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: