Legal Definitions - Bureau of Intelligence and Research

The Bureau of Intelligence and Research (INR) is a part of the U.S. Department of State. Its main job is to make sure that all the intelligence agencies of the United States work together in a way that supports U.S. foreign policy. The Bureau also keeps an eye on what people in other countries think and say about the United States.

For example, if the U.S. government wants to make a decision about how to deal with a foreign country, the Bureau of Intelligence and Research might gather information from different intelligence agencies to help make that decision. They might also look at what people in that country are saying about the United States to understand how they might react to different decisions.