Historical Dictionary of United States Intelligence

(Martin Jones) #1
DIRECTORATE OF INTELLIGENCE (DI). The DI is the analytic
arm of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), processing and ana-
lyzing intelligence information and producing intelligence assess-
ments and other products for policymakers. Successor to the Office
of Research and Analysis(ORA), the DI was renamed National
Foreign Assessment Center(NFAC) in 1978, but Director of Cen-
tral Intelligence (DCI)William J. Caseyin 1981 reverted to using
its original designation.
The DI’s analytic functions are organized along both functional
and regional lines. Analysts receive intelligence information from all
available sources in the intelligence community (IC) and draft intel-
ligence assessments and estimates that correspond to the require-
ments set by national decision makers. The DI’s products include
current intelligenceitems, such as the senior executive intelligence
brief (SEIB)and the president’s daily brief (PDB), and long-term
intelligence, such as intelligence memorandums. DI analysts also
participate in the estimative process under the guidance and direction
of the National Intelligence Council (NIC).

DIRECTORATE OF OPERATIONS (DO). The clandestine arm of
the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), the DO’s mission is to col-
lect human intelligence (HUMINT), conduct counterintelligence
(CI) abroad, and carry out covert actionsas authorized by the presi-
dent. Formerly known as the Directorate of Plans (DP), the DO
came into existence in 1973 when James Schlesinger, the director
of central intelligence (DCI), renamed the organization in order to
make the CIAappear more open about its activities.
The DO’s case officers as well as its covert operatives in the past
have had an almost fanatical zeal in carrying out their missions. Be-
cause of the DO’s specialized and politically sensitive work, the DO
has also tended toward insularity, cutting itself off from outsiders,
including from other components of the CIA. These twin cultural
precepts at times have prompted DO officers to overstep the bounds
of propriety and legality, culminating in sensational revelations and
embarrassing scandals, such as rogue operations involving assassi-
nation attempts and overthrow of governments. See alsoDIREC-
TORATE OF INTELLIGENCE; OFFICE OF POLICY COORDI-
NATION.

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