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Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance (ISR) Acquisition: Issues for Congress
Increasing calls for intelligence support and continuing innovations in intelligence technologies combine to create significant challenges for both the executive and legislative branches. This report discusses Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance (ISR) systems, which are integral components of both national policymaking and military operations, including counterterrorism operations. ISR systems are costly and complicated, and the relationships among organizations responsible for designing and operating these systems are equally complicated. These factors create numerous oversight issues for Congress, which this report addresses.
The Intelligence Appropriations Process: Issues for Congress
The intelligence appropriations process remains complicated and not well understood, but intelligence is an important and sizable part of the federal budget and will undoubtedly be addressed as Congress considers various alternatives for spending. This report reviews the intelligence appropriations process, describes various changes that have been proposed, and analyzes the issues associated with the proposals.
Intelligence Issues for Congress
To address the challenges facing the U.S. intelligence community in the 21st century, congressional and executive branch initiatives have sought to improve coordination among the different agencies and to encourage better analysis. This report discusses these challenges and efforts the current and previous Administrations and Congresses have taken and are taking to address them. The report includes criticism of the intelligence community's efforts regarding Iraq, Iran, and other areas. Improved analysis remains a key goal in these discussions.
Intelligence Issues for Congress
To address the challenges facing the U.S. intelligence community in the 21st century, congressional and executive branch initiatives have sought to improve coordination among the different agencies and to encourage better analysis. In December 2004, the Intelligence Reform and Terrorism Prevention Act (P.L. 108-458) was signed, providing for a Director of National Intelligence (DNI) with substantial authorities to manage the national intelligence effort. The legislation also established a separate Director of the Central Intelligence Agency.
Intelligence Issues for Congress
To address the challenges facing the U.S. intelligence community in the 21st century, congressional and executive branch initiatives have sought to improve coordination among the different agencies and to encourage better analysis. In December 2004, the Intelligence Reform and Terrorism Prevention Act (P.L. 108-458) was signed, providing for a Director of National Intelligence (DNI) with substantial authorities to manage the national intelligence effort. The legislation also established a separate Director of the Central Intelligence Agency.
The National Intelligence Council: Issues and Options for Congress
The National Intelligence Council (NIC), composed of some 18 senior analysts and national security policy experts, provides the U.S. intelligence community's best judgments on crucial international issues. It is the purpose of this report to describe the statutory provisions that authorize the NIC, provide a brief history of its work, and review its role within the federal government. The report will focus on congressional interaction with the NIC and describe various options for modifying congressional oversight.
Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance (ISR) Acquisition: Issues for Congress
Increasing calls for intelligence support and continuing innovations in intelligence technologies combine to create significant challenges for both the executive and legislative branches. This report discusses Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance (ISR) systems, which are integral components of both national policymaking and military operations, including counterterrorism operations. ISR systems are costly and complicated, and the relationships among organizations responsible for designing and operating these systems are equally complicated. These factors create numerous oversight issues for Congress, which this report addresses.
Criminal Prohibitions on the Publication of Classified Defense Information
The recent online publication of classified defense documents by the organization WikiLeaks and subsequent reporting by the New York Times and other news media have focused attention on whether such publication violates U.S. criminal law. The Justice Department and Department of Defense are investigating the circumstances to determine whether any prosecutions will be undertaken in connection with the disclosure. This report discusses the statutory prohibitions that may be implicated, including the Espionage Act; the extraterritorial application of such statutes; and the First Amendment implications related to such prosecutions against domestic or foreign media organizations and associated individuals. The report provides a summary of recent legislation relevant to the issue as well as some previous efforts to criminalize the unauthorized disclosure of classified information.
Securing America's Borders: The Role of the Intelligence Community
Maintaining the security of U.S. borders is a fundamental responsibility of the federal government. This report discusses the contribution of intelligence agencies to the border security efforts of the Department of Homeland Security, the Department of Defense, and other federal agencies that work in cooperation with state, local, and tribal law enforcement agencies. Much of the intelligence community's border security-related efforts are classified, however.
Intelligence Estimates: How Useful to Congress?
National Intelligence Estimates (NIEs) are often of considerable interest to many Members of Congress. NIEs address issues of major national security importance which may require congressional action. However, NIEs have occasionally proved unreliable because they were based on insufficient evidence or contained faulty analysis. This report explores this issue and discusses the NIE process and its relevance to congressional policymaking.
Criminal Prohibitions on the Publication of Classified Defense Information
The recent online publication of classified defense documents by the organization WikiLeaks and subsequent reporting by the New York Times and other news media have focused attention on whether such publication violates U.S. criminal law. The Justice Department and Department of Defense are investigating the circumstances to determine whether any prosecutions will be undertaken in connection with the disclosure. This report identifies some criminal statutes that may apply and also discusses the statutory prohibitions that may be implicated, such as the Espionage Act.
Criminal Prohibitions on the Publication of Classified Defense Information
The recent online publication of classified defense documents by the organization WikiLeaks and subsequent reporting by the New York Times and other news media have focused attention on whether such publication violates U.S. criminal law. The Justice Department and Department of Defense are investigating the circumstances to determine whether any prosecutions will be undertaken in connection with the disclosure. This report identifies some criminal statutes that may apply and also discusses the statutory prohibitions that may be implicated, such as the Espionage Act.
Intelligence Issues for Congress
To address the challenges facing the U.S. intelligence community in the 21st century, congressional and executive branch initiatives have sought to improve coordination among the different agencies and to encourage better analysis. This report discusses these challenges and efforts the current and previous Administrations and Congresses have taken and are taking to address them. The report includes criticism of the intelligence community's efforts regarding Iraq, Iran, and other areas. Improved analysis remains a key goal in these discussions.
Security Classification Policy and Procedure: E.O. 12958, as Amended
This report describes security classification policy and procedure, largely prescribed in a series of successive presidential executive orders issued over the past 50 years. This policy provides the rationale and arrangements for designating information officially secret for reasons of national security, and for its declassification as well.
Security Classification Policy and Procedure: E.O. 12958, as Amended
This report describes security classification policy and procedure, largely prescribed in a series of successive presidential executive orders issued over the past 50 years. This policy provides the rationale and arrangements for designating information officially secret for reasons of national security, and for its declassification as well.
Security Classification Policy and Procedure: E.O. 12958, as Amended
This report describes security classification policy and procedure, largely prescribed in a series of successive presidential executive orders issued over the past 50 years. This policy provides the rationale and arrangements for designating information officially secret for reasons of national security, and for its declassification as well.
"Gang of Four" Congressional Intelligence Notifications
"Gang of Four" intelligence notifications generally are oral briefings of certain particularly sensitive non-covert action intelligence activities, including principally, but not exclusively, intelligence collection programs, that the Intelligence Community typically limits to the chairmen and ranking members of the two congressional intelligence committees, and at times, but not always, to their respective staff directors. This report reviews the history of Gang of Four notification process and compares this procedure with that of the "Gang of Eight" notification procedure.
Sensitive Covert Action Notifications: Oversight Options for Congress
With Congress considering a possible change regarding sensitive covert action policy, this memorandum describes the statutory provision authorizing Gang of Eight notifications, reviews the legislative history of the provision, and examine both the impact of such notifications on congressional oversight as well as options that Congress might consider to possibly improve oversight.
Covert Action: Legislative Background and Possible Policy Questions
Published reports have suggested that in the wake of the 9/11 terrorist attacks, the Pentagon has expanded its counter-terrorism intelligence activities as part of what the Bush Administration termed the global war on terror. This report discusses the Department of Defense's (DOD) various counter-terrorist intelligence activities, whether or not they constitute classification as "covert action," and the challenge of clarifying the roles and responsibilities of various intelligence activities with regard to clandestine activities. This report examines the statutory procedures governing covert action and associated questions to consider.
Intelligence Issues for Congress
This report explores the various issues currently facing Congress in regards to intelligence and counterterrorism activities, including the Intelligence Reform and Terrorism Prevention Act (P.L. 108-458), signed in December 2004; the position of Director of National Intelligence (DNI), which that act created; the importance of collaborative efforts between various intelligence agencies to successfully carry out counterterrorism measures; and other pieces of legislation relevant to such matters.
Intelligence Issues for Congress
This report discusses the efforts currently underway to improve coordination and encourage better analysis amongst the various agencies within the U.S. Intelligence Community, especially with regard to the ongoing and prominent issue of international terrorism. In particular, this report addresses the false intelligence regarding Iraqi weapons of mass destruction and the current efforts in Iraq and Iran in general.
Intelligence Implications of the Military Technical Revolution
The availability of precise, real-time intelligence has been an integral part of a military technical revolution being implemented by the Department of Defense for post-Cold War conflicts and peacekeeping operations. Providing this intelligence requires new types of equipment, analysis and organizational relationships within the U.S. intelligence community.
Intelligence Spending: Public Disclosure Issues
This report describes the constituent parts of the intelligence budget, past practice in handling intelligence authorizations and appropriations, the arguments that have been advanced for and against making intelligence spending totals public, a legal analysis of these issues, and a review of the implications of post-Cold War developments on the question. It also describes past congressional interest in keeping intelligence spending totals secret.
Intelligence Issues for Congress
To address the challenges facing the U.S. Intelligence Community in the 21st century, congressional and executive branch initiatives have sought to improve coordination among the different agencies and to encourage better analysis. In December 2004, the Intelligence Reform and Terrorism Prevention Act was signed, providing for a Director of National Intelligence (DNI) with substantial authorities to manage the national intelligence effort. Making cooperation effective presents substantial leadership and managerial challenges. International terrorism in particular presents a difficult analytical challenge. Counterterrorism requires the close coordination of intelligence and law enforcement agencies, but there remain many institutional and procedural issues that complicate cooperation between the two sets of agencies.
Intelligence Issues for Congress
This report discusses legislative initiatives to address the challenges facing the U.S. Intelligence Community in the 21st century.
Homeland Security: Intelligence Support
Legislation establishing a Department of Homeland Security (DHS) (P.L. 107-296) included provisions for an information analysis element within the new department. It did not transfer to DHS existing government intelligence and law enforcement agencies but envisioned an analytical office utilizing the products of other agencies — both unevaluated information and finished reports — to provide warning of terrorist attacks, assessments of vulnerability, and recommendations for remedial actions at federal, state, and local levels, and by the private sector. In January 2003, the Administration announced its intention to establish a new Terrorist Threat Integration Center (TTIC) to undertake many of the tasks envisioned for the DHS informational analysis element, known as Information Analysis and Infrastructure Protection (IAIP), but some Members of Congress argue that TTIC cannot be a substitute for a DHS analytical effort. This report examines different approaches to improving the information analysis function and the sharing of information among federal agencies.
The Director of National Intelligence and Intelligence Analysis
The 9/11 Commission made a number of recommendations to improve the quality of intelligence analysis. A key recommendation was the establishment of a Director of National Intelligence (DNI) position to manage the national intelligence effort and serve as the principal intelligence adviser to the President — along with a separate director of the Central Intelligence Agency. Subsequently, the Intelligence Reform and Terrorism Prevention Act of 2004, P.L. 108-458, made the DNI the principal adviser to the President on intelligence and made the DNI responsible for coordinating communitywide intelligence estimates. Some observers note that separating the DNI from the analytical offices may complicate the overall analytical effort.
Intelligence Issues for Congress
This report discusses legislative initiatives to address the challenges facing the U.S. Intelligence Community in the 21st century.
Homeland Security Intelligence: Perceptions, Statutory Definitions, and Approaches
Although the activities involved in homeland security intelligence (HSINT) itself are not new, the relative importance of state, local, and private sector stakeholders; the awareness of how law enforcement information might protect national security; and the importance attached to homeland security intelligence have all increased substantially since the events of September 11, 2001. This report provides a potential conceptual model of how to frame HSINT, including geographic, structural/statutory, and holistic approaches. Given that state, local, tribal, and private sector officials play such an important role in HSINT, the holistic model, one not constrained by geography or levels of government, strikes many as the most compelling. The report argues that there is, in effect, a Homeland Security Intelligence Community (HSIC). While this community may not necessarily be a useful construct from a management perspective, it is nevertheless a community as traditionally defined. Although the HSIC’s members are diffused across the nation, they share a common counterterrorism interest.
Department of Veteran Affairs: Information Security and Information Technology Management Reorganization
On May 3, 2006, the home of a Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) data analyst was burglarized, resulting in the theft of a laptop computer and an external data storage device that was reported to contain personal information on more than 26 million veterans and United States military personnel. The VA Secretary testified that he was not informed of the incident until May 16, 2006, almost two weeks after the data had been stolen. VA publicly announced the theft on May 22. On June 29, VA announced that the stolen laptop computer and external hard drive had been recovered intact and that, based on a forensic examination conducted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), the files on the external hard drive had not been compromised.
Intelligence Issues for Congress
This report discusses legislative initiatives to address the challenges facing the U.S. Intelligence Community in the 21st century.
Protection of Security-Related Information
No Description Available.
Terrorist Surveillance Act of 2006: S. 3931 and Title II of S. 3929, the Terrorist Tracking, Identification, and Prosecution Act of 2006
No Description Available.
Privacy: An Abbreviated Outline of Federal Statutes Governing Wiretapping and Electronic Eavesdropping
This report discusses laws making it illegal to wiretap telephones or eavesdrop on other forms of telecommunication and electronic communication, such as email, without a court order.
Oversight of Dual-Use Biological Research: The National Science Advisory Board for Biosecurity
This report discusses the risks involved in federally funding "dual-use" biological research, which can apply to the creation of both biological countermeasures and biological weapons, and the establishment of the National Science Advisory Board for Biosecurity (NSABB) to aid in assessing these risk.
National Security Letters in Foreign Intelligence Investigations: Legal Background and Recent Amendments
This report discusses the USA PATRIOT Act, which expanded the authority of four national security letter (NSL) statutes and created a fifth, and the USA PATRIOT Improvement and Reauthorization Act that amended the previous legislation.
National Security Letters in Foreign Intelligence Investigations: A Glimpse of the Legal Background and Recent Amendments
This report discusses the USA PATRIOT Act, which expanded the authority of four national security letter (NSL) statutes and created a fifth, and the USA PATRIOT Improvement and Reauthorization Act that amended the previous legislation. This is an abridged version of CRS Report RL33320, "National Security Letters in Foreign Intelligence Investigations: Legal Background and Recent Amendments".
Intelligence Reform at the Department of Energy: Policy Issues and Organizational Alternatives
This report discusses alternatives to the Department of Energy's semi-autonomous national security agency, the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) and its counterintelligence office, the Office of Defense Nuclear Counterintelligence.
Government Access to Phone Calling Activity and Related Records: Legal Authorities
This report summarizes statutory authorities regarding access by the Government, for either foreign intelligence or law enforcement purposes, to information related to telephone calling patterns or practices.
Digital Surveillance: The Communications Assistance for Law Enforcement Act
The Communications Assistance for Law Enforcement Act (CALEA, P.L. 103- 414, 47 USC 1001-1010), enacted October 25, 1994, is intended to preserve the ability of law enforcement officials to conduct electronic surveillance effectively and efficiently despite the deployment of new digital technologies and wireless services that have altered the character of electronic surveillance. CALEA requires telecommunications carriers to modify their equipment, facilities, and services, wherever reasonably achievable, to ensure that they are able to comply with authorized electronic surveillance actions.
Arms Shipments to Iran
This report provides background and examines key questions in regards to the shipments of arms to Iran and the subsequent diversion of funds to Nicaraguan guerrillas by the Reagan Administration.
Intelligence Issues for Congress
This report discusses legislative initiatives to address the challenges facing the U.S. Intelligence Community in the 21st century.
Intelligence Issues for Congress
This report discusses legislative initiatives to address the challenges facing the U.S. Intelligence Community in the 21st century.
China: Suspected Acquisition of U.S. Nuclear Weapon Secrets
This CRS Report discusses China’s suspected acquisition of U.S. nuclear weapon secrets, including that on the W88, the newest U.S. nuclear warhead, since the late 1970s. This current controversy, began in early 1999, raises policy issues about whether U.S. security is further threatened by the PRC’s suspected use of U.S. nuclear weapon secrets in its development of nuclear forces, as well as whether the Administration’s response to the security problems is effective or mishandled and whether it fairly used or abused its investigative and prosecuting authority.
Intelligence Issues for Congress
This report discusses legislative initiatives to address the challenges facing the U.S. Intelligence Community in the 21st century.
Comparison of 9/11 Commission Recommended Intelligence Reforms, Roberts Draft Bill, H.R. 4104, S. 190, S. 1520, S. 6, H.R. 4584, and Current Law
This report, the first of two reports, presents side-by-side comparisons of the 9/11 Commission recommendations and legislation proposed by Senators Feinstein, Bob Graham, Daschle, and Roberts; and Representatives Harman and Goss, and relevant provisions of current law. A second report (CRS Report RL32601) presents a side-by-side comparison of the 9/11 Commission recommendations and legislation proposed by Senators Collins, Lieberman, and McCain; President Bush; and relevant provisions of current law.
The Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act: An Overview of the Statutory Framework and Recent Judicial Decisions
This report will examine the detailed statutory structure provided by FISA and related provisions of E.O. 12333. In addition, it will discuss the decisions of the U.S. Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court and the U.S. Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court of Review
Intelligence Issues for Congress
To address the challenges facing the U.S. Intelligence Community in the 21st Century, Congressional and executive branch initiatives have sought to improve coordination among the different agencies and to encourage better analysis. In December 2004, the Intelligence Reform and Terrorism Prevention Act (P.L. 108-458) was signed, providing for a Director of National Intelligence (DNI) with substantial authorities to manage the national intelligence effort. The legislation calls for a separate Director of the Central Intelligence Agency.
Intelligence Reform Implementation at the Federal Bureau of Investigation: Issues and Options for Congress
This report discusses arguments surrounding the Federal Bureau of Investigation's (FBI) intelligence and national security reforms following the September 11th Terrorist Attacks and provides options for Congress to address the FBI's reforms.
Security and Freedom Ensured Act (SAFE Act)(H.R. 1526) and Security and Freedom Enhancement Act (SAFE Act)(S. 737): Section by Section Analysis
No Description Available.
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