Historical Dictionary of United States Intelligence

velop technologies that enhance intelligence capabilities. Although

In-Q-Tel is a private company that works exclusively for the CIAand

the intelligence community (IC), it does not belong to any intelli-

gence agency.

INQUIRY.Asecret organization created by President Woodrow Wilson

in September 1917 to analyze and evaluate the war aims, including

territorial demands, of the belligerents in World War I. The Inquiry

also had the mandate to document the geographic, ethnic, economic,

and legal bases for the demands of the parties to the war and to iden-

tify the various options that might be acceptable to the parties for re-

solving these claims. Although not a formal intelligence organization,

it acted as one by receiving intelligence information from the De-

partment of State, the Military Intelligence Division (MID), and

other parts of the U.S. government. It also established intelligence li-

aisonrelationships with British and French intelligence, from which

the Inquiry received valuable information. President Wilson wanted

its existence to stay secret in order to prevent the implication of an

imminent end to hostilities. The Inquiry’s studies and evaluations

contributed to the development of President Wilson’s 14-point peace

proposals. The Inquiry was disbanded at the conclusion of the peace

negotiations.

INTELLIGENCE ANALYSIS. Intelligence analysis is the systematic

processing of intelligence information in order to establish facts and

derive significant judgments about a country, region, or issue. Analy-

sis constitutes a critical step in the intelligence cycle, where intelli-

gence analysts evaluate intelligence information from a variety of

different classified and open sources and produce judgments on key

intelligence and national security issues that are of importance to pol-

icymakers. These assessments take the form of either current intel-

ligenceor long-term intelligence, including national intelligence

estimates(NIEs), which then are disseminated to mid-level and sen-

ior government officials.

INTELLIGENCE AUTHORIZATION ACT OF 1991. This act re-

places the 1974 Hughes-Ryan Amendmentin the area of intelligence

oversight of covert actions. It stipulates that the president is the final

INTELLIGENCE AUTHORIZATION ACT OF 1991•95

05-398 (2) Dictionary.qxd 10/20/05 6:27 AM Page 95