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Counterterrorism still FBI top priority: report

By Bernard Hibbitts (editor) and University of Pittsburgh School of Law students.

[JURIST] Eight years after 9/11, counterterrorism efforts continue to dominate the operations and budget of the FBI, according to a Tuesday report by the New York Times. Since the attacks, the bureau has doubled the number of agents it assigns to counterterrorism efforts and has created specialized "threat squads" to investigate possible threats. Agents in those squads have said that 9/11 showed how important it is to follow credible leads, but noted that less than five percent of those they pursue are substantial enough to justify long-term investigation. FBI Director Robert Mueller has also admitted that devoting 40 percent of agents to counterterrorism has reduced the amount of resources that can be devoted to fighting other crimes, but says that it remains the agency's top priority. The report illustrates the how central counterterrorism remains to the FBI despite February statements by FBI Deputy Director John Pistole that a number of agents from national security and counterterrorism activities would be reassigned to investigations involving financial fraud. In August 2008, the FBI proposed new investigation guidelines designed to reflect the shift in the agency's focus. In September of that year, Mueller defended the proposed guidelines before the US Senate Judiciary Committee as a "necessary step" in fighting terrorism. Opponents have argued that the changes could allow inappropriate racial and ethnic profiling and would permit agents to open terror investigations without evidence of any crime having been committed.

Full post as published by JURIST - The Paper Chase on August 20, 2009 (boomark / email).