National Counterterrorism Center

The National Counterterrorism Center (NCTC) is a United States government organization responsible for national and international counterterrorism efforts. It is based in a modern complex in McLean, Virginia called Liberty Crossing, near Tysons Corner. NCTC advises the United States on terrorism.

The center is part of the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, and draws experts from the CIA, FBI, the Pentagon, and other agencies who try to ensure that clues about potential attacks are not missed.

History
The precursor organization of NCTC, the Terrorist Threat Integration Center (TTIC), established on May 1, 2003, was created by President George W. Bush by Executive Order 13354. President Bush announced the creation of TTIC in his 2003 State of the Union Address. TTIC was established in response to recommendations by the National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States (9/11 Commission) that investigated the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001. Among other things, the 9/11 Commission concluded that "none of the measures adopted by the U.S. government before 9/11 disturbed or even delayed the progress of the al Qaeda plot".

The Intelligence Reform and Terrorism Prevention Act of 2004 renamed TTIC to NCTC and placed it under the United States Director of National Intelligence. It has access to various databases, including those from the NSA and the CIA, and is in charge of the Terrorist Identities Datamart Environment (TIDE) database. It also operates the publicly-accessible Worldwide Incidents Tracking System database.

Activities
The center analyzes terrorism intelligence (except purely domestic terrorism); stores terrorism information; supports U.S. counterterrorism activities using information technology (IT); and plans counter-terrorism activities as directed by the President of the United States, the National Security Council, and the Homeland Security Council.

Goals
Its goals include providing terrorism information to the intelligence community; provide detailed lists of terrorists, terrorist groups, and worldwide terrorist incidents; support the response to terrorist incidents in the U.S. and worldwide; write assessments and briefings for policymakers.

After the Christmas 2009 terrorist attempt on Northwest Airlines Flight 253, the NCTC was tasked with creating a process to "thoroughly and exhaustively" prioritize terrorism threat threads; identify follow-up action by intelligence, law enforcement and homeland security; and enhance the "Terrorist Identities Datamart Environment" database, to add names to watchlists.

Leadership
Directors


 * John O. Brennan (Acting) (2004–05)
 * Vice Admiral (Ret.) John Scott Redd (2005–07)
 * Michael E. Leiter (Acting) (2007–08)
 * Michael E. Leiter (2008–2011)
 * Matthew G. Olsen (2011–present)

Principal Deputy Directors


 * Arthur M. Cummings (2004–05)
 * Kevin R. Brock (2005–07)
 * Michael E. Leiter (2007–08)
 * Geoff O'Connell (2008–2011)
 * Andrew Liepman (2011–present)