FC: DOJ: Electronic surveillance has made FBI "premier" police agency

From: Declan McCullagh (declanat_private)
Date: Wed Dec 11 2002 - 09:26:34 PST

  • Next message: Declan McCullagh: "FC: Denver police deny Dick Cheney-hotel photographer was arrested"

    Background on scope of Joint Intelligence Committee Inquiry:
    http://www.fas.org/irp/congress/2002_cr/s060502.html
    
    ---
    
    FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASEAG
    WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 11, 2002(202) 514-2008
    WWW.USDOJ.GOVTDD (202) 514-1888
    
    
    STATEMENT OF BARBARA COMSTOCK, DIRECTOR OF PUBLIC AFFAIRS,
    REGARDING THE JOINT INTELLIGENCE COMMITTEE INQUIRY (JICI) RECOMMENDATIONS
    
    
    The Department of Justice welcomes the recommendations of the Joint 
    Intelligence Committee Inquiry into the events preceding September 11th and 
    views the recommendations as an endorsement of our FBI reforms over the 
    past 15 months since the attacks, as we transform the FBI to meet the 
    unprecedented terrorist threat.   After September 11, we redefined the 
    primary mission of the Department and the FBI to prevent future terrorist 
    acts on the American people and immediately began to build the new FBI to 
    meet this extraordinary challenge.
    
    For nearly 100 years, the FBI has earned a reputation as the world's 
    premier law enforcement agency based primarily on its ability to collect 
    information - whether through physical surveillance, electronic 
    surveillance, or human source development.  The FBI has a national and 
    worldwide presence with more than 11,500 highly trained Special Agents in 
    56 domestic field offices and 45 foreign offices.  We have built upon those 
    decades of experience to transform the FBI into an organization capable of 
    preventing terrorist attacks against Americans.  We are constantly 
    improving and refining our efforts.
    
    Under the direction of Attorney General Ashcroft and FBI Director Mueller, 
    the Department and the FBI have undergone tremendous change, both in 
    structure and culture, as the Department dedicates itself to prevent 
    terrorist attacks.  While improvements are necessary and ongoing as we 
    adapt to this unprecedented threat, the Department believes that the FBI is 
    well suited to serve as the domestic intelligence and terrorism prevention 
    agency in the United States.
    
    To that end, the Department began this transformation immediately after the 
    9/11 attacks.  In fact, most of the recommendations of the joint inquiry 
    reflect initiatives that have been ongoing within the Department since the 
    early days following 9/11.  And all this has been done while simultaneously 
    conducting the largest investigation in the history of the United States.
    
      Recommendations of the Joint Intelligence Committee that are already 
    underway within the Department of Justice and the FBI include:
    
    *The reorganization of the FBI for the prevention of terrorist attacks:
    
    *Doubled the number of intelligence analysts.
    
    *Established the National Joint Terrorism Task Force at FBI headquarters 
    and 56 regional JTTFs.
    
    *Established the Foreign Terrorist Tracking Task Force, which has 
    identified 204 known or suspected terrorists.
    
    *Enhanced its analytical capacity through the creation of the Office of 
    Intelligence, the component which ensures that intelligence is shared as 
    appropriate within the FBI and the rest of the United States Government. 
    The FBI has also significantly increased the resources allocated to analysis.
    
    *Reduced the legal and cultural barriers between law enforcement and 
    intelligence agencies by implementing the USA PATRIOT Act and the Attorney 
    General's Investigative Guidelines.   USA PATRIOT allowed for the sharing 
    of information obtained under provisions of the Foreign Intelligence 
    Surveillance Act (FISA) between law enforcement and intelligence personnel, 
    both within the FBI and the Intelligence Community.
    
    *The FBI's reallocation of manpower and effort to combat terrorism since 
    9/11 has resulted in substantially increased efforts to penetrate terrorist 
    organizations operating in the United States through greater use of 
    electronic surveillance, development of human sources, and the use of 
    undercover operations.  While the exact numbers are classified, we have 
    utilized these methods with much greater frequency - and to great effect - 
    in terrorism investigations since 9/11.
    
    *Information sharing concerning terrorist activity with other federal, 
    state and local agencies has been improved in a variety of ways.  The 
    Bureau's Joint Terrorism Task Forces (JTTFs) currently have 649 state and 
    local representatives and 438 representatives from other federal agencies 
    participating.   The pilot project JTTF Information Sharing Initiative is 
    an integrated database of federal, state and local law enforcement 
    information, which will soon be expanded to select cities across the 
    country.  The FBI Intelligence Bulletin is published once a week and 
    provided to state and local law enforcement agencies.  The Office of Law 
    Enforcement Coordination was created as a new Division within the FBI to 
    enhance the coordination and communication between the FBI and state, 
    municipal, county and tribal law enforcement on a national level.
    
    *Following the terrorist attacks on 9/11, FBI HQ compiled what became known 
    as the "Project Lookout Watch List."  The project was successful in 
    identifying a number of individuals potentially connected to the 9/11 
    investigation.  Due to the success of this effort and in recognition of the 
    need to maintain a centralized repository of names of investigative 
    interest related to terrorism investigations, Director Mueller instructed 
    the establishment of a permanent Terrorism Watch List (TWL) to serve as the 
    FBI's single, integrated listing of individuals of investigative interest 
    that is accessible throughout the law enforcement and intelligence communities.
    
    *Significant improvements are underway in the FISA program.
    
    *Better coordination between law enforcement and intelligence agents and 
    prosecutors, recognizing the fact that persons involved in terrorism are 
    often involved in other criminal activities.
    
    *The development of a secure communications capacity in the field so that 
    FBI Field Offices, FBI Headquarters and the Department of Justice can 
    communicate and manage the FISA process in real time.
    
    *Doubling the number of attorneys in the FBI's national Security Law Unit.
    
    *The creation of a FISA unit within the FBI's General Counsel's Office to 
    ensure all FISA applications move expeditiously through the process.
    
    *Creation of a new mandatory training program in the use of FISA for FBI 
    agents and Designated Justice Department prosecutors from every U.S. 
    Attorney's office.
    
    *The deployment of Office of Intelligence Policy Review (OIPR) attorneys to 
    the field to work directly with Assistant U.S. Attorneys and FBI agents.
    
    
    These reforms have led to major successes in the war against terrorism and 
    our efforts to protect the American people from terrorist attacks:
    
    *We've disrupted alleged terrorist cells in Buffalo, Detroit, and Portland 
    and arrested 18 suspected terrorists.
    
    *We arrested Zacarias Moussaoui (who is awaiting trial) and obtained guilty 
    pleas from John Walker Lindh and the shoe-bomber, Richard Reid.
    
    *We've brought criminal charges against 134 individuals and have secured 99 
    convictions, either through trial or plea to date.
    
    *We've deported 478 individuals.
    
    *We've designated 39 entities as terrorist organizations and frozen the 
    assets of 62 organizations that fund terrorist activities resulting in $125 
    million in frozen assets worldwide.
    
    The President's vision for Homeland Security emphasizes information sharing 
    between agencies and the integration of law enforcement and intelligence 
    capabilities.  We have made great strides already at implementing that 
    vision.  Moreover, the FBI brings decades of experience working within the 
    parameters of the 4th Amendment and within the processes and supervision of 
    the Department of Justice which is charged with not only enforcing our 
    laws, but with upholding and defending civil liberties.
    
    We look forward to working with the Congress and the Administration to 
    continue to improve our capacity to protect America and defend freedom.
    
    
    ###
    
    
    02-709
    
    
    
    
    -------------------------------------------------------------------------
    POLITECH -- Declan McCullagh's politics and technology mailing list
    You may redistribute this message freely if you include this notice.
    To subscribe to Politech: http://www.politechbot.com/info/subscribe.html
    This message is archived at http://www.politechbot.com/
    Declan McCullagh's photographs are at http://www.mccullagh.org/
    -------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Like Politech? Make a donation here: http://www.politechbot.com/donate/
    Recent CNET News.com articles: http://news.search.com/search?q=declan
    -------------------------------------------------------------------------
    



    This archive was generated by hypermail 2b30 : Wed Dec 11 2002 - 09:34:50 PST