Thank you Governor.
Good afternoon. I am here, along with the heads of our offices in New York
City, Buffalo, and here in Albany, to show our support for the UNYRIC and
its new Counter-Terrorism Unit (CTU).
UNYRIC has already
made considerable contributions to our crime fighting efforts in New York
and Vermont, and we are confident that the CTU will prove to be a powerful
new weapon in the war on terrorism.
Terrorists and their
supporters are mobile and networked, and they operate across jurisdictional
boundaries. We can defeat these adversaries only if all of our agencies
work together. We are here to celebrate an endeavor that will help us do
just that.
Countering the terrorist
enemy requires a seamless flow of intelligence. In New York State and Vermont,
more than 70,000 officers with eyes and ears in their communities are on
constant alert for possible indicators of terrorist activities.
The CTU
will assist police officers in recognizing possible terrorist surveillance,
rehearsal, fundraising, and training. It will facilitate assignments
to collect information. And it will get the intelligence that police officers
gather in their communities to the FBI so that it can be put together
with
intelligence from other sources.
The results
will be more targeted intelligence collection in the field, a reliable
pipeline for intelligence, more complete
analysis of patterns and trends, and ultimately a greater chance of
catching terrorists before they strike.
To ensure
that this seamless flow of intelligence
is accomplished without harming privacy rights, the FBI will provide
a security officer, offer training, and review information sharing
systems and policies to ensure their compliance with privacy protections.
We are proud to be
a part of UNYRIC and will continue to provide our full support and cooperation.
We believe it offers a model that can guide information sharing initiatives
in states across the country.
I would like to thank Governor Pataki, Governor Douglas, Superintendent
Bennett [NY State Police], and Director McMahon [Office of Public
Safety] for their
visionary leadership on this endeavor. Thank you.
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