The Fbi's Counterterrorism Program

Publisher Marketing: During the past 31 months, the FBI has undergone a transformation in all areas of its operations. The transformation has involved both the institution of new functions and capacities as well as refinements of existing processes and programs to modernize our operations. This book provides an overview of that reform process. We have always had responsibility for the counterterrorism mission, and the Bureau has a history of impressive accomplishments in the war against terrorism. From the apprehension of Unabomber Theodore Kaczynski, to the investigation and prosecution of those responsible for the 1993 World Trade Center bombing, the 1995 Oklahoma City bombing, and the 1998 East Africa Embassy bombings, the FBI has investigated terrorist acts and helped to bring many of those responsible to justice. In addition, the Bureau has participated in preventing many terrorist acts before their commission, as evidenced by the foiling of the Millennium Plot to plant explosives at Los Angeles International Airport, the apprehension and prosecution of Ramzi Yousef and others for conspiracy to bomb United States commercial airliners, and the arrest and prosecution of Sheik Omar Abdel Rahman and his co-conspirators before they could carry out their plan to bomb office buildings, bridges, and tunnels in New York City. Throughout his tenure, Director Louis Freeh and his executives took steps to build that preventive capacity within the Bureau. They established an intelligence Section within the Investigative Service Division and staffed it with analysts who were tasked with identifying and predicting criminal and terrorist threats. They greatly enhanced our ability to coordinate investigations with our counterparts in other countries by nearly doubling the number of Legal Attache offices overseas. Also, they devised and implemented a strategy for developing a counterterrorism capability in each FBI field office. The FBI responded to the attacks of September 11, 2001, with a clear recognition that we needed both to build on the progress of the past decade and to enhance our operations and focus to meet the deadly challenge of modern terrorism. In a process that started on September 11, 2001, we have been reforming our organization, operations, and long-term objectives to make the prevention of terrorist attacks the Bureau's overriding priority. This new operational focus required that we fundamentally transform our organization to enhance our ability to predict and prevent terrorism. We have followed a plan for this transformation that has seven basic elements: Prioritization Mobilization Centralization Intelligence Integration Coordination Information Technology Administrative Reform These elements are the foundation of an effective Counterterrorism Program. The following describes each element of the plan in some detail.