Historical Dictionary of United States Intelligence

ing a broad range of subject matter, its reports bridge the gap between

the government and the private sector. In the national security area,

the NTIS publishes reports on a variety of technical subjects and dis-

seminates the unclassified publications of intelligence agencies.

NATIONAL TECHNICAL MEANS. “National technical means”

refers to the aggregate of technological methodologies for collecting

intelligence information. Examples of national technical means are:

intercepting diplomatic communications (signals intelligence—

SIGINT), imaging target areas of the earth from orbiting satellites

(imagery intelligence—IMINT), and analyzing emissions from

smoke stacks (Measurement and Signature Intelligence—

MASINT). National technical means also includes the collection of

intelligence by means of sensors.

NAVY INTELLIGENCE. See OFFICE OF NAVALINTELLIGENCE.

NEGATIVE INTELLIGENCE. Negative intelligence is information

for countering a threat or manipulating foreign events. Negative in-

telligence may include propaganda, counterintelligence, forgery,

and denial/deception operations.

NEGROPONTE, JOHN D. (1939– ).John D. Negroponte was ap-

pointed in February 2005 by President George W. Bushto be Amer-

ica’s first director of national intelligence (DNI). The position of the

DNI was created by the Intelligence Reform and Terrorism Pre-

vention Act, passed by Congress in December 2004, at the insistence

of the families of the victims of the 9/11 terrorist attacks and the in-

dependent 9/11 Commissionthat investigated those attacks. The po-

sition was established to unify America’s sprawling intelligence com-

munity (IC) of 15 agencies and to provide them greater incentives to

cooperate with one another in the fight against terrorismand other

significant threats against the United States. Negroponte brings sub-

stantial expertise in the political maneuverings of the U.S. government

but little intelligence experience to his new assignment.

DNI Negroponte is a career American diplomat, having spent

nearly 40 years in America’s foreign service. His last assignment was

as Ambassador to Iraq, when the United States transferred sovereignty

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