The United States Intelligence Community (IC) is a cooperative federation of 16 separate United States government agencies that work separately and together to conduct intelligence activities considered necessary for the conduct of foreign relations and the protection of the national security of the United States. Member organizations of the IC include intelligence agencies, military intelligence, and civilian intelligence and analysis offices within federal executive departments. The IC is led by the Director of National Intelligence (DNI), who reports to the President of the United States.

Among their varied responsibilities, the members of the Community collect and produce foreign and domestic intelligence, contribute to military planning, and perform espionage. The IC was established by Executive Order 12333, signed on December 4, 1981 by President Ronald Reagan.

Supporting the work of the 16 main agencies, The Washington Post has reported that there are 1,271 government organizations and 1,931 private companies in 10,000 locations in the United States that are working on counterterorrism, homeland security, and intelligence, and that the intelligence community as a whole includes 854,000 people who hold top-secret clearances.

Noun

spy (plural spies)

1. A person who secretly watches and examines the actions of other individuals or organizations and gathers information on them (usually to gain an advantage)

• spy ring

• Military@ (8)

• Central Intelligence Agency@ (4)
• Federal Bureau of Investigation@ (8)
• National Counterintelligence Information Center@ (1)
• National Imagery and Mapping Agency@ (1)

• National Reconnaissance Office@ (1)
• National Security Agency@ (1)
• National Security Council@ (2)

• Society: Government: Intelligence (27)

• Intelligence Resource Program
  fas.org
  Federation of American Scientists have collected news, reports, documents, and web resources related to the US intelligence organizations, reform, oversight.
• OSINT
  groups.yahoo.com
  Maintained by The Intelligence Network, this is a high traffic list dedicated to the open sharing of any and all open source intelligence.
• President's Intelligence Advisory Board (PIAB)
  whitehouse.gov
  Along with its component Intelligence Oversight Board (IOB), provides advice to the President concerning the quality and adequacy of intelligence collection, of analysis and estimates, of counterintelligence, and of other intelligence activities.