Department of Homeland Security, Under Secretary for Intelligence and Analysis

Department/Agency: Department of Homeland Security

Position:

Under Secretary for Intelligence and Analysis

Executive Schedule: Executive Level III - Presidential Appointment with Senate Confirmation

Major Responsibilities:

Coordinate intelligence efforts with federal, state and local authorities
Provide homeland security intelligence to Secretary of Homeland Security
Ensure collection, analysis and dissemination of homeland security information
Supply threat warning, estimative and alternative analysis
Provide intelligence support to infrastructure protection and vulnerability assessment
Track terrorism networks and evaluate threats from within U.S. borders

Key Competencies and Preferred Qualifications:

Background in intelligence collection and analysis
Managerial experience

Insight:

Under Secretary Charles E. Allen emphasized the urgency of “ensuring that the federal government vigorously provides actionable intelligence to state, local and tribal officials who must address threats to the Homeland at the local level” in his statement to the House subcommittee on intelligence. The veteran CIA operative said that developing information-sharing strategies was one of his top priorities.

“None of us — whether in federal, state, local or tribal service — can unilaterally predict the threat, warn our stakeholders and take action to mitigate the risks. Our success depends on our ability to work together, while never losing sight of the privacy and civil liberties of the public that we are sworn to protect," said Allen.

The Interagency Threat Assessment and Coordination Group brings together representatives from federal, state, local and tribal counterterrorism agencies to facilitate information sharing. At regular sessions, the group sifts through available intelligence to identify what information — and what format — best helps partners at all levels of government prevent and respond to homeland security threats. New, secure Web-based technologies expedite the process of sharing classified information with interested agencies across the country.

The Office for Intelligence and Analysis must coordinate all intelligence related to the ever-evolving threat of a nuclear attack. “One of our gravest concerns is the entry of a nuclear device or materials into the United States,” Allen told the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Government Affairs. “Our Department’s intelligence enterprise therefore is focused on providing tailored intelligence and analysis to Department policymakers and operators to support the range of prevention, preparedness and response activities that require intelligence.”

The intelligence work of the agencies that focus on foreign nuclear dangers such as international smuggling informs the DHS assessment of the homeland-specific threat, and, in turn, must be conveyed to the local-level first responders. “DHS is providing baseline information on how a field officer might identify components of a nuclear device, differentiate radiological from nuclear devices, training on the potential effects of a nuclear device and ensuring that our partners understand the range of impacts from a nuclear device.”

The DHS intelligence philosophy centers on halting homeland security threats at the border. “DHS intelligence will continue to provide actionable and tailored assessments to ensure that Department operations — especially border detection — are prepared to counter the threat of a nuclear device entering the United States.”

The next under secretary of the DHS intelligence office must continue the work of his or her predecessor to assess homeland security threats and communicate them to all levels of government involved in the protection of the homeland.

Key Relationships – Within the Department or Agency:

Secretary of Homeland Security
Director, Domestic Nuclear Detection Office

Key Relationships – Within the Government:

Intelligence Community
Central Intelligence Agency
Nuclear Intelligence Community
National Laboratories, Department of Energy
Joint Atomic Energy Intelligence Committee

Key Relationships – Outside the Government:

State and local law enforcement officials

Nomination Referred to:

Senate Select Committee on Intelligence

Current Position Profile:
1. Caryn A. Wagner (Confirmed: February 11, 2010). Former Intelligence and Security Academy, instructor. U.S. House of Representatives, budget director. Office of the Director of National Intelligence, assistant deputy director.

Recent Position Profiles:
2. Charles E. Allen (2007-2009). Career Central Intelligence Agency officer, manager and former special assistant to the director. First chief of intelligence for CIA's newly created Counterterrorist Center in 1986. Appointed assistant secretary of homeland security for information analysis and chief of intelligence in 2005; position elevated to under secretary by statute in 2007. Former chairman for the National Security Council’s Hostage Location Task Force. Began CIA career in 1958.