OSINT in the United States traces its origins to the creation of the Foreign Bro

adcast Monitoring Service (FBMS), an agency responsible for the monitoring of fo

reign broadcasts. An example of their work is reflected in the application of th
e correlation of changes in the price of oranges in Paris with that of railway b
ridges being bombed successfully.
The Aspin-Brown Commission stated in 1996 that US access to open sources was "se
verely deficient" and that this should be a "top priority" for both funding and
DCI attention.
In July 2004, following the September 11 attacks, the 9/11 Commission recommende
d the creation of an open-source intelligence agency. In March 2005, the Iraq In
telligence Commission recommended the creation of an open-source directorate at
the CIA.
Following these recommendations, in November 2005 the Director of National Intel
ligence announced the creation of the DNI Open Source Center. The Center was est
ablished to collect information available from "the Internet, databases, press,
radio, television, video, geospatial data, photos and commercial imagery."In add
ition to collecting openly available information, it would train analysts to mak
e better use of this information. The Center absorbed the CIA's previously exist
ing Foreign Broadcast Information Service (FBIS), originally established in 1941
, with FBIS head Douglas Naquin named as director of the Center. Then, following
the events of 9/11 the Intelligence Reform and Terrorism Prevention Act merged
FBIS and other research elements into the Office of the Director of National Int
elligence creating the Open Source Enterprise.
Furthermore, the private sector has invested in tools which aid in OSINT collect
ion and analysis. Specifically, In-Q-Tel, a Central Intelligence Agency supporte
d venture capital firm in Arlington, VA assisted companies develop web-monitorin
g and predictive analysis tools.
In December 2005, the Director of National Intelligence appointed Eliot A. Jardi
nes as the Assistant Deputy Director of National Intelligence for Open Source to
serve as the Intelligence Community's senior intelligence officer for open sour
ce and to provide strategy, guidance and oversight for the National Open Source
Enterprise.Mr. Jardines has established the National Open Source Enterprise and
authored intelligence community directive 301. In 2008, Mr. Jardines returned to
the private sector and was succeeded by Dan Butler who is ADDNI/OS and previous
ly Mr. Jardines' Senior Advisor for Policy.