From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Wanna see where your tax dollars are being spent in the Drug War? "It has become so bad in the southwestern United States, for example, that the FBI has 100 special agents specifically assigned to investigating the Border Patrol, Immigration and Naturalization Service and other U.S. law enforcement officials allegedly on the take. " Of course they failed to mention Bill Clinton & cohorts, and other persons in HIGH government positions... this article even claims that the CIA works at FBI headquarters... so maybe that's how the rogue agents stay "one step ahead" of the "good guys" in the bureau. Sheesh, what a JOKE! ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Global Cooperation Sought Against Mobsters Lawman Says Cross-Border Crime Threatens America By James Gordon Meek GARMISCH-PARTENKIRCHEN, Germany (APBnews.com) -- If the world is to stop crime syndicates from wreaking financial havoc and compromising the security of nations, it will take close international cooperation, says an FBI representative to a conference here on international crime. FBI Assistant Director Thomas Pickard said in an interview that technological advancements in the past decade, such as the Internet and the proliferation of the mass media, have helped mobsters tap into foreign stock exchanges and the global economy, threatening even the United States. "It affects economic security," Pickard said, and that has replaced the nuclear threat of the Cold War, he said in an interview with APBnews.com at the conference hosted by the FBI and the George C. Marshall European Center for Security Studies. FBI turns toward foreign crime Pickard, chief of the bureau's criminal investigations division, said the growth of cross-border crime syndicates has forced the FBI -- traditionally concerned with domestic issues -- to turn more of its focus toward foreign criminal activity aimed at the United States. But even with 27,000 employees on the FBI payroll, Pickard admitted the bureau is out-gunned and lacking in adequate resources to combat this new threat from abroad. "We couldn't hope to have enough employees to deal with all the threats," he said, and that's where cooperation with foreign law enforcement becomes essential. Corruption damages trust But, he said, achieving a good cooperative relationship with overseas law enforcers is not always easy. It's corruption in government and law enforcement that particularly bothers the 29-year FBI veteran. It has become so bad in the southwestern United States, for example, that the FBI has 100 special agents specifically assigned to investigating the Border Patrol, Immigration and Naturalization Service and other U.S. law enforcement officials allegedly on the take. "Corruption undermines our ability to deal with other law enforcement agencies, if we have a perception that a particular department or agency is corrupt and we can't trust them," he said. "And if there's a perception the FBI is corrupt, that would hurt us. It's probably one of the most difficult issues to deal with." Egos thwart crime-busting efforts The clear solution to either threat facing the United States, he said, is to match the criminals' ability to cooperate and share strategic information -- something that has been scarce in international law enforcement. It also is problematic in political Washington, where FBI officials like Pickard admit egos thrive and turf battles and rivalries often hamper interagency relations and efforts to bust the bad guys. "We need to get ourselves together better, and we've been doing that by sharing personnel, information and intelligence," Pickard said. One of his deputies is a Drug Enforcement Administration special agent, and he said even Central Intelligence Agency employees work at FBI headquarters in Washington. FBI agents are likewise deployed at other agencies. Information-sharing lapses can be magnified when dealing with overseas lawmen. Worse, Pickard laments the fact that many countries don't have laws similar to America's, such as the wiretapping statutes used extensively by the FBI. "We have to work our way through these [legal] issues," he said. "Outside the U.S., your badge does not have a lot of authority. You're operating on different turf, and you have to respect the culture and the judicial system of that foreign country." Pickard hopes that his presence and the attendance at the Garmisch crime-fighting summit of senior FBI officials, such as Associate General Counsel M.E. "Spike" Bowman and cyber-investigator Michael Vatis, will help build relationships and open up lines of communication that will give them an edge outside the North American continent. Aug. 31, 1999 - <A HREF="http://www.apbnews.com/newscenter/breakingnews/1999/08/31/germany0831_01 .html">http://www.apbnews.com/newscenter/breakingnews/1999/08/31/germany0831_0 1.html</A> --------------------------- ONElist Sponsor ---------------------------- Get your money connected at OnMoney.com - the first Web site that lets you see, consolidate, and manage all of your finances all in one place. <a href=" http://clickme.onelist.com/ad/Onmoney ">Click Here</a> ------------------------------------------------------------------------
