Intelligence Agencies

Intelligence agencies gather, analyze, and act on information the government needs to protect national security, from tracking foreign military threats to disrupting terrorist plots and cyberattacks. The work spans a range of organizations with different missions and legal authorities, all operating under rules meant to balance secrecy with accountability to elected officials and the public.

Advising the president is one of the central functions of this system, since the nation’s top leader depends on a steady flow of vetted, timely analysis to make decisions on everything from military action to diplomacy. Who Advises the President on Intelligence? lays out the network of officials and agencies that feed information into the Oval Office.

Independent oversight exists because intelligence work happens largely out of public view, which creates a need for checks beyond the agencies themselves. The President’s Intelligence Advisory Board explains how a panel of outside advisors reviews intelligence programs and offers the president an independent perspective on how well the system is working.

Investigating problems when they arise is just as important as gathering intelligence in the first place. How the PIAB Investigates Intelligence Agencies and Pushes for Reforms describes how this board digs into failures or misconduct and recommends changes meant to keep agencies accurate and within the law.