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Summary:
The Intelligence Community, including the Federal Bureau of Investigation
(FBI), has been criticized for failing to warn of the attacks of September 11, 2001.
In a sweeping indictment of the FBI's intelligence activities relating to
counterterrorism and September 11, the Congressional Joint Inquiry Into the Terrorist
Attacks of September 11, 2001, singled out the FBI in a significant manner for failing
to focus on the domestic terrorist threat; collect useful intelligence; analyze strategic
intelligence; and to share intelligence internally and with other members of the
Intelligence Community. The Joint Inquiry concluded that the FBI was seriously
deficient in identifying, reporting on, and defending against the foreign terrorist threat
to the United States.
The FBI is responding by attempting to transform itself into an agency that can
prevent terrorist acts, rather than react to them as crimes. The major component of
this effort is restructuring and upgrading of its various intelligence support units into
a formal and integrated intelligence program, which includes the adoption of new
operational practices, and the improvement of its information technology. FBI
Director Robert S. Mueller, III, has introduced reforms to curb the autonomy of the
organization's 56 field offices by consolidating and centralizing FBI Headquarters
control over all counterterrorism and counterintelligence cases. He has also
established (1) an Executive Assistant Director for Intelligence (EAD-I); (2) an
Office of Intelligence to exercise control over the FBI's historically fragmented
intelligence elements; and (3) field intelligence groups to collect, analyze, and
disseminate intelligence.
Reactions to these FBI reforms are mixed. Critics contend the reforms are too
limited and have implementation problems. More fundamentally, they argue that the
gulf between law enforcement and intelligence cultures is so wide, that the FBI's
reforms, as proposed, are unlikely to succeed. They believe the FBI will remain
essentially a reactive law enforcement agency, significantly constrained in its ability
to collect and exploit effectively intelligence in preventing terrorist acts.
Supporters counter that the FBI can successfully address its deficiencies,
particularly its intelligence shortcomings, and that the Director's intelligence reforms
are appropriate for what needs to be done. They argue that the FBI is unique among
federal agencies, because it supplies the critical ingredient to a successful war against
terrorism in the U.S. - unmatched law enforcement capabilities integrated with an
improving intelligence program.
The congressional oversight role includes deciding on whether to accept,
modify, or reject the FBI's intelligence reforms currently underway. Congress may
consider several options, ranging from support of the FBI's current reforms, to
establishing a stand-alone domestic intelligence service entirely independent of the
FBI. Congress may also reevaluate how it conducts oversight of the FBI. Pending
legislation on FBI intelligence reform includes, but is not limited to, S. 410, The
Foreign Intelligence Collection Improvement Act of 2003, and S. 1520, The 9-11
Memorial Intelligence Reform Act.
