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.