FBI’s antiterror focus doesn’t threaten traditional duties, chief says

The FBI has not compromised its traditional law enforcement responsibilities by shifting more than 650 special agents from criminal investigations to counterterrorism and intelligence gathering, FBI Director Robert Mueller told lawmakers Wednesday.

As part of an ongoing restructuring effort, the FBI reassigned 500 criminal investigators to antiterrorism efforts and an additional 167 agents to intelligence work. The move reflects a push to realign the agency's staff and financial resources to address a new top priority-preventing future terrorist attacks.

"The FBI is recognized for its excellence in collecting information," Mueller told lawmakers at a House Appropriations Committee hearing. "Now the FBI must achieve that same recognition for excellence in strengthening this capability by elevating intelligence collection, analysis, production and dissemination to a level equal to that of our traditional investigative programs."

But some representatives at the hearing said they are worried the move won't leave the FBI with enough agents to complete criminal investigations and anti-narcotics operations. Rep. Harold Rogers, R-Ky., said he is particularly concerned that the FBI shifted 40 percent of narcotics agents to antiterrorism efforts. His home state of Kentucky lost three of its five FBI narcotics agents in the move.

In fiscal 2002, the FBI assigned 21 percent of its field agents to investigate organized criminal enterprises and drug violations, according to statistics from the General Accounting Office. In fiscal 2003, 14 percent of the FBI's staff will work on these tasks. The significant reduction in drug enforcement agents might have led to the FBI's decision to open fewer drug cases in the first two quarters of fiscal 2003, Comptroller General David Walker testified.

"We want to make it clear that we are in no way intending to fault the FBI for the reassignment of agents from drug enforcement to higher-priority areas," Walker added. "Indeed these moves are directly in line with their priorities and in keeping with the paramount need to prevent terrorism."

Mueller told lawmakers that special agents in charge identified drug enforcement as an area where they could afford to lose staff because the Drug Enforcement Administration covers some of the same ground, and local and state law enforcement agents are becoming more adept at handling narcotics cases.

In fiscal 2002, DEA shifted 34 agents from headquarters work to the Southwest border region, an area that has seen a significant decrease in FBI narcotics agents, according to Walker's testimony. DEA, which received funding for an additional 216 agents in fiscal 2003, has requested money to add another 233 in fiscal 2004. "DEA enhancements will fill some, but not all, of the drug program personnel gap left by the reassignment of FBI drug program agents to higher-priority work," Walker said.

As part of its restructuring efforts, the FBI also centralized its management structure over the past year, Mueller testified. The centralized structure takes some power away from field offices, but is necessary to facilitate the information sharing required for complex national cases.

"These cases also are complex in terms of interrelationships among groups and individuals, a complexity that requires continuity and specialized expertise and skills," Mueller said. "Most importantly, these cases require an organizational capacity to quickly respond and deploy personnel and technology to emerging and developing situations."