Coordination of NIEs involves not only trying to resolve any inter-agency differences, but also assigning confidence levels to the key judgments and rigorously evaluating the sourcing for them.
Before a NIE is drafted, the relevant National Intelligence Officer (NIO) produces a concept paper or 'terms of reference' (TOR) and circulates it throughout the IC for comment.
IC representatives discuss the quality of sources with intelligence collectors to ensure the draft does not contain erroneous information.
For example, the IC accusation of politicization surfaced after the key judgments of NIEs on the ballistic missile threat to the United States changed between 1993 and 1995.
Some Republicans claimed the IC politicized the findings to support President Clinton's policy against missile defense systems.