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On his trip to get a burger with Brian Williams at Five Guys this afternoon, the President appears to have learned of the existence of a Defense Department intelligence arm, the National Geospatial Intelligence Agency, from an agency employee also at the burger restaurant. "So explain to me exactly what this National Geospatial..." Obama said, after the worker mentioned his employer, according to a video of the event. "We work with, uh, satellite imagery," the worker, Walter replied. A POLITICO reader caught the exchange, which starts around 5:45 on this C-SPAN video. The transcript: Obama: What do you do Walter?...

The National Geospatial Agency mapped bin Laden's compound, analyzed drone data, and helped the SEALs simulate their missionPresident Obama's first brush with the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency was ignominious. Out for lunch in May 2009, at a Five Guys burger franchise in Washington, the new President started to shake the hands of other customers, TV cameras in tow. Then he turned to men with government ID badges. "So what do you?" the president asked. "I work for at NGA, National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency," one said. "Outstanding. How long have you been doing that?" Obama wondered. "Six years." Obama then asked: "So, explain...

FORT BELVOIR, Va. (AP) -- Letitia A. Long became the first woman director of a major U.S. intelligence agency Monday, taking her post as chief of the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency at a ceremony at the agency's half-built, high-tech campus in Springfield, Va....

BETHESDA, Md., May 18, 2006 – It might not be a household name, like, say, the CIA, but the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency is an integral part of the U.S. intelligence community. Satellite Image of Islamabad, Pakistan. Courtesy of National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency   Geospatial intelligence, or GEOINT, is the collecting and analysis of satellite imagery of the earth's surface. The mission of the agency, headquartered here, is to provide that type of intelligence to support national security objectives. "If it's something manmade or natural on the face of the earth and it has national security implications, then we map it, chart...

U.S. Spy satellites have been called into service to help federal emergency officials cope with the devastating aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, officials said on Wednesday. The little-known National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency, which analyzes satellite images for the espionage community and combat troops, has provided scores of images of hard-hit areas, including New Orleans, before and after the storm struck. The agency said one of its main aims is to survey damage to regional transportation for the Federal Emergency Management Agency, which can then use the data to organize relief efforts. FEMA officials could not be reached for comment. "NGA can determine...

The First Bush Space Policy Frank Sietzen, Jr. Tuesday, May 13, 2003 Today's action puts the first Bush administration 'stamp' on U.S. Space Policy, and while it is only the first policy action in an anticipated series, it has a clearly identifiable cast to its contents. The new space remote sensing policy released today by the National Security Council has a decidedly free market, conservative slant as it seeks to craft a new cooperative framework between U.S. federal users of space photography and the fledgling industry that is struggling to offer such services. Commercial sources of high resolution images...