Stratfor

Stratfor (Strategic Forecasting Inc.) is an American private intelligence and analysis company. As a private intelligence firm Stratfor is not subject to the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA). Barron's Magazine called the company a "shadow CIA". It was founded in 1996 by American political scientist George Friedman, who still heads the company. The company's Vice President of Counterterrorism and Corporate Security is Fred Barton. Several executive from Pagan International merged with Stratfor in 2003.

Stratfor collects and analyzes information about events in the world. They receive information from the media and other open sources, as well as from the company's own sources. Based on the information collected, the company's analysts make economic and geopolitical forecasts.

Some of the company's classified documents were released by WikiLeaks.