize with the identified threats which also reveals the potential gaps regarding the threats identified. Therefore, the mission involves the organization of the national as well as the local perspectives regarding domestic threats.

Despite the differences in the domestic and foreign intelligence missions, there has been a collaboration regarding the functionality of the FBI and the CIA. It should be noted that the CIA was introduced by the National Security Act of 1947. This enabled the provision of mandate regarding the collection of information and intelligence in the foreign states. However, the FBI has a unique duty within the boundaries. Despite the differences, both entities collaborate to ensure that they keep security for the country. The difference is that the CIA does not have a law enforcement authority. This has been a major challenge regarding the operation of the CIA which now requires the FBI which has that authority to ensure that various legal procedures are embraced. The two entities have been facing a collaboration challenge since they are involved in similar missions although in different ways. For example, the FBI has also been involved in the international footprint across the globe. In some cases, they can even engage in secret activities overseas. This is a huge conflict with the CIA and the government coordination of agencies has a major challenge to ensure the activities run smoothly.

Conclusion

In conclusion, the intelligence missions in the United States entails both the domestic and foreign missions with the aim of protecting the country and its citizens from the international and domestic threats. The domestic intelligence missions are endowered with a domestic collection of intelligence information while the foreign missions entail the collection of intelligence information internationally. Various agencies are involved although the FBI is a major player in the domestic missions while the CIA is majorly concerned with the international missions since 1947. Considering that their missions have the same objective, both the FBI and CIA have to collaborate to ensure the country and its citizens are safe.

Bibliography

Golden, Daniel. Spy Schools: How the Cia, Fbi, and Foreign Intelligence Secretly Exploit America's Universities. New York, NY: Picador, 2018.

Johnston, Rob. Analytic Culture in the Us Intelligence Community: An Ethnographic Study. Washington, D.C: Center for the Study of Intelligence, Central Intelligence Agency, 2005.

Lynch, Christopher. The C.i. Desk: Fbi and Cia Counterintelligence as Seen from My Cubicle. Indianapolis, IN: Dog Ear Publishing, 2009.

Richelson, Jeffrey. The U. S. Intelligence Community. New York: Routledge, 2018.

Zegart, Amy B. Flawed by Design: The Evolution of the Cia, Jcs, and Nsc. Stanford, Calif: Stanford Univ. Press, 1999.

Zegart, Amy B. Spying Blind: The Cia, the Fbi, and the Origins of 9/11. Princeton, N.J: Princeton University Press, 2007.