How Do the FBI and CIA Differ in Their Roles and Responsibilities?

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The discussion centers on the differences between the CIA and FBI, highlighting their respective roles in domestic and international crime. The FBI focuses on domestic crimes that cross state lines, while the CIA is primarily concerned with international intelligence gathering and operations. Participants express opinions on the perceived "coolness" of these agencies, with the CIA often viewed as more formidable. There is also mention of the CIA's controversial practices, such as extraordinary rendition, and the implications of their actions regarding U.S. and international law. The conversation touches on the reliability of Wikipedia as a source, particularly in relation to the editing practices influenced by various interests.
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I watch tv quite often, US movies
I don't know how they differ.

But something like "Hey John! Hands up or I'll shoot!" sounds really cute
 
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The FBI is the Federal Bureau of investigations and they handle crimes that cross state borders, but are domestic (within the US). The CIA (Central Intelligence Agency) is international and handles a broader range of criminal activity, specifically gathering intelligence (espionage, terrorism).
 
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CIA basically operates outside the borders of the US, although there has been overlaps, and more so recently.

Wikipedia said:
The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) is a civilian intelligence agency of the United States government. Its primary function is obtaining and analyzing information about foreign governments, corporations, and persons in order to advise public policymakers. Additionally, the agency sometimes engages in propaganda and public relations efforts. It also serves as the government's paramilitary hidden hand via covert operations at the direction of the President and under oversight by Congress.
. . . .
The Central Intelligence Agency was created by Congress with passage of the National Security Act of 1947, signed into law by President Harry S. Truman. It is the descendant of the Office of Strategic Services (OSS) of World War II, which was dissolved in October 1945 and its functions transferred to the State and War Departments. . . . .
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CIA
and http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Office_of_Strategic_Services
 
The central intelligence agency is the more badass one.

Coolness chart:

Cop FBI CIA
|_____|_______|
 
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Mk said:
The central intelligence agency is the more badass one.

Coolness chart:

Cop FBI CIA
|_____|_______|
This makes me think of Colonel Flagg on the MASH TV series. :smile:
 
Mk said:
The central intelligence agency is the more badass one.

Coolness chart:

Cop FBI CIA
|_____|_______|

You forgot one

Cop FBI CIA DOM
|____|____|____|I now fill this area with blank space, with absolutely nothing underneath it.

Nothing. I swear.

I don't even know why you're reading this still

DOM being department of mathematics, naturally (what's the right color to do this in? I was too lazy to try a bunch of number combinations out)[/color]

Second edit: I lied, i went to the source page and started trying different background colors mentioned in it. No success yet, but apparently a lot of stuff has a .gif for the background, which may kill any chance of success
 
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Evo said:
The FBI is the Federal Bureau of investigations and they handle crimes that cross state borders, but are domestic (within the US). The CIA (Central Intelligence Agency) is international and handles a broader range of criminal activity, specifically gathering intelligence (espionage, terrorism).

i don't think the cia has any mandate to uphold any laws. they are just concern with national interests
 
devil-fire said:
i don't think the cia has any mandate to uphold any laws. they are just concern with national interests
Yes, that's why I said specifically gathering intelligence.
 
Chris Hillman said:
Since Astronuc mentioned Wikipedia, I mention that a popular new pastime is hunting around to see how "IP anons" using IP addresses registered to large organizations have been editing the Wikipedia.
Uh, new and popular past time where?
 
  • #10
psst..NSA..NSA
 
  • #11
Re: Mk's post quoting Chris Hillman--

The local NPR station here mentioned the Seattle School Board has banned WikiPedia use by students - largely, the NPR reporter maintains, because of doctoring of Wiki articles by special interests.

I know there are things in some Biology topics that are flat wrong or just plain weird.
The Evolution topic area was always in chaos - I haven't looked at it for a long time.

-Just checked there- it seems there is some sort of editorial lock on the Evolution page. Don't know how effective it is, but I guess it is needed.
 
  • #12
arildno said:
psst..NSA..NSA
Well, yeah. Both foreign and domestic intelligence gathering, code-breaking, and who knows what else. Black budgets that get rolled into other budgets so their expenditures are hidden, even from Congress.

The CIA has a rep for foreign intelligence-gathering (spies like Valerie Plame come to mind), though their involvement in "extraordinary renditions" (torture sessions) portray them as an all-purpose organization that can be used to provide secret cover for illegal operations.
 
  • #13
Mk said:
Uh, new and popular past time where?
Chris's post disappeared! Spooky! :biggrin:

I heard about a guy who has developed a tool which tracks IP address editing Wikipedia in order to show who is editing the articles.
 
  • #14
devil-fire said:
i don't think the cia has any mandate to uphold any laws. they are just concern with national interests
I believe that the CIA must observe US laws within US borders, but outside, they appear to have carte blanche to violate international law, and perhaps even US law - e.g. extraordinary rendition, which is essentially kidnapping.
 
  • #15
Office_Shredder said:
DOM being department of mathematics, naturally (what's the right color to do this in? I was too lazy to try a bunch of number combinations out)[/color]

Psssst...

It's black. [/color]
 
  • #16
arildno said:
psst..NSA..NSA
The NSA is a bunch'a mathematics and cryptography PhDs; by most people's standards, that is not more badass than a CIA agent.
 
  • #17
Evo said:
Yes, that's why I said specifically gathering intelligence.

handling a broad range of criminal activity and gathering intelligence don't have anything to do with each other unless the criminal activity is the act of gathering intelligence.

edit: when it comes to the cia i mean. for the fbi, handling criminal activity and gathering intelligence have a lot in common
 
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