Thank you and
thank you for the invitation. It's a pleasure to be here. Often
when we discuss high-level intelligence, we joke about "If
I tell you this I'd have to kill you." There's been a bit of
a switch on that today. Dave told me as I sat down today: "You
speak longer than five minutes and I'll kill you." [Laughter]
In that case,
I'm not going to take very long. Other than to say that reflecting
on the last year on the Bureau and what we've accomplished, I think
we've made strides, particularly in the war on terrorism. Many of
you have heard me talk about how I think we're safer today certainly
than we were on September 11 for a variety of reasons: By the efforts
here in the United States, but also by the efforts in Afghanistan
and the efforts of our counterparts overseas in detaining a number
of persons who are higher-up figures in Al Qaeda.
Within the
Bureau, I think we continue to make strides in two areas that are
exceptionally important to us. One is developing the intelligence
capacity -- the analytical capacity -- integrating the intelligence
function in the Bureau, so that not only do we collect the information
on terrorism or organized crime or corruption, but we also do a
better job of analyzing that information, and after analyzing it,
then disseminating it.
Secondly, one
of our big challenges is to adapt the new information technology.
We have made substantial strides last year and we hope to make substantial
strides down the road. One of the things I am called upon to do
is to look down the road and see where the Bureau should be and
what it would look like in, say, the year 2010.
And if you
look at the world and you evaluate where we're going to be as a
society -- whether it be in the United States or globally -- in
the years ahead, one has to be struck by globalization and the impact
of globalization in a variety of areas. Most particularly, for us
in the Bureau, in the spread of crime -- whether it be terrorism,
narcotic trafficking, cyber crime and the like. And I'm continuously
struck by the need for us provide a different level of integrated
law enforcement and intelligence capability across not just city
lines, county lines, state lines, but also now internationally.
To be successful
in addressing the threats of the future -- many of which I just
discussed -- we are going to have to as an organization position
ourselves as an international law enforcement entity in ways that
we have not been in the past. A substantial piece of that will be
enhancing our ties overseas through our Legats with our counterparts.
A substantial piece of that will be developing agents who are comfortable
in operating overseas as well as domestically. And lastly, it is
the network of relationships that will be successful in addressing
the threats of the future. That is, the network of relationships
within the United States, with state and local and our other federal
counterparts, but also internationally with our counterparts overseas.
So as we in
the Bureau are looking closely at where we're going; as we develop
the intelligence capacity and as we develop the information technology
capacity. Yet, as important as both of those will be, it is the
development of relationships and networks that will importantly
address those crimes that cross not just county borders and state
borders, but also international borders.
And with that
I'd be happy to answer whatever questions you have.
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