I can't comment on whether the behind close doors portrayals of them in TV and film is accurate, I can tell you they are competing for the same budget. The org that performs better naturally looks more attractive when it comes to allocating funding.

[deleted]

All the incentives are to just pursue whatever you're getting graded on, logic and the big picture be damned. Source: am former government employee.

Nearly every giant company has some degree of this among its own departments and divisions. The US government is like a super-giant company.

This stove piping of information also benefits government contractors offering solutions. They take advantage of this non sharing of information and sell and develop products for each agency, when the government already paid for the products once before.

Stove piping information can be to maintain control and make sure your program is funded. To remain relevant, these agencies are run by people who also have a self serving interest, as well as most being patriots. They want to be the Patriot in charge.

[removed]

Please read this entire message

Your submission has been removed for the following reason(s):

Loaded questions are not allowed on ELI5. A loaded question is one that posits a specific view of reality and asks for explanations that confirm it. A loaded question, by definition, presumes that something must be true in order for the question to stand.

If you would like this removal reviewed, please read the detailed rules first. If you believe this submission was removed erroneously, please use this form and we will review your submission.

Law enforcement agencies keep investigative information close - often down to the investigative team, doling it out in small packets on a strict 'need to know' basis (with the team judging who needs to know). This is a major block to effective intelligence work, but they are all paranoid about leaks, and well aware that higher-ups will leak for publicity, fellow officers jump on their turf and others are connected to the targets. The FBI follows this pattern. The CIA, as part of the intelligence community, does not trust law enforcement, for all these reasons, and shares on a selective need to know. It does cooperate with the rest of the intelligence community, at least on the gathering side (less so on operations).

They do run joint clearing centres, with wide access, but these again have issues with dissemination. Basically, there's no single standard for clearance, little coordination and a lot of mutual mistrust.

[removed]