FBI Director Mueller Announces Leadership of National Security Branch

Director Robert S. Mueller, III is pleased to announce the appointment of Gary M. Bald as head of the FBI's new National Security Branch (NSB). Mr. Bald currently serves as executive assistant director (EAD) for Counterterrorism and Counterintelligence. Philip Mudd, currently deputy director of the CIA's Counterterrorism Center (CTC), will serve as deputy head of the NSB. Mr. Bald and Mr. Mudd have the full confidence of Attorney General Gonzales and Director of National Intelligence Negroponte, both of whom have concurred with this decision.

Consistent with the recommendation of the Commission on the Intelligence Capabilities of the United States Regarding Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD Commission) and the president's memorandum of June 28, 2005, the FBI is consolidating the positions of EAD for Counterterrorism and Counterintelligence and EAD for Intelligence into a single EAD for National Security.

In their new positions, Mr. Bald and Mr. Mudd will oversee the FBI's counterterrorism, counterintelligence, and intelligence programs, which are being consolidated under the new NSB. They will be responsible for the FBI's national security mission, including the continued development of a specialized national security workforce. Mr. Bald will be the lead FBI official responsible for integrating the FBI's national security mission with the Director of National Intelligence (DNI) and the intelligence community.

Director Mueller said, "The National Security Branch is the next step in the evolution of the FBI's intelligence capabilities. As head of the NSB, Mr. Bald will work to further the integration of our intelligence collection and analysis capabilities, and will direct our national security resources in accordance with the leadership of the DNI.

"We have put together a management team for the NSB that is uniquely qualified to implement the Bureau's intelligence strategy in a manner that meets the requirements of both the Attorney General and the Director of National Intelligence, and maintains the FBI's commitment to protecting civil liberties. Gary Bald brings to this new position a wide range of operational and leadership experience, which he has demonstrated over nearly 28 years of service with the FBI.

"Philip Mudd brings extensive expertise in both intelligence operations and intelligence analysis, as well as in-depth knowledge of international terrorism and the Middle East. I look forward to working with both of them on full implementation of the NSB."

Gary M. Bald

Mr. Bald began his career with the FBI in September, 1977 and has served in a wide variety of investigative and management positions. He served as a special agent for eight years in the Albany and Philadelphia Divisions, conducting investigations in the organized crime, drug, violent crime, public corruption, and civil rights programs. He has served in management positions as supervisor in the Office of Professional Responsibility; supervisor, organized crime/drug squad, Newark Division; assistant inspector, Inspection Division; and unit chief, Criminal Investigative Division. He has also served as assistant special agent in charge of the Atlanta Division; inspector in charge of the Justice Task Force, where he led a criminal investigation of a high-profile Boston organized crime/corruption matter relating to Top Ten Most Wanted Fugitive James "Whitey" Bulger; and as special agent in charge of the Baltimore Division, where he was responsible for all FBI activities in Maryland and Delaware and directed the FBI's nationwide efforts in the Washington-area sniper investigation in the fall of 2002.

Thereafter, Mr. Bald was selected by Director Mueller to be the deputy assistant director for Counterterrorism Operations, Counterterrorism Division. In this position he was responsible for all FBI international and domestic terrorism investigations, including those involving weapons of mass destruction. He was subsequently selected to assume the position of assistant director, Counterterrorism Division, where he oversaw all aspects of worldwide FBI counterterrorism activities.

In October 2004, Director Mueller selected Mr. Bald to serve as the executive assistant director for Counterterrorism and Counterintelligence. In this capacity, he has had overall responsibility for all aspects of the FBI's two highest priority investigative programs, which, in addition to terrorism and counterintelligence, include espionage, counterproliferation, and foreign intelligence matters.

Mr. Bald has received numerous awards for his exemplary service, including the Presidential Rank Award for Meritorious Service in 2004, the Attorney General's Award for Outstanding Partnerships in Law Enforcement, also in 2004, the Director's Award for Excellence in Investigations in 2003, and the FBI's Ethics Award in 2001.

Philip Mudd

Mr. Mudd joined the CIA in 1985 as a leadership analyst responsible for South Asian issues and continued as a political analyst specializing on India and Sri Lanka until the early 1990s. He began work at the CTC during 1992-95, focusing largely on terrorism in the Middle East with an emphasis on Iranian state-sponsored terrorism. He later joined the National Intelligence Council for a tour as Deputy National Intelligence Officer for Near East and South Asia during 1995-98; his portfolio on the council included interagency analysis on Iranian and South Asian issues. He worked as the executive assistant to the associate deputy director for intelligence in 1998-99, and then spent two years as chief of CIA's analytic group directed against Iraq.

Mr. Mudd returned to the CIA in January 2002 from the Near East Section of the White House National Security Council (NSC), where he served as the director responsible for Gulf and other Middle Eastern issues. His NSC tour concluded with his joining Ambassador James Dobbins in the U.S. effort to reconstitute a new government in Afghanistan.

Mr. Mudd currently serves as second-in-charge of the CTC, which has responsibility for all-source analysis and global clandestine operations on subjects ranging from al Qaeda's leadership to Hizballah to terrorists' use of chemical and biological weapons.

Mr. Mudd is the recipient of more than a dozen Exceptional Performance Awards from CIA. He also was one of the two first-ever recipients of the Langer Award (November 2002), which recognizes superior achievements in CIA's analytic directorate, and the Director's Award (July 2004), the highest achievement award personally given by the director of the Central Intelligence Agency.