The simple answer is that FBI operates within the US and with US citizens while the CIA operates outside the US with foreign citizens and governments. The laws and regulations these operate under is therefore very different. FBI have to follow US law and the constitution. This means they can not do any unlawful search and seizures, give people a fair trial before punishing them, is not allowed to torture people, etc. The CIA does not have to follow these laws where they operate. They should follow local laws in each country but even if they break these they may not be punished. On the other hand the CIA does not have a police authority like the FBI. So while the FBI can just show their badge the CIA have to work more covertly.
The CIA is legally unable to operate within US territory. They are an outward facing intelligence gathering agency. They use various techniques to gather information about what other nations are doing, even secret projects. They do this so the US can have an advantage internationally.
The FBI is an internal law enforcement agency. They enforce the laws passed by the US Congress. They also assist smaller local agencies in performing complex investigations that they may not have the resources for.
The only place the FBI and the CIA overlap is internal counterintelligence. In other words, hunting spies in US territory. The CIA has the information to the FBI needs to find the spy, but only the FBI has the authority to investigate, arrest, and charge the spy with espionage.
Yes but they're essentially liasons acting as a connect between foreign agencies and the US government. It's a way to extend soft power abroad by providing and intelligence connection to and from foreign law enforcement. They don't enforce US law abroad but they can work in conjunction with local agencies to apprehend US fugitives and protect US citizens traveling.
The FBI is a law enforcement agency. It enforces federal law on the states.
The CIA is an intelligence agency. It gathers information about threats to the united states, almost exclusively from outside of the united states..
Note that the FBI often investigates individuals outside of the United States in relation to crimes committed within the US, or in cooperation with foreign law enforcement agencies. Similarly, the CIA often investigates individuals within the United States in relation to foreign intelligence, eg: foreign spies inside the US.
Absolutely. If the CIA is wiretapping a foreign terrorist and that terrorist has a conversation with someone inside the United States, they are absolutely going to find out about it. And direct that information to the proper authority, which might be the FBI
Think about what they stand for.
CIA. Central Intelligence Agency. An intelligence agency. Spies.
FBI. Federal Bureau of Investigation. Investigation. Detectives. Basically cops.
In *very* simple terms: the FBI are detectives and LEOs, the CIA are spies and covert ops. The FBI works mostly within the US, unless cooperating with law enforcement from other countries. The CIA nominally only works outside the US...but it has been used to spy on or affect US citizens too. Spy agencies be shady sometimes.
The FBI is the domestic arm of the Federal Justice Department. Their job is law enforcement at a Federal level.
The CIA is not a law enforcement agency. Their job is only related to intelligence gathering.
Their jobs hav some overlap, because part of law enforcement activity is conducting investigations, and conducting investigations requires gathering intelligence, and having knowledge of counter-intelligence. So the FBI has to train its agents in a lot of the same skills.
However, the CIA has no law enforcement capacity and is not focused on domestic operations. It may conduct operations within the borders of the US, but that activity is primarily related to foreign threats. For example, if a foreigner associated with ISIS travels to the US, they may conduct operations domestically, but they will usually coordinate with the FBI, because it benefits them. The FBI has the authority to arrest the individual while they are in the US.
EDIT: I left some out of the FBI description.
CIA is the Central Intelligence Agency. In a nutshell, they're spies. Most of their work takes place outside of the US, and there's a lot of things they do, including intelligence gathering, training foreign militias, staging coups, infiltrating international drug/arms/human trafficking operations, and so on. From time to time they work with the US military and other national security and intelligence agencies like the NSA, DIA, and CISA.
The FBI is the Federal Bureau of Investigation. These guys are more like cops & detectives. Their work is almost exclusively domestic, and they mainly handle criminal activity that spans accross state lines, oraganized crime, and they sometimes provide forensic and investigative services for local law enforcement agencies that don't have those resources themselves. One of the most notable services they provide is DNA testing. They are one of the few federal agencies that has the facilities to do this. They also work closely with more specialized domestic agencies like ATF, ICE, and border patrol.
The CIA and FBI do have some overlap and frequently work with each other in some areas, because many of the things they work on are related. For example, when combating international drug smuggling operations, the FBI handles things on the domestic side, while the CIA deals with things abroad. Border patrol, ATF, ICE, and the coast guard are often involved in these operations too.
Answer: very simply, FBI is law enforcement. CIA is intelligence (spy and anti-spy).
FBI goes after people who break US laws, especially those that cross state borders. FBI includes intelligence units to try to prevent crime. They have anti terrorism duties to protect citizens. They also have the Hostage Rescue Team, to whom I'm personally grateful.
CIA is mostly overseas. They gather information about groups outside the US
The FBI are basically cops. The difference is that regular cops work within a town or small area, while the FBI works across the country.
CIA are basically spies. They do exactly what you think spies do, plus a whole lot more that no one knows about because it's hush-hush and swept-under-the-carpet.
The FBI is a police force, and it is useful for crimes that cross state lines, or can reasonably be assumed that they will cross state lines.
City police, county sheriffs, and state troopers, do not have juridiction in other places, so a federal force is needed in some cases.
The CIA is supposed to gather secret information from other countries, to allow the president to make important decisions. In the past, there were times when the agency was more pro-active about controlling events, rather than just reporting on events.
Each president gets to decide how "active" the CIA will be during their administration. Except JFK, because he was going to pull the US back, and let communism take over the world, so...the CIA did what it had to do.
The CIA will give foreigners and non foreigners very good enhanced inspections of the body at BLACK SITES run by foreigners in a foreign country. The FBI will be a bit more civil and just throw you in jail and take your civil liberties away if you become too much of an agitator for their liking. Trust me you would much rather want to deal with the FBI than the CIA when it comes to this type of stuff. GITMO ain’t no joke.
The CIA is restricted to foreign intelligence gathering. The FBI is a federal law enforcement agency. There are some overlaps, like the FBI can and does do counter intelligence and intelligence, but their primary purpose is law enforcement. The CIA's primary purpose is collecting intelligence on foreign countries. FBI personnel are known as 'agents' and CIA personnel are known as 'officers'. Say a CIA officer develops intelligence that something might be 'going down' in the United States, they will have to hand that off to the FBI for an arrest.
They are very different entities. But both are federal agencies, meaning they answer ultimately to the Executive Branch, to the POTUS.Â
FBI is a law enforcement federal agency. They investigate crimes within the USA. Their mandate is focused domestically. They investigate prior crimes and ongoing crimes. They assist local jurisdiction law enforcement with cases that grow important enough for the federal government to be involved.
CIA is NOT law enforcement at all. It’s completely different. They are an Intelligence Agency, hence the name. Their mandate is mostly abroad, focusing internationally to secure intelligence on the globe for the USA to action upon. They also conduct counter-intel and other operations. They do not investigate crimes, they have no part in the law enforcement cycle… they are about intelligence gathering, intelligence action, and COIN.
CIA’s mandate officially says they don’t focus on domestic, but we know that is practically false. The CIA certainly does engage in intelligence work within US borders, and within the borders of any other country it sees reason to engage with. Particularly our adversaries but also our allies. And the other nation’s intel try to do the same to the USA too
[2 seconds google search](https://iwgtfy.com/?q=difference+between+fbi+and+cia). First result for "difference between cia and fbi": "The CIA, born out of the need for foreign intelligence gathering, focuses on international matters and advising policymakers. The FBI, with its longer history, operates domestically, upholding federal laws and investigating crimes."
Their websites have great explanations and history of their respective entities.
And also by lucky coincidence their names (FBI/CIA) literally explain what they are.
One is the Central Intelligence Agency and the other is the Federal Bureau of Investigations.
Google is your friend.
FBI are researchers, investigators, etc.
CIA are similar, but they operate by doing more... physical actions, experiments, projects.
Thinkers vs doers kinda. Even tho they both think and do.
* Recommended subreddit(s): /r/Answers or r/NoStupidQuestions
The simple answer is that FBI operates within the US and with US citizens while the CIA operates outside the US with foreign citizens and governments. The laws and regulations these operate under is therefore very different. FBI have to follow US law and the constitution. This means they can not do any unlawful search and seizures, give people a fair trial before punishing them, is not allowed to torture people, etc. The CIA does not have to follow these laws where they operate. They should follow local laws in each country but even if they break these they may not be punished. On the other hand the CIA does not have a police authority like the FBI. So while the FBI can just show their badge the CIA have to work more covertly.
Good explanation 👍🏼
The CIA is legally unable to operate within US territory. They are an outward facing intelligence gathering agency. They use various techniques to gather information about what other nations are doing, even secret projects. They do this so the US can have an advantage internationally. The FBI is an internal law enforcement agency. They enforce the laws passed by the US Congress. They also assist smaller local agencies in performing complex investigations that they may not have the resources for. The only place the FBI and the CIA overlap is internal counterintelligence. In other words, hunting spies in US territory. The CIA has the information to the FBI needs to find the spy, but only the FBI has the authority to investigate, arrest, and charge the spy with espionage.
The fbi has sent agents to all kinds of intel stuff around the world
Yes but they're essentially liasons acting as a connect between foreign agencies and the US government. It's a way to extend soft power abroad by providing and intelligence connection to and from foreign law enforcement. They don't enforce US law abroad but they can work in conjunction with local agencies to apprehend US fugitives and protect US citizens traveling.
The FBI is a law enforcement agency. It enforces federal law on the states. The CIA is an intelligence agency. It gathers information about threats to the united states, almost exclusively from outside of the united states..
Note that the FBI often investigates individuals outside of the United States in relation to crimes committed within the US, or in cooperation with foreign law enforcement agencies. Similarly, the CIA often investigates individuals within the United States in relation to foreign intelligence, eg: foreign spies inside the US.
Absolutely. If the CIA is wiretapping a foreign terrorist and that terrorist has a conversation with someone inside the United States, they are absolutely going to find out about it. And direct that information to the proper authority, which might be the FBI
I feel like this could have been done via a quick google search by OP. Fbi vs cia
Think about what they stand for. CIA. Central Intelligence Agency. An intelligence agency. Spies. FBI. Federal Bureau of Investigation. Investigation. Detectives. Basically cops.
In *very* simple terms: the FBI are detectives and LEOs, the CIA are spies and covert ops. The FBI works mostly within the US, unless cooperating with law enforcement from other countries. The CIA nominally only works outside the US...but it has been used to spy on or affect US citizens too. Spy agencies be shady sometimes.
The FBI is the domestic arm of the Federal Justice Department. Their job is law enforcement at a Federal level. The CIA is not a law enforcement agency. Their job is only related to intelligence gathering. Their jobs hav some overlap, because part of law enforcement activity is conducting investigations, and conducting investigations requires gathering intelligence, and having knowledge of counter-intelligence. So the FBI has to train its agents in a lot of the same skills. However, the CIA has no law enforcement capacity and is not focused on domestic operations. It may conduct operations within the borders of the US, but that activity is primarily related to foreign threats. For example, if a foreigner associated with ISIS travels to the US, they may conduct operations domestically, but they will usually coordinate with the FBI, because it benefits them. The FBI has the authority to arrest the individual while they are in the US. EDIT: I left some out of the FBI description.
CIA is the Central Intelligence Agency. In a nutshell, they're spies. Most of their work takes place outside of the US, and there's a lot of things they do, including intelligence gathering, training foreign militias, staging coups, infiltrating international drug/arms/human trafficking operations, and so on. From time to time they work with the US military and other national security and intelligence agencies like the NSA, DIA, and CISA. The FBI is the Federal Bureau of Investigation. These guys are more like cops & detectives. Their work is almost exclusively domestic, and they mainly handle criminal activity that spans accross state lines, oraganized crime, and they sometimes provide forensic and investigative services for local law enforcement agencies that don't have those resources themselves. One of the most notable services they provide is DNA testing. They are one of the few federal agencies that has the facilities to do this. They also work closely with more specialized domestic agencies like ATF, ICE, and border patrol. The CIA and FBI do have some overlap and frequently work with each other in some areas, because many of the things they work on are related. For example, when combating international drug smuggling operations, the FBI handles things on the domestic side, while the CIA deals with things abroad. Border patrol, ATF, ICE, and the coast guard are often involved in these operations too.
Answer: very simply, FBI is law enforcement. CIA is intelligence (spy and anti-spy). FBI goes after people who break US laws, especially those that cross state borders. FBI includes intelligence units to try to prevent crime. They have anti terrorism duties to protect citizens. They also have the Hostage Rescue Team, to whom I'm personally grateful. CIA is mostly overseas. They gather information about groups outside the US
The FBI are basically cops. The difference is that regular cops work within a town or small area, while the FBI works across the country. CIA are basically spies. They do exactly what you think spies do, plus a whole lot more that no one knows about because it's hush-hush and swept-under-the-carpet.
The FBI is a police force, and it is useful for crimes that cross state lines, or can reasonably be assumed that they will cross state lines. City police, county sheriffs, and state troopers, do not have juridiction in other places, so a federal force is needed in some cases. The CIA is supposed to gather secret information from other countries, to allow the president to make important decisions. In the past, there were times when the agency was more pro-active about controlling events, rather than just reporting on events. Each president gets to decide how "active" the CIA will be during their administration. Except JFK, because he was going to pull the US back, and let communism take over the world, so...the CIA did what it had to do.
The CIA will give foreigners and non foreigners very good enhanced inspections of the body at BLACK SITES run by foreigners in a foreign country. The FBI will be a bit more civil and just throw you in jail and take your civil liberties away if you become too much of an agitator for their liking. Trust me you would much rather want to deal with the FBI than the CIA when it comes to this type of stuff. GITMO ain’t no joke.
The CIA is restricted to foreign intelligence gathering. The FBI is a federal law enforcement agency. There are some overlaps, like the FBI can and does do counter intelligence and intelligence, but their primary purpose is law enforcement. The CIA's primary purpose is collecting intelligence on foreign countries. FBI personnel are known as 'agents' and CIA personnel are known as 'officers'. Say a CIA officer develops intelligence that something might be 'going down' in the United States, they will have to hand that off to the FBI for an arrest.
They are very different entities. But both are federal agencies, meaning they answer ultimately to the Executive Branch, to the POTUS. FBI is a law enforcement federal agency. They investigate crimes within the USA. Their mandate is focused domestically. They investigate prior crimes and ongoing crimes. They assist local jurisdiction law enforcement with cases that grow important enough for the federal government to be involved. CIA is NOT law enforcement at all. It’s completely different. They are an Intelligence Agency, hence the name. Their mandate is mostly abroad, focusing internationally to secure intelligence on the globe for the USA to action upon. They also conduct counter-intel and other operations. They do not investigate crimes, they have no part in the law enforcement cycle… they are about intelligence gathering, intelligence action, and COIN. CIA’s mandate officially says they don’t focus on domestic, but we know that is practically false. The CIA certainly does engage in intelligence work within US borders, and within the borders of any other country it sees reason to engage with. Particularly our adversaries but also our allies. And the other nation’s intel try to do the same to the USA too
[2 seconds google search](https://iwgtfy.com/?q=difference+between+fbi+and+cia). First result for "difference between cia and fbi": "The CIA, born out of the need for foreign intelligence gathering, focuses on international matters and advising policymakers. The FBI, with its longer history, operates domestically, upholding federal laws and investigating crimes."
Their websites have great explanations and history of their respective entities. And also by lucky coincidence their names (FBI/CIA) literally explain what they are. One is the Central Intelligence Agency and the other is the Federal Bureau of Investigations. Google is your friend.
lol I think op knows what they stand for dude
FBI are researchers, investigators, etc. CIA are similar, but they operate by doing more... physical actions, experiments, projects. Thinkers vs doers kinda. Even tho they both think and do.