REPORT
TO THE AMERICAN PEOPLE
Detecting and Preventing Terrorism, 31 months after the 9/11 Terrorist Attacks
04/16/04
Depending
on what newspaper you read or when you tune in to
a news show, you could scan any number of stories
about the FBI in the course of a week--and all of
them different. Everything from DNA evidence...to
Most Wanted fugitives...to Saudi/FBI cooperation
on cases...to intelligence bulletins...to leak investigations...to
corporate fraud cases...to operations in Iraq...to
9/11 Commission testimony.
Don't
be misled by such a diversity of activities. Above
all, the FBI is focused on its number-one
priority: Protecting the United States from Terrorist
Attack.
That's
what this report is all about.
Do
you want to see a color timeline that captures
the systematic transformation of the FBI's counterterrorism
program since 9/11?
It's on pages 4-5, everything from creating a Terrorist Financial Review Group
on 9/13/03 to creating Intelligence Groups in your local FBI offices on 12/18/03.
How
about an organizational chart that shows all 47
operational units at Headquarters, each with its
specific mission, all closely coordinated by operational,
analytical, and support function leaders?
It's on page 21--and all its parts spelled out in the text. For example, the
Domestic Terrorism Operations Unit...the WMD/Unconventional Countermeasures
Unit...the Radical Fundamentalist/Financial Investigations Unit...The "Fly
Away" Unit...and the Document Exploitation Unit, to name a few.
Interested
in seeing a fictional mockup of Osama bin Laden
linked in graphic bursts to a universe of front
organizations that are involved in filling his
coffers to fund acts of terrorism?
Go to page 55--it's just one sample of how advanced analytical tools are being
used by intelligence analysts to connect the dots among terrorists, criminals,
organizations, enterprises, times, and geographical locations.
Concerned
about how the FBI protects civil liberties...and
is checked from invading your constitutional rights?
Pages 70-73 outline in fine detail our statutory limitations, our oversight
mechanisms, our self-regulation and enforcement.
Have
enough time to really digest and weigh the FBI's
current capabilities?
Read the whole report, including very specific sections on the FBI's 7-point
plan to detect and prevent acts of terrorism on U.S. soil.
Last
words: Director Mueller says, "With
these efforts, and with the unwavering support
of the American people, we are confident that we
will prevail in our war against terrorism."
Links:
Read
the Report.
