CRS Report for Congress: Homeland Security Intelligence: Perceptions, Statutory Definitions, and Approaches

The term "homeland security intelligence" is heard fairly frequently in the post-9/11 era. The National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States (hereafter the 9/11 Commission) stated one of the challenges in preventing such attacks is bridging the "foreign-domestic divide". The 9/11 Commission used this term for the divide that it found not only within the Intelligence Community (IC), but also between the agencies of the IC dedicated to the traditional foreign intelligence mission, and those agencies responsible for the homeland security intelligence (HSINT) and law enforcement missions. Some might categorize security intelligence and law enforcement (criminal) intelligence as "non-traditional" intelligence. Yet, the scope and composition of this non-traditional or homeland security intelligence remains somewhat nebulous.