Bureau of Intelligence and Research

The Bureau of Intelligence and Research (or INR) is a small bureau in the U.S. State Department tasked with analyzing information for the State Department. Originally founded as the Research and Analysis Branch of the Office of Strategic Services http://www.cia.gov/cia/publications/oss/art04.htm and transfered to the State Department at the end of World War II http://www.cia.gov/cia/publications/oss/art10.htm, it currently has only 165 analysts (as of 2004), and is around one tenth of the size of the Central Intelligence Agency's analytical arm. Most of INR's analysts are seasoned (some have been on their accounts for 15 years), many come from academia, and are regarded as experts in their fields.

Related Topics:
U.S. State Department - Office of Strategic Services - World War II - As of 2004 - Central Intelligence Agency - Academia

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In July 2004, the United States Senate Select Committee on Intelligence issued a scathing report on prewar intelligence on Iraq. INR was spared the poor performance review that most other intelligence agencies received, and the panel specifically endorsed the dissent that INR inserted into the National Intelligence Estimate of 2002. The bureau is being studied as a positive example, as Congress debates how to best reform U.S. intelligence agencies in the wake of the 2003 invasion of Iraq.

Related Topics:
2004 - United States Senate Select Committee on Intelligence - Report on prewar intelligence on Iraq - National Intelligence Estimate - 2002 - Congress - 2003 invasion of Iraq

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