http://www.nypost.com/seven/06052006/postopinion/opedcolumnists/64689.htm
STILL NOT RETOOLED FOR TERROR
June 5, 2006 -- THIS weekend's arrest of 17 homegrown al Qaeda wannabes
just across the border in Canada is a nightmarish reminder of the horrors
that have been - and could be - right here at home again if we don't fully
get our counterterrorism act together soon.
By many accounts, despite a ballooning budget and staff, the FBI is still
struggling to get its arms around its newly reinvigorated counterror (CT)
mission - a critical capability that could prevent another 9/11.
John Gannon, a former CIA and Homeland Security official, told the Senate in
late April: "We still do not have a domestic-intelligence service that can
collect effectively against the terrorist threat to the homeland or provide
authoritative analysis of that threat."
Many experts say that the competent collection and analysis of domestic CT
intelligence could have "connected the dots" and prevented 9/11. Yet this
still remains the weakest link in our domestic fight in the War on Terror.
Experts contend that if President Bush hadn't taken the fight to the
terrorists in places like Afghanistan and Iraq, we'd have a real terrorism
problem here - one they believe the FBI couldn't handle.
And what about the post-9/11 anthrax letters? The FBI still hasn't closed
those cases. What's more important: Digging up Jimmy Hoffa's corpse on some
Michigan farm, or preventing another deadly anthrax attack? Priorities,
puh-leez!
Another obvious sign of failure: The G-men still haven't developed an
accurate terrorist watch list. FBI Director Robert Mueller told Congress it
will be "some time" before that's done. That the bureau has had to scrap its
$500 million Trilogy computer system hasn't helped, either.
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So what's the problem?
First, there is the FBI's culture. The bureau has long considered itself a
law-enforcement outfit. Getting an executive suite in the Hoover HQ building
means cuffing and convicting crooks, not penetrating and analyzing shadowy
Islamic terrorist networks.
Insiders are concerned that the long-standing FBI "cop" mentality of
investigating a crime after it happens (i.e., reactive) isn't translating
well into a CT state of mind, which must prevent a crime before it happens
(i.e., predictive).
Personnel turnover has been a snag, too. Six - count 'em, six - senior CT
managers have left the bureau since 9/11. Granted, it's a tough, thankless
position, but the last one punched out after only eight months in the job.
Something is amiss . . .
The flight of key personnel to the outside slows the bureau's much-needed CT
transformation. Mueller says burnout and better pay are key factors in the
"brain drain" to cushy security chief jobs at Fortune 500 companies.
In fairness, the G-men have made progress, too. The bureau established the
National Security Branch from the separate counterterrorism,
counterintelligence and intelligence divisions to improve info sharing.
And the FBI has added 2,000 new intelligence agents, doubling their ranks,
dispersing them to Field Intelligence Groups in the FBI's 56 field offices -
and established 120 Joint Terrorism Task Forces. Both upgrades helped the
FBI contribute (along with the Homeland Security Department, the U.S.
military, CIA and countless others) to preventing another homeland terrorist
strike. No small achievement, by any measure.
And CT info is getting passed down to the local level, too, according to
Mueller. According to first responders, information-sharing, while still far
from perfect, is improving. Over 6,000 local/ state police have been given
access to classified CT info.
On evidence, the FBI's is making only halting progress in balancing its
"Book 'em, Dano" law-enforcement culture with its "Get Osama"
counterterrorism mission. So what should be done?
First, Congress and Director of National Intelligence John Negroponte must
exercise rigorous oversight, pressuring the FBI to fully embrace its CT
mandate on par with battling crime. If the job isn't getting done, heads
should roll.
Second, don't create another CT agency, like the British MI-5. Keep CT
intel/law enforcement at FBI. The intel community is bloated enough already
- and MI-5 wasn't able to prevent last year's London terror attacks, which
killed more than 50 people.
Third, don't increase the Pentagon's or the CIA's domestic CT role. Beyond
civil-liberty concerns, their CT assignments should be overseas, making sure
foreign terrorists don't get to our shores. Let FBI (and DHS) do domestic
CT.
The idea that the FBI can't do domestic CT is hogwash. It successfully
caught spies, saboteurs and ran agents before and during World War II. The
mere notion that it can't do the job now must have J. Edgar Hoover rolling
over in his grave.
Heritage Foundation Senior Fellow Peter Brookes' latest book is "A Devil's
Triangle: Terrorism, WMD and Rogue States."
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