About Flashcards
What is CIA
The CIA is a U.S. government agency that provides objective intelligence on foreign countries and global issues to the president, the National Security Council, and other policymakers to help them make national security decisions.
How We Do It
- Lead specialized, multidisciplinary Mission Centers to address high-priority issues including nonproliferation, counterterrorism, counterintelligence, organized crime, narcotics trafficking, and arms control, to name a few;
- Build strong partnerships between intelligence collection disciplines;
- Produce all-source analysis on a range of topics and participate in Intelligence Community-wide efforts; and
- Contribute to the greater Intelligence Community by managing services of common concern, like imagery analysis and open-source collection, while partnering on technical research and development.
What We Do
To stop threats before they happen and further U.S. national security objectives, we:
- Collect foreign intelligence;
- Produce objective analysis; and
- Conduct covert action, as directed by the president.
Do we make policy or policy recommendations?
We do not make policy or policy recommendations. Instead, our Agency serves as an independent source of information for people who do.
Are we law enforcement?
We are not a law enforcement organization. However, we do work with the Intelligence Community, Department of Defense, and law enforcement agencies on many complex issues ranging from counterintelligence to counterterrorism.
Our Mission and Vision
As our world rapidly changes, so does our national security agenda. Through it all, our mission stays the same: to protect the Nation and advance its national security interests. Our guiding principles, aspirations, and core values keep us on course as we take on this extraordinary task.
What are our guiding principles?
integrity; service; excellence; courage; teamwork; and stewardship
Our Organization
Our Agency is made up of multidisciplinary Mission Centers that integrate the full range of our analytic, operational, support, technical, and digital capabilities. These disciplines are divided into five corresponding directorates.
Directorate of Analysis
Provides timely, accurate, and objective intelligence analysis. Analysts inform U.S. officials, like the president and his or her senior advisers, on key foreign issues. Officers who work within the Directorate of Analysis are excellent puzzle-solvers who take information, often with missing pieces, and make sense of it. Then, they deliver written reports and brief policymakers to help them make informed decisions.
Directorate of Operations
Handles the collection of intelligence acquired by human sources (human intelligence or HUMINT). When necessary, and under unique circumstances, they conduct covert action as directed by the president.
Directorate of Science and Technology
Applies innovative, scientific, engineering, and technical solutions in support of our foreign intelligence mission. They use their specialized expertise to confront intelligence problems with effective targeting, bold technology, and superb tradecraft.
Directorate of Digital Innovation
The Agency’s newest directorate, accelerates innovation across the CIA. The directorate makes sure teams have the tools and techniques they need to operate in a modern, connected world and still be clandestine. From cybersecurity to IT infrastructure, these officers keep CIA at the forefront of the digital landscape.
Directorate of Support
The Directorate of Support is the backbone of CIA’s mission. They are responsible for key support functions, including security, supply chains, facilities, financial and medical services, business systems, human resources, and logistics.
For tasks and assignments all over the world, they are first in, last out.
Current Director of the CIA
Director William J. (Bill) Burns. Sworn in on March 19, 2021. The CIA Director is nominated by the President with the advice, consent, and confirmation of the Senate. The D/CIA reports to the Director of National Intelligence.
Current Deputy Director of the CIA
Deputy Director Davis S. Cohen. Sworn in on January 20, 2021. The CIA Deputy Director (DD/CIA) supports the Director in managing the Agency’s intelligence collection, analysis, covert action, counterintelligence, and liaison relationships with foreign services. The DD/CIA also exercises the Director’s powers in his or her absence or if the Director position becomes vacant.
What was the CIA’s forerunner and basis before it was established?
The Office of Strategic Services (OSS), our Agency’s forerunner, was created during World War II and was America’s first global intelligence organization. OSS was capable of coordinated espionage, covert action, and counterintelligence–all of which are pieces of today’s CIA.
Who established the CIA, when, and through what act?
President Truman signed the National Security Act of 1947. This established the CIA.
What is an overview of the Staff Operations Officer’s role?
Provide the seamless integration between AIC Headquarters and Directorate of Operations (DO) offices in the field necessary to drive clandestine operations to success.
What are some detailed tasks of Staff Operations Officers?
Staff Operations Officers apply advanced knowledge and expertise of clandestine operations, operational trade craft, and intelligence priorities when providing strategic guidance and operational case management. In addition, Staff Operations Officers are responsible for program management throughout the DO, from traditional operational activities to specialized initiatives and Covert Action.
What is tradecraft, and what are some examples?
Tradecraft refers to the often sneaky work of spies. Slapping a tracking device onto a briefcase, breaking into the upstairs offices of an embassy to rifle through file cabinets while posing as a socialite at a party: these are examples of the tradecraft that spies are taught to do.
* Spot, Assess, Develop, Recruit
* Disguise
* Clandestine Photography
* Surveillance route detection
