"The whole aim of practical politics is to keep the populace alarmed and hence clamorous to be led to safety by menacing it with an endless series of hobgoblins, all of them imaginary." -H. L. Mencken
FBI Unveils Steps to Boost Terrorism Prevention
Wed May 29, 1:31 PM ET
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The FBI (news - web sites), under fire for missing clues that might have prevented the Sept. 11 attacks, announced plans on Wednesday to shift hundreds of law enforcement officials from traditional crime fighting to concentrate on counterterrorism activities.
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"We need a different approach that puts prevention above all others," FBI Director Robert Mueller said in announcing the second stage of a massive reorganization. "We need to change and we indeed are changing."
Under the plan whose details were released in advance, a total of 3,718 FBI agents and federal, state and local law enforcement officials will be directed to focus on counterterrorism issues, up from 2,178. This includes a shift of 480 FBI agents who will be moved from fighting drugs, white collar crime and violent crime.
Also under the plan, an Office of Intelligence will be created and headed by a CIA (news - web sites) agent. A total of 25 CIA analysts will be detailed to the FBI to help upgrade analytical capacities.
Mueller acknowledged the FBI has had a series of blunders before the Sept. 11 attacks in New York and Washington and they were only magnified afterward. "When I arrived at the FBI in September it was already clear that there was a need for change at the bureau |
