{
  "id": "RL31369",
  "type": "CRS Report",
  "typeId": "REPORTS",
  "number": "RL31369",
  "active": false,
  "source": "EveryCRSReport.com",
  "versions": [
    {
      "source": "EveryCRSReport.com",
      "id": 101161,
      "date": "2002-04-12",
      "retrieved": "2016-05-24T20:12:04.394941",
      "title": "Imagery Intelligence: Issues for Congress",
      "summary": "Intelligence derived from satellites has become an essential element of military operations and\nforeign\npolicymaking. In particular, precise imagery from space-based collection systems makes possible the\neffective use of precision-guided munitions that is becoming the basis of U.S. defense planning. \nImagery intelligence also provides the factual bases for addressing many foreign policy issues. \n  Imagery is collected by satellites acquired and operated by the National Reconnaissance Office\n(NRO), an organization with a record of enormous technological achievements since its creation in\n1961. Imagery collected by the NRO is processed, analyzed, exploited, and disseminated by another\norganization, the National Imagery and Mapping Agency (NIMA). NIMA was established in 1996,\nincorporating the Defense Mapping Agency and various intelligence offices.\n  Congress has been concerned with satellite imagery because of its critical importance and its\n high\ncosts. Independent commissions established by Congress to assess the state of the imagery\nintelligence effort have concluded that significant changes need to be made in the way the Nation's\nimagery effort is conducted. There is a consensus that greater emphasis should be placed on better\ncollection targeting and improving processing, exploitation, and dissemination (the processes\ncollectively termed TPED); that greater attention should be given to acquiring commercial imagery;\nand that the management of the imagery effort may need to be changed. Even before the events of\nSeptember 11, 2001, there appeared to be a fairly widespread view within congressional committees\nthat at least some additional funding should be directed towards imagery collection and TPED. \nSubsequent military campaigns have underscored the use of imagery in military operations and other\ncounterterrorist efforts.\n  TPED encompasses the establishment of a \"multi-int\" database,  i.e.  an electronic\n file containing\ninformation from all intelligence sources, that will require the balancing of different needs of\nintelligence agencies and government consumers. Congress has encouraged NIMA's role in\nestablishing this database, but obstacles include costs, inherent technical difficulties, and the\nadministrative and security complications of placing one agency in charge of maintaining and editing\ndata for a multitude of users.\n  Some observers advocate more fundamental changes. These include significantly greater\nreliance on commercial imagery and a reduction in coverage by Government satellites. In this\napproach, the NRO and NIMA would concentrate on developing cutting edge technologies and on\nmeeting special requirements beyond the capabilities of the private sector. Some would reconsider\nthe next generation of imagery-collecting satellites.\n  Satellite imagery is among the most important technological achievements of the Intelligence\nCommunity; maintaining a capability to support military operations that avoid inflicting vast civilian\ndamages provides the underlying justification for a continuing effort.",
      "type": "CRS Report",
      "typeId": "REPORTS",
      "active": false,
      "formats": [
        {
          "format": "PDF",
          "encoding": null,
          "url": "http://www.crs.gov/Reports/pdf/RL31369",
          "sha1": "9142904a82a3d0a2e7a80f2251ee839c2600d47f",
          "filename": "files/20020412_RL31369_9142904a82a3d0a2e7a80f2251ee839c2600d47f.pdf",
          "images": null
        },
        {
          "format": "HTML",
          "filename": "files/20020412_RL31369_9142904a82a3d0a2e7a80f2251ee839c2600d47f.html"
        }
      ],
      "topics": []
    }
  ],
  "topics": [
    "Foreign Affairs",
    "National Defense"
  ]
}