BUILDING THE FUTURE FBI
Director Mueller discusses "today's changing threat, our new mission, and the future of the FBI"

06/23/04

On 6/22, Director Mueller addressed the Council on Foreign Relations in very specific terms on the truly new FBI that is being built to address today's evolving threats. Please read the speech in its entirety. But just a few highlighted quotes to whet your interest.

The fight against terrorism "will be a long and difficult war."

"Today, terrorists and criminals use sophisticated business practices to achieve their goals, not unlike that of legitimate multinational corporations."

"Terrorists who shun our way of life are more than willing to use our technology to carry out and publicize their attacks. Increasingly, the global community of the Internet is used not only to break down barriers, but also to sustain and nurture centuries-old hatreds."

"There is a growing convergence of these threats both old and new. We see organized crime laundering money for drug groups. Drug groups selling weapons to terrorists. Terrorists committing white-collar fraud to raise money for their operations."

"The players in the espionage game have diversified...we are no longer dealing exclusively with intelligence agents. Today the threat can just as easily come from students, business executives, or hackers."

These are problems as old as human history, and we cannot expect them to be solved overnight."

What "new" FBI will address these threats?

"I envision tomorrow's FBI as a highly trained, electronically sophisticated, internationally networked organization that has terrorism as its principal target...more flexible, more agile, and more mobile."

"This is why we are establishing a Directorate of Intelligence within the FBI...the next logical step in the current evolution of the FBI's intelligence capability."

"...a fully operational modern information technology infrastructure."

"...offices or Legal Attaché offices in every country with a major impact on the United States...likely in an official international anti-terrorism alliance."

"...a truly diverse workforce...with specialty backgrounds, who understand international law, are fluent in foreign languages, or have a background in intelligence."

"...agents who are capable of changing countries as easily as they change cities."

"...guardians of civil liberties operating with full adherence to the Constitution."

What's the upshot?

"The enemies of the United States seek to take full advantage of our technology to attack us. They think they are stealing the best part of the West to use against us. But they do not understand what the best part is. It is not our technology; it is not our weaponry; it is not our wealth. The best part of America is freedom--freedom to think, freedom to create, freedom to change. These are the true treasures of this nation. And they are the tools we will use to defeat this enemy."

Links: Read Director Mueller's full speech.