National Intelligence Board


The National Intelligence Board, formerly the National Foreign Intelligence Board and before that the United States Intelligence Board is a body of senior U.S. Intelligence Community leaders currently led by the director of national intelligence. The Board is tasked with reviewing and approving National Intelligence Estimates.

United States Intelligence Board

The first incarnation of the Board was the United States Intelligence Board, a forum of intelligence agency leaders convened to advise the director of central intelligence on intelligence matters established by President Dwight D. Eisenhower in 1957 upon the recommendation of the Presidential Board of Consultants on Foreign Intelligence Activities.

National Foreign Intelligence Board

A quotation from a 1999 report entitled A Consumer's Guide to Intelligence, published by the Office of Public Affairs in the CIA describes the NFIB as:
"the senior Intelligence Community advisory body to the DCI on the substantive aspects of national intelligence. This Board advises the DCI on production, review, and coordination of national foreign intelligence; interagency exchanges of foreign intelligence information; arrangements with foreign governments on intelligence matters; the protection of intelligence sources and methods; activities of common concern; and such other matters as are referred to it by the DCI. It is composed of the DCI and other appropriate officers of the Central Intelligence Agency, Department of State, Department of Defense, the Defense Intelligence Agency, and the National Security Agency. Representatives of other agencies, including the Department of the Treasury, the Department of Energy, the National Reconnaissance Office, the National Imagery and Mapping Agency, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation participate as necessary."

National Intelligence Board

Both the NFIB and NIB are chaired by the directorial head of the Intelligence Community ; however, the dominance of the Central Intelligence Agency and director of central intelligence as IC heads ended with the 2004 establishment of the position of Director of National Intelligence and Office of the DNI as head, overseer, and coordinator of the IC in accordance with recommendations from the 9/11 Commission. The CIA remained prominent in foreign intelligence, especially foreign human intelligence.
The NIB is supported by ODNI's National Intelligence Council, which also acts as its Executive Secretariat.

Membership

An Intelligence Community Directive effective July 16, 2007 lists the following as members of the National Intelligence Board:
NIB members represent the members of the Intelligence Community and are their agencies' heads. If the DNI/Chair of the NIB is absent, they are replaced by the PDDNI/Vice Chair; if both are absent, the NIB is chaired by the DNI's chosen representative.
In addition, if the NIB discusses a topic relevant to the portfolios of the below officials, they or their chosen representatives may attend:
Lastly, the following may attend NIB meetings as observers:
  • NIC Director of Analysis and Production
  • Principal Drafter of the National Intelligence Estimate or other NIE drafting team members
  • Appropriate DNI-chosen representatives