Testimony of Robert S. Mueller, III, Director, FBI
Before the Select
Committee on Intelligence of the United States Senate
February 11, 2003
"War on Terrorism"
Good morning Chairman Roberts, Vice-Chairman Rockefeller,
and Members of the Committee. I would like to commend the
Committee for placing a priority on holding this hearing and
I welcome the opportunity to appear before you this morning.
I believe it is critical that the American people be kept
informed of what their government is doing to protect them
from this nation's enemies.
As we enter the second year
of the global war on terrorism, the United States and its
allies have inflicted a series of significant defeats on al-Qaeda
and its terrorist networks, both at home and abroad. The terrorist
enemy, however, is far from defeated. Although our country's
ultimate victory is not in doubt, we face a long war whose
end is difficult to foresee. But make no mistake, Mr. Chairman,
the enemies we face are resourceful, merciless, and fanatically
committed to inflicting massive damage on our homeland, which
they regard as the bastion of evil. In this war, there can
be no compromise or negotiated settlement. Accordingly, the
prevention of another terrorist attack remains the FBI's top
priority as we strive to disrupt and destroy terrorism on
our soil.
The FBI's efforts to identify
and dismantle terrorist networks have yielded major successes
over the past 17 months. We have charged 197 suspected terrorists
with crimes99 of whom have been convicted to date. Moreover,
our efforts have damaged terrorist networks and disrupted
terrorist plots across the country:
- In Portland, where six have
been charged with providing material support to terrorists.
- In Buffalo, where we arrested
seven al-Qaeda associates and sympathizers indicted in September
2002 for providing material support to terrorism.
- In Seattle, where Earnest
James Ujaama (aka Bilal Ahmed) has been charged with conspiracy
to provide material support to terrorists and suspected
of establishing a terrorist training facility in Bly, Oregon.
- In Detroit, where four have
been charged with document fraud and providing material
support to terrorists.
- In Chicago, where Benevolence
International Foundation Director Enaam Arnaout has been
charged with funneling money to al-Qaeda.
- And in Florida, where three
US citizens were arrested for acquiring weapons and explosives
in a plot to blow up an Islamic Center in Pinellas County
in retaliation for Palestinian bombings in Israel.
Furthermore, we are successfully
disrupting the sources of terrorist financing, including freezing
$113 million from 62 organizations and conducting 70 investigations,
23 of which have resulted in convictions. Our investigations
have also made it more difficult for suspicious NGOs to raise
money and continue their operations. Donors are thinking twice
about where they send their moneysome questioning the
integrity of the organization they are supporting and others
fearful of being linked to an organization that may be under
FBI scrutiny.
- Our financial disruption
operations also include an international dimension. For
example, the FBI was instrumental in providing information
that resulted in the apprehension of a major money launderer
for al-Qaeda and the Taliban. Since the arrest, the subject's
hawala network has been disrupted and dismantled in the
UAE and in Pakistan, in part due to the efforts of the FBI.
Despite these successes, the
nature of the terrorist threat facing our country today is
complex. International terrorists and their state sponsors
have emerged as the primary threat to our security after decades
in which the activities of domestic terrorist groups were
a more imminent threat.
- Our investigations since
the 1993 World Trade Center bombings and particularly since
September 11 have revealed an extensive militant Islamic
presence in the US, as well as a number of groups that are
capable of launching terrorist attacks here.
- The al-Qaeda terrorist network
headed by Usama Bin Laden is clearly the most urgent threat
to US interests. The evidence linking al-Qaeda to the attacks
of September 11 is clear and irrefutable, and our investigation
of the events leading up to 9/11 has given rise to important
insights into terrorist tactics and tradecraft, which will
prove invaluable as we work to prevent the next attack.
There is no question that al-Qaeda
and other terrorist networks have proven adept at defending
their organizations from US and international law enforcement
efforts. As these terrorist organizations evolve and change
their tactics, we, too, must be prepared to evolve. Accordingly,
the FBI is undergoing momentous changesincluding the
incorporation of an enhanced intelligence functionthat
will allow us to meet the terrorist threat head-on. I will
briefly outline these changes, but first, Mr. Chairman, I
will spend some time discussing the nature of the terrorist
threat facing this country.
THE NATURE OF THE THREAT
The al-Qaeda network will remain
for the foreseeable future the most immediate and serious
threat facing this country. Al-Qaeda is the most lethal of
the groups associated with the Sunni jihadist cause, but it
does not operate in a vacuum; many of the groups committed
to international jihadincluding the Egyptian al-Gama'at
al-Islamiyya, Lebanese Asbat al-Ansar, Somali al-Ittihad
al-Islami, and Algerian Salafist Group for Call and Combat
(GSPC)offer al-Qaeda varying degrees of support.
- FBI investigations have revealed
militant Islamics in the US.
- We strongly suspect that
several hundred of these extremists are linked to al-Qaeda.
- The focus of their activities
centers primarily on fundraising, recruitment, and training.
Their support structure, however, is sufficiently well-developed
that one or more groups could be mobilized by al-Qaeda to
carry out operations in the US homeland.
Despite the progress the US
has made in disrupting the al-Qaeda network overseas and within
our own country, the organization maintains the ability and
the intent to inflict significant casualties in the US with
little warning.
- The greatest threat is from
al-Qaeda cells in the US that we have not yet identified.
The challenge of finding and rooting out al-Qaeda members
once they have entered the US and have had time to establish
themselves is our most serious intelligence and law enforcement
challenge.
- In addition, the threat from
single individuals sympathetic or affiliated with al-Qaeda,
acting without external support or surrounding conspiracies,
is increasing, in part because of heightened publicity surrounding
recent events such as the October 2002 Washington metropolitan
area sniper shootings and the anthrax letter attacks.
Our investigations suggest that
al-Qaeda has developed a support infrastructure inside the
US that would allow the network to mount another terrorist
attack on US soil. Such an attack may rely on local individuals
or use these local assets as support elements for teams arriving
from outside the US. The al-Qaeda-affiliated group we arrested
in Lackawanna, New York is one example of the type of support
available to the al-Qaeda network. These US citizens received
military training in an al-Qaeda training camp in Afghanistan.
- Many of the US-based cells
are relatively recent additions to the al-Qaeda network,
leaving open the possibility that more established networks
that significantly pre-date the September 11 attacks have
been successful in evading detection.
- Besides funding and recruiting
opportunities, the US offers al-Qaeda a unique platform
to research and acquire sophisticated capabilities in new
technologies, particularly in the areas of WMD and communications.
Al-Qaeda appears to be enhancing
its support infrastructure in the US by boosting recruitment
efforts. Al-Qaeda no doubt recognizes the operational advantage
it can derive from recruiting US citizens who are much less
likely to come to the attention of law enforcement and who
also may be better able to invoke constitutional protections
that can slow or limit investigative efforts.
Al-Qaeda's successful attacks
on September 11 suggest the organization could employ similar
operational strategies in carrying out any future attack in
the US, including cell members avoiding drawing attention
to themselves and minimizing contact with militant Islamic
groups in the US. They will also maintain strict operational
and communications security.
We must not assume, however,
that al-Qaeda will rely only on tried and true methods of
attack. As attractive as a large-scale attack that produced
mass casualties would be for al-Qaeda and as important as
such an attack is to its credibility among its supporters
and sympathizers, target vulnerability and the likelihood
of success are increasingly important to the weakened organization.
Indeed, the types of recent, smaller-scale operations al-Qaeda
has directed and aided against a wide array of Western targetssuch
as in Mombassa, Bali, and Kuwait and against the French oil
tanker off Yemencould readily be reproduced in the US.
- Multiple small-scale attacks
against soft targetssuch as banks, shopping malls,
supermarkets, apartment buildings, schools and universities,
churches, and places of recreation and entertainmentwould
be easier to execute and would minimize the need to communicate
with the central leadership, lowering the risks of detection.
- Poisoning food and water
supplies also may be an attractive tactic in the future.
Although technologically challenging, a successful attempt
might cause thousands of casualties, sow fear among the
US population, and undermine public confidence in the food
and water supply.
- Cyberterrorism is also clearly
an emerging threat. Terrorist groups are increasingly computer
savvy, and some probably are acquiring the ability to use
cyber attacks to inflict isolated and brief disruptions
of US infrastructure. Due to the prevalence of publicly
available hacker tools, many of these groups probably already
have the capability to launch denial-of-service and other
nuisance attacks against Internet-connected systems. As
terrorists become more computer savvy, their attack options
will only increase.
My greatest concern, Mr. Chairman,
is that our enemies are trying to acquire dangerous new capabilities
with which to harm Americans. Terrorists worldwide have ready
access to information on chemical, biological, radiological,
and nuclearor CBRNweapons via the Internet. Acquisition
of such weapons would be a huge morale boost for those seeking
our destruction, while engendering widespread fear among Americans
and our allies.
- We know from training manuals
and tapes that prior to September 11 al-Qaeda was working
on using botulinum toxin, cyanide gas, and other poisons,
such as ricin. We are concerned that, like the individuals
in the United Kingdom believed to be developing poisons
for terrorist uses, al-Qaeda-affiliated groups may attempt
to set up similar operations here in the US.
- The development of a Radiological
Dispersion Deviceor so-called, "dirty bomb"is
made all the easier due to the availability of small amounts
of radioactive material on the open market. Furthermore,
a crude dirty bomb requires minimal expertise to build.
As we think about where the
next attack might come, al-Qaeda will probably continue to
favor spectacular attacks that meet several criteria: high
symbolic value, mass casualties, severe damage to the US economy,
and maximum psychological trauma. Based on al-Qaeda's previous
pattern, the organization may attempt to destroy objectives
it has targeted in the past. On the basis of these criteria,
we judge that al-Qaeda's highest priority targets are high-profile
government or private facilities, commercial airliners, famous
landmarks, and critical infrastructure such as energy-production
facilities and transportation nodes.
Mr. Chairman, you no doubt are
familiar with reports from a few months ago that highlighted
possible attacks against symbols of US economic power. We
believe such targets are high on al-Qaeda's list because of
the economic disruption such attacks would cause.
- Attacks against high tech
businesses would cripple information technology and jeopardize
thousands of jobs.
- The financial sector now
depends on telecommunications for most of its transactions.
Disruption of critical telecommunications nodeseither
physically or through cyber meanswould create severe
hardships until services could be restored. Failures caused
intentionally could persist for longer durations, creating
difficult repairs and recovery, and intensifying uncertainty
and economic losses.
Al-Qaeda is also eyeing transportation
and energy infrastructuresthe destruction of which could
cripple the US economy, create fear and panic, and cause mass
casualties.
- I worry, in particular, about
the US rail system's myriad vulnerabilities. As the Tokyo
subway attack in 1995 by Aum Shinrikyo demonstrated, signs
of terrorist planning to attack rail assets are difficult
to detect because of the relative ease with which terrorists'
can surveil railway and subway facilities.
- Since the September 11 attacks,
there have been a variety of threats suggesting that US
energy facilities are being targeted for terrorist attacks.
Although the information often is fragmentary and offers
little insight into the timing and mode of an attack, the
October 2002 operation against the French supertanker Limburg
suggests that al-Qaeda is serious about hitting the energy
sector and its support structure.
- Al-Qaeda appears to believe
that an attack on oil and gas structures could do great
damage to the US economy. The size of major petroleum processing
facilities makes them a challenge to secure, but they are
also difficult targets given their redundant equipment,
robust construction, and inherent design to control accidental
explosions.
- Terrorist planners probably
perceive infrastructure such as dams and powerlines as having
softer defenses than other facilities. Indeed, attacking
them could cause major water and energy shortages, drive
up transportation costs, and undermine public confidence
in the government.
Be assured, Mr. Chairman, that
our focus on al-Qaeda and ideologically similar groups has
not diverted our intelligence and investigative efforts from
the potential threats from groups like HAMAS and Lebanese
Hizballah. Both of these groups have significant US-based
infrastructure that gives them the capability to launch terrorist
attacks inside the US. At the moment, neither group appears
to have sufficient incentive to abandon their current fundraising
and recruitment activities in the US in favor of violence.
- Nonetheless, HAMAS or Lebanese
Hizballah could in short order develop the capability to
launch attacks should international developments or other
circumstances prompt them to undertake such actions.
Mr. Chairman, although the most
serious terrorist threat is from non-state actors, we remain
vigilant against the potential threat posed by state sponsors
of terrorism. The seven countries designated as State Sponsors
of TerrorismIran, Iraq, Syria, Sudan, Libya, Cuba, and
North Korearemain active in the US and continue to support
terrorist groups that have targeted Americans.
Although Iran remains a significant
concern for its continued financial and logistical support
of terrorism, Iraq has moved to the top of my list. As we
previously briefed this Committee, Iraq's WMD program poses
a clear threat to our national security, a threat that will
certainly increase in the event of future military action
against Iraq. Baghdad has the capability and, we presume,
the will to use biological, chemical, or radiological weapons
against US domestic targets in the event of a US invasion.
We are also concerned about terrorist organizations with direct
ties to Iraqsuch as the Iranian dissident group, Mujahidin-e
Khalq, and the Palestinian Abu Nidal Organization.
- Groups like the Abu Nidal
Organization may target US entities overseas but probably
lack the military infrastructure to conduct organized terrorist
attacks on US soil. A notable exception is the Mujahedin-e
Khalq, which has a US presence and proven operational capability
overseas and which cooperates with Baghdad.
- Secretary Powell presented
evidence last week that Baghdad has failed to disarm its
weapons of mass destruction, willfully attempting to evade
and deceive the international community. Our particular
concern is that Saddam may supply al-Qaeda with biological,
chemical, or radiological material before or during a war
with the US to avenge the fall of his regime. Although divergent
political goals limit al-Qaeda's cooperation with Iraq,
northern Iraq has emerged as an increasingly important operational
base for al-Qaeda associates, and a US-Iraq war could prompt
Baghdad to more directly engage al-Qaeda.
Mr. Chairman, let me wrap up
my discussion of the nature of the terrorist threat to the
US by speaking briefly about domestic terrorism. The events
of September 11 have rightly shifted our focus to international
terrorist groups operating inside the US but not to the exclusion
of domestic groups that threaten the safety of Americans.
As defined by the Patriot Act, domestic terrorism encompasses
dangerous activities within the territorial jurisdiction of
the United States that violate US criminal laws and appear
to be intended to intimidate or coerce a civilian population,
to influence the policy of a government, or affect the conduct
of a government by mass destruction, assassination, or kidnapping.
Domestic terrorists have committed the vast majority of terrorist
attacks against the continental US.
- In fact, between 1980 and
2001, the FBI recorded 353 incidents or suspected incidents
of terrorism in this country; 264 of these incidents were
attributed to domestic terrorists, while 89 were determined
to be international in nature.
- I am particularly concerned
about loosely affiliated terrorists and lone offenders,
which are inherently difficult to interdict given the anonymity
of individuals that maintain limited or no links to established
terrorist groups but act out of sympathy with a larger cause.
We should not forget the Oklahoma City bombing in 1995,
for example, which was carried out by individuals unaffiliated
with a larger group.
The threat of domestic terrorists
launching large-scale attacks that inflict mass casualties
is low compared with that of international terrorist groups.
This is due, in part, to longstanding law enforcement efforts
against many of these groups. Here are just a few examples:
- Between 1999 and 2001 the
FBI prevented 10 possible domestic terrorist incidents,
including two potentially large-scale, high-casualty attacks
by right-wing groups and the planned bombing of the Trans-Alaska
Pipeline in 1999.
- And in June 2002, we arrested
Pennsylvania Citizens Militia's self-proclaimed leader for
planning to bomb the local FBI office in State College,
Pennsylvania.
ADAPTING TO MEET THE EVOLVING
TERRORIST THREAT
Mr. Chairman, let me spend some
time, now, outlining specific steps the FBI has taken to enhance
our ability to combat the vital threats to the United States
that I have just shared with the Committee. We have dedicated
ourselves to learning the lesson of the 9/11 attacks perpetrated
by al-Qaeda and to using that knowledge to root out terrorist
networks of all types in the United States.
To effectively wage this war
against terror, we have augmented our counterterrorism resources
and are making organizational enhancements to focus our priorities.
To give new focus to analysis, last year I created an Analysis
Branch in the Counterterrorism Division and assigned it the
mission of producing strategic assessments of the terrorism
threat to the United States. To date, the Analysis Branch
has produced nearly 30 in-depth analytical assessments, including
the FBI's first comprehensive assessment of the terrorist
threat to the homeland. In addition, our analysts have produced
more than 200 articles for the FBI Presidential Report, a
product we created for the President and senior White House
officials.
- On top of the resource commitment
to counterterrorism we made between 1993 and 2001, we have
received additional resources from the Congress, as well
as shifted internal resources to increase our total staffing
levels for counterterrorism since 9/11 by 36 percent. Much
of this increase has gone toward augmenting our analytic
cadre. We are funded for 226 intelligence analysts (strategic
and tactical) at FBIHQ and 125 analytical personnel in the
field.
- We have implemented a number
of initiatives aimed at enhancing training for our analytic
workforce, including creating the College of Analytical
Studies, which, in conjunction with the CIA, will begin
training our new intelligence analysts this month.
- We also created a corps of
reports officers -- an entirely new and desperately needed
function for the FBI. These officers will be responsible
for identifying, extracting, and collecting intelligence
from FBI investigations and sharing that information throughout
the FBI and to other law enforcement and intelligence entities.
I have taken a number of other
actions I believe will make the FBI a more flexible, more
responsive agency in our war against terrorism:
- To improve our system for
threat warnings, we have established a number of specialized
counterterrorism units. These include a Threat Monitoring
Unit, which, among other things, works hand-in-hand with
its CIA counterpart to produce a daily threat matrix; a
24-hour Counterterrorism Watch to serve as the FBI's focal
point for all incoming terrorist threats; two separate units
to analyze terrorist communications and special technologies
and applications; a section devoted entirely to terrorist
financing operations; a unit to manage document exploitation;
and others.
- To prevent terrorists from
acquiring weapons of mass destruction, we have undertaken
a number of initiatives. We are coordinating with suppliers
and manufacturers of WMD materials in an effort to help
them voluntarily report any suspicious purchases or inquiries.
- To protect US citizens abroad,
we have expanded our Legal Attache and Liaison presence
around the world to 46 offices. Our presence has enhanced
the FBI's ability to bring investigative resources to bear
quickly in the aftermath of terrorist acts, such as the
October 2002 shooting of USAID officer Laurence Foley in
Amman and bombing of a disco in Bali. We also assist foreign
liaison in following up terrorist leads around the world.
- And to strengthen our cooperation
with state and local law enforcement, we are introducing
counterterrorism training on a national level. We will provide
specialized counterterrorism training to 224 agents and
training technicians from every field division in the country
so that they, in turn, can train an estimated 26,800 federal,
state, and local law enforcement officers this year in basic
counterterrorism.
The counterterrorism measures
I have just described essentially complete the first phase
of our intelligence program. We are now beginning the second
phase that will focus on expanding and enhancing our ability
to collect, analyze, and disseminate intelligence.
- The centerpiece of this effort
is the establishment of an Executive Assistant Director
for Intelligence who will have direct authority and responsibility
for the FBI=s national intelligence program. Specifically,
the EAD/I will be responsible for ensuring that the FBI
has the optimum strategies, structure, and policies in place
first and foremost for our counterterrorism mission. The
EAD/I will also oversee the intelligence programs for our
counterintelligence, criminal, and cyber divisions.
- Furthermore, intelligence
units will be established in every field office and will
function under the authority of the EAD/I.
If we are to defeat terrorists
and their supporters, a wide range of organizations must work
together. I am committed to the closest possible cooperation
with the Intelligence Community and other government agencies.
Accordingly, I strongly support the President's initiative
to establish a Terrorist Threat Integration Center (TTIC)
that will merge and analyze terrorist-related information
collected domestically and abroad. This initiative will be
crucially important to the success of our mission in the FBI,
and it will take us to the next level in being able to prevent
another terrorist attack on our nation.
- The FBI is playing a major
role as part of the multi-agency team now working on the
details, design, resource requirements and implementation
process for standing up the TTIC. We will be major participants
in the Center.
- We are taking steps to enhance
cooperation with federal, state, and local agencies by expanding
the number of joint terrorism task forces (JTTFs) from a
pre 9/11 number of 35 to 66 today. The JTTFs partner FBI
personnel with hundreds of investigators from various federal,
state, and local agencies in field offices across the country
and are important force multipliers aiding our fight against
terrorism. Furthermore, over a 90-day period beginning in
March, we will provide 500 JTTF agents and state, and local
law enforcement personnel with specialized counterterrorism
training and, by the end of the year, basic counterterrorism
training to every JTTF member. This is in addition to the
training initiative I mentioned previously that will reach
nearly 27,000 federal, state, and local law enforcement.
- We also have undertaken the
Joint Terrorism Task Force Information Sharing Initiative
(JTTF ISI) involving field offices in St. Louis, San Diego,
Seattle, Portland, Norfolk, and Baltimore. This pilot project,
which was first initiated in the St. Louis office, will
integrate extremely flexible search tools that will permit
investigators and analysts to perform searches on the "full
text" of investigative filesnot just indices.
An analyst or investigator will be able to smoothly transition
from searching text, to reviewing results, to examining
source documents, to developing link diagrams, to generating
map displays. In order to insure proper security, four graduated
levels of security access are being built into the system.
- We created the Office of
Law Enforcement Coordination (OLEC) to enhance the ability
of the FBI to forge cooperation and substantive relationships
with all of our state and local law enforcement counterparts.
The OLEC, which is run by a former Chief of Police, also
has liaison responsibilities with the White House Office
of Homeland Security.
- We established the FBI Intelligence
Bulletin, which is disseminated weekly to over 17,000 law
enforcement agencies and to 60 federal agencies. The bulletin
provides information about terrorism issues and threats
to patrol officers and other local law enforcement personnel
who have direct daily contacts with the general public,
contacts which could result in the discovery of critical
information about those issues and threats.
- In July 2002, we established
the National Joint Terrorism Task Force (NJTTF) at FBI Headquarters,
staffed by representatives from 30 different federal, state,
and local agencies. The NJTTF acts as a "point of fusion"
for terrorism information by coordinating the flow of information
between Headquarters and the other JTTFs located across
the country and between the agencies represented on the
NJTTF and other government agencies.
- Furthermore, FBI analysts
are making unprecedented efforts to reach out to the intelligence,
law enforcement, government, and public sector communities.
In addition to enhancing our relationships with agencies
related to WMD, as I mentioned previously, we have established
working relationships with a host of non-traditional agencies,
including the Army Corps of Engineers and Bureau of Land
Reclamation. We have also expanded our relationship with
such groups as the Transportation Security Administration
and the US Coast Guard.
THE FOREIGN INTELLIGENCE
THREAT
Mr. Chairman, although the bulk
of my statements today have focused on the terrorist threats
facing this country, let me emphasize that we are not ignoring
the serious threat from foreign intelligence services and
their assets, who are dedicated to using any means necessary
to obtain strategic information from the United States. Accordingly,
I would like to take a few moments to lay out the FBI's five
strategic objectives for the Counterintelligence program.
- Of all the threats facing
the United States today, the most significant is the potential
for an agent of any hostile group or nation to enhance the
capability to produce or use weapons of mass destruction.
This specifically applies to hot spots throughout the world
in which the US has significant national security interests
and to which worldwide de-stabilization could result. The
FBI's FCI program considers this threat as the top counterintelligence
priority and is focused on preventing the acquisition of
WMD-related technologies from being openly or clandestinely
transferred from the US Government or the private sector
to any foreign power.
- It is critically important
to the US Intelligence Community to demonstrate its ongoing
vigilance by ensuring that its own house is in order. In
this regard, the second strategic priority of the FBI's
counterintelligence strategy is to implement a program that
is designed to prevent any foreign power from penetrating
any of the US Intelligence Community agencies in any manner.
In the wake of the unfortunate experiences of the past few
years, we are working closely with our counterintelligence
partners to significantly enhance the ability of agencies
to protect their own information, while the participating
Intelligence Community ensures that penetrations do not
occur.
- The government currently
supports research and development in a large number of agencies,
in a great many locations, many of which involve the use
of thousands of government contractors. The FBI has the
responsibility to assess the threat against those projects
and to initiate operations that are directed at countering
the threat. US Government entities, primarily the Departments
of Energy and Defense, constitute the primary focus of the
FBI's activity in this area. The individuals awarded research
and development contracts in support of ongoing operations
and war-making capabilities constitute the highest risk.
- The FBI's fourth counterintelligence
strategic objective is to prevent the compromise of Critical
National Assets (CNAs). The nation's CNAs are those persons,
information, assets, activity, R&D technology, infrastructure,
economic security or interests whose compromise will damage
the survival of the United States. CNAs are likely to reside
within the US military, economy, and government as this
triad is the base of power that makes the United States
the superpower that it is today. The FBI has a major role
in identifying the threat against these assets and assessing
their overall vulnerability.
- The FBI's FCI program is
responsible for conducting counterintelligence operations,
focusing on countries that constitute the most significant
threat to the United States' strategic objectives. The FBI
is applying its efforts towards a greater understanding
of the threat posed by each of these countries as they pertain
to information that would further terrorism, espionage,
proliferation, economic espionage, the national information
infrastructure, US Government perception management, and
foreign intelligence activities.
Let me conclude by saying that
the nature of the threats facing the US homeland continues
to evolve. To successfully continue to address all of these
threats, the FBI is committed to remaining flexible enough
to adapt our mission and our resources to stay one step ahead
of our enemies. Mr. Chairman and members of the Committee,
I can assure you and the American people that the men and
women of the FBI recognize the need to adapt and are, in fact,
transforming the FBI into a world-class intelligence agency.
I thank you for your attention
and look forward to your questions.
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