And we have made significant progress. One
of our greatest successes has been the expansion
of our Joint Terrorism Task Forces. In 2001,
we had just 35 JTTFs across the country. Today,
we have 100. We have passed thousands of clearances
for state and local JTTF participants across
the country. We also established the National
Joint Terrorism Task Force at FBI Headquarters,
staffed by representatives from 38 federal,
state, and local agencies. Working together,
we have been able to prevent another terrorist
attack on American soil.
We in the FBI have dramatically improved
our intelligence capabilities – not
just intelligence gathering, but also analysis
and dissemination. Our goal is to make sure
that you have the information you need the
moment you need it. New intelligence products
are available daily on LEO. We refined information
sharing systems, such as the National Alert
System. We send out a weekly Intelligence
Bulletin to over 17,000 agencies nationwide.
We established the Terrorist Screening Center,
which has been successful in providing unified
threat information to law enforcement nationwide.
We have come a long way towards achieving
our goal of working together seamlessly. It
has been hard work, and at times frustrating.
No matter what agency we work for, we are
bound by a common mission – and protecting
our fellow citizens is certainly work worth
doing.
And you are the leaders of this mission.
That brings me to my second point –
leadership. Each of you has a proven record
of outstanding leadership in your own cities,
states, and jurisdictions. You did not come
to the NEI for “Leadership 101.”
You already understood that great leaders
seek out new opportunities for learning, and
pass on their experience and expertise to
the officers in their command. John F. Kennedy
once remarked that “leadership and learning
are indispensable to one another.” That
is why you are here, and I salute you for
your willingness to learn, to embrace change,
to strengthen your departments, and to build
lasting relationships with law enforcement
leaders around the globe.
We consider the NEI one of the crown jewels
of the FBI and essential to building strong
leadership in law enforcement communities
worldwide. Every year, we are working to expand
the international component of NEI, such as
the work with the Australian Institute for
Police Management, because we have seen first-hand
how critical international cooperation has
proved in fighting international crime and
terror.
For instance, we received tremendous assistance
from German government agencies in investigating
the 9/11 Hamburg cell. Countries such as Turkey,
Saudi Arabia, Iraq, and Spain have called
upon us to help investigate terror attacks
in their homelands and we have worked joint
terror operations with Canada, Australia,
the United Kingdom, and others.
Last May, after nine Americans lost their
lives in the bombing in Riyadh, the Saudi
government allowed the FBI to send a large
forensic team to assist in their investigation.
The result was an unprecedented cooperation.
One reason was because the FBI had trained
more than 100 Saudi police in the National
Academy. We were using the same methods of
evidence collection and the same terminology.
As they told us, "We were taught together,
now we can work together."
You, too, have been taught together. You
will work together, and you will face the
challenges of leadership together. You are
the leaders in the war on terrorism, and in
the battle to keep our streets and cities
safe from crime. It can be demanding and demoralizing,
frustrating and fruitless, tiring and tedious
– and did I mention thankless? But it
is these hurdles, day after day, that demand
the very best from each of us and transform
us into strong leaders.
Leadership demands courage and compassion,
persistence, patience, and determination.
Leadership demands dedication and sacrifice,
qualities you have demonstrated throughout
your careers, but never more so than since
September 11, 2001.
Leadership also demands a willingness to
change, and the ability to bring about change
and, finally, leadership demands a willingness
to act, not just talk. Some final words of
wisdom from Teddy Roosevelt: