About Us – Bureau of Intelligence and Research

Office of the Geographer and Global Issues

The Office of the Geographer and Global Issues, headed by the Department’s Geographer, represents both the State Department and the broader U.S. government in geographic mapping and international boundary fora. In addition, INR maintains a list of Independent States in the World and a list of Dependencies and Areas of Special Sovereignty. These lists provide short-form and long-form names, two-letter country code, and capital or administrative center for countries and dependencies.

Office of Opinion Research

The Office of Opinion Research conducts analysis of foreign opinion in all regions of the world, provides intelligence support to Department principals, and conducts public opinion polls and surveys to gauge foreign attitudes toward governance, international security, trade and economy, ethnic and social relations, democratic transitions, and other issues.

INR Watch

The INR Watch serves as State’s 24-hour intelligence nerve center. Members of the Watch ensure the Department is informed of late breaking intelligence on current events and priority policy issues.

National and Nuclear Risk Reduction Center (NNRRC)

The National and Nuclear Risk Reduction Center (NNRRC) maintains a 24/7 watch operation to process notifications on strategic nuclear arms control, ballistic missile and Space Launch Vehicles, as well as conventional arms deployments and international cyber incidents. Among the secure communication lines the NNRRC manages is the 24/7 bilateral NNRRC line with Russia, in operation for 35 years and currently used to transmit New Start Treaty notifications.