Global terrorism, understaffing and the FBI

Global terrorism, understaffing and the FBI

Dini Djalal, Editor, 'Aksara', Jakarta

Paul McCabe has been an agent of the Federal Bureau of
Investigations, or FBI, for 16 years, working first as an
undercover agent, and then as both a special agent and the media
coordinator of the Joint-Terrorism Task Force, based in
Minneapolis, Minnesota.

The Task Force, established in 1999, coordinates the findings
of the FBI, the Immigration and Naturalization Services (INS),
the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), and the Secret Service. The
FBI has seven types of squads, investigating everything from
public corruption to kidnappings, but its counter-terrorism squad
is now top priority.

He spoke in St Paul, Minessota to this writer, who is in the
United States for on a four-month journalism fellowship from the
World Press Institute.

The Minneapolis office, which serves three states, saw little
fanfare until earlier this year, when a letter written by agent
Colleen Rowley was leaked to the press. The statement, part of a
Congressional hearing, said that information from the Minneapolis
bureau about suspected terrorist Zacarias Moussaoui was not dealt
with swiftly by FBI headquarters in Washington DC. Rowley
unwillingly became a controversial figure, and McCabe spent the
following weeks hounded by calls from the media.

As the anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks nears, the FBI is
under greater pressure and scrutiny to protect the United States
from a repeat attack. A reorganization of the force, particularly
its cooperation -- or lack of -- with the Central Intelligence
Agency, or CIA, is in the works. There is also more intense
information-sharing with intelligence agencies in vital partners
such as Russia, Pakistan, and the Philipines; the FBI has offices
in 53 countries (the closest office to Indonesia is in
Singapore).

The following are excerpts from the conversation:
Question: Why is the Task Force based in Minnesota?
Answer: We had the first Weapons of Mass Destruction case in
Minnesota, in the mid 1990s. The case involved an anti-government
group, and they had stock of ricin, a very potent biological
weapon. The group had gotten it off the internet.

They were not a very well-organized group, but if you look at
Timothy McVeigh (the culprit of the Oklahoma bombings), the
loners and the loosely-knit groups are harder to gather
intelligence on. This was the first case under the Weapons of
Mass Destruction law, and they were all convicted.

A lot of people think that Minnesota is insulated from the
problems of the world. But we had a lot of Somali organizations
that were shut down, and they were related to some terrorist
organizations.
Is power within the FBI shifting back to Washington?

It's a back and forth thing. When I first joined, special
agents had a lot of authority. Then it shifted back to
centralized control. Now it's shifting back authority to special
agents in charge, but it also wants to make sure that the
information gathered can be funneled at the main office.
Is the FBI improving its technology?

Our computers are archaic! I was excited when we got Windows
95 but everybody had gotten Windows 2000! Every three years, our
computers become paperweights on our desks.

But we are currently upgrading our technology to a system
called Trilogy. It's a huge improvement. Sixteen years ago, we
weren't even using computers.
Do you have a central database?

For security reasons, we're still not connected that way. And
once again, it still costs a lot of money.
Are the criticisms about the FBI's intelligence gathering ability
valid?

We were great at gathering intelligence, but we don't have
enough analysts to process it all. For example, the recruitment
of 900 more officers -- that's probably just going to replace the
900 who are leaving the force.

But we are more focused in our recruiting; we are pushing for
engineers, scientists, computer scientists. For us to keep our
technology ahead of the bad guys is a challenge in itself. So you
have to look for those people who have these (technical) skills
but want to be agents. And it's a massive pay cut! Usually those
who join say, they've always wanted to be an FBI agent and that
the money is not a factor.

We're also hiring 1,000 professional support employees,
including lab analysts. And we are trying to push for better
wages so that we get more qualified people.

Are the two agencies, the FBI and the CIA, not sharing
information?

To some extent that maybe true, but that's on a division to
division basis. The roles of the CIA and the FBI are quite
different, and a lot of times we have no idea (what intelligence
work) the others are doing. These are very secret, national-
security type issues. Leaks can be very damaging.

If the CIA brings information, we have to look at the
information and see whether we can follow it up under available
statutes. Often we don't prosecute and instead continue the
operation so we don't lose that intelligence source.

We may also have information that we don't share with the CIA.
Now we are sharing more information, but that means more
potential for more leaks. It's always a hard decision, but the
main objective is stopping terrorism.
How does the FBI operate in foreign countries?

We are (in foreign countries) at the welcome mat of those
countries. We have no jurisdiction; it's strictly a liaison
effort. We are there only as long as the countries want to keep
us there.
Are the FBI doing more wiretaps of computers?

We can wiretap a computer as we can a telephone, but there are
very strict guidelines. We have to go through a lot of
procedures, such as get an affidavit. We have to go before a
judge who has to sign off that there is probable cause (for this
method of investigation). A lot of the time this time line can be
damaging.

But basically, we don't even have enough manpower to track
down what the criminals are doing, we're so understaffed. So we
can't tap every phone call and computer.
Who does the FBI answer to?

There are a number of congressional panels that we report to,
because in the past, there have been abuses (by the FBI). We get
routine polygraphs and background checks. I like it, because if
theres a bad FBI agent out there, I want him out.
What happened in the Colleen Rowley case?

I can't get into a lot of detail on that because it is under
congressional inquiry. Some agents were disappointed because they
thought that she went to the press -- she did not. It was leaked,
and she was shocked when the whole letter was released. It was
part of congressional inquiry; she had no idea that it would turn
into this. It wasn't something that was meant to go public. She's
a very loyal FBI agent and she is very loyal still. You'll read
that Colleen's story is responsible for the FBI reorganization.
This is not true. The reorganization has been in the works for
several months.
Was the investigation into the anthrax cases a failure?

It's still an ongoing investigation. This is a big, open, free
country, and some investigations are very, very difficult. One
thing we don't do is give up. I wouldn't call it a failure yet.
We wish it could be solved, but when you look at the number of
mail in this country, it's a very difficult thing. It doesn't
happen overnight.
What are the FBI's focus of investigations now?

We are very concerned about biological weapons, and nuclear
weapons. We know that there is a black market on weapons from the
former Soviet Union; that's why we work closely with intelligence
in these countries.
What about investigations of activities on the internet?

Two months ago, as an FBI agent, I could not go on the
internet to look at the websites of hate groups, when all other
Americans could. When people say we have incredible powers, that
is just not true. If I did, I could be charged. Because of the
freedom of speech in this country, it's a touchy line. For us to
get involved, there almost has to be a specific threat, before we
have federal criminal authority. It's a fine line when freedom of
speech crosses into a hate crime.

Also, in the past, people were very suspicious of Big Brother
Watching, because there have been abuses. But hopefully it's a
new FBI and there will not be any of these problems.
How do you deal with questions from the media?

It's ongoing investigation and I can't talk to them about it.
But it is a tightrope I walk. Many nights I walk home thinking I
will be fired one day for saying too much.
What did you feel on Sept. 11th?

I was in my office, and I looked up and saw the size of the
hole, and knew that it was not a small plane. Then when we saw
the other plane hit, we knew immediately that it was not a
coincidence. We immediately made a decision to set up our command
post, and had that set up within an hour; we set it up before
headquarters told us to.

Then we relayed information to headquarters about the
intelligence we had -- the calls and the tips started coming in
immediately. It was a sick feeling because we knew that as the
FBI, our task is to protect the country. We felt somewhat
responsible.

The author also writes for the Hong Kong-based weekly
newsmagazine The Far Eastern Economic Review .