Introduction

Good afternoon, Mr. Chairman and Members of the Committee. It is my pleasure to come before you today to discuss the recommendations of the 9-11 Commission, specifically information sharing issues that face the Federal Bureau of Investigation and other members of the Intelligence and Law Enforcement communities. As Director Mueller has said, the FBI has worked closely with the Commission and their staff throughout their tenure and we commend them for an extraordinary effort. Throughout this process, we have approached the Commission’s inquiry as an opportunity to gain further input from outside experts. We took their critiques seriously, adapted our ongoing reform efforts, and have already taken substantial steps to address their remaining concerns. We are gratified and encouraged that the Commission has embraced our vision for change and has recognized the progress that the men and women of the FBI have made to implement that vision. Our work to date has been on strengthening FBI capabilities so that we can be a strong node on the information network of those who defend the nation. Vital information about those who would do us harm is not produced by the federal government alone. We are proud to also be part of an 800,000 strong state, local, and tribal law enforcement community who are the first to encounter and defend against threats. On August 2nd, the President announced his intention to establish a National Intelligence Director (NID) and a National Counter Terrorism Center (NCTC). We look forward to working with you on these vital reforms. Our core guiding principle at the FBI is that intelligence and law enforcement operations must be integrated. Under the direction of Director Mueller, the FBI has moved aggressively forward in this regard by implementing a comprehensive plan that has fundamentally transformed the FBI. Director Mueller has overhauled our counterterrorism operations, expanded our intelligence capabilities, modernized our business practices and technology, and improved coordination with our partners. A prerequisite for any operational coordination is the full and free exchange of information. Without procedures and mechanisms that allow information sharing on a regular and timely basis, we and our partners cannot expect to align our operational efforts to best accomplish our shared mission. Accordingly, we have taken steps to establish unified FBI-wide policies for sharing information and intelligence both within the FBI and outside it. This has occurred under the umbrella of the FBI’s Intelligence Program, and is my personal responsibility as the FBI executive for information sharing. We have made great progress and we have much work ahead of us.

Intelligence Program

The mission of the FBI’s Intelligence Program is to optimally position the FBI to meet current and emerging national security and criminal threats by (1) aiming core investigative work proactively against threats to US interests, (2) building and sustaining enterprise-wide intelligence policies and human and technical capabilities, and (3) providing useful, appropriate, and timely information and analysis to the national security, homeland security, and law enforcement communities. Building on already strong FBI intelligence capabilities, Director Mueller created in January 2003 the position of Executive Assistant Director (EAD) of Intelligence and an Office of Intelligence. I was honored to join the FBI in May 2003 as the first EAD Intelligence.

Core Principles

We built the FBI Intelligence Program on the following core principles: Independent Requirements and Collection Management: While intelligence collection, operations, analysis, and reporting are integrated at headquarters divisions and in the field, the Office of Intelligence manages the requirements and collection management process. This ensures that we focus intelligence collection and production on priority intelligence requirements and on filling key gaps in our knowledge. 

Centralized Management and Distributed Execution: The power of the FBI intelligence capability is in its 56 field offices, 400 resident agencies and 56 legal attaché offices around the world. The Office of Intelligence must provide those entities with sufficient guidance to drive intelligence production effectively and efficiently, but not micro-manage field intelligence operations.

Focused Strategic Analysis: The Office of Intelligence sets strategic analysis priorities and ensures they are carried out both at headquarters and in the field. This is accomplished through a daily production meeting that I chair.

Integration of Analysis with Operations: Intelligence analysis is best when collectors and analysts work side-by-side in integrated operations.

Concept of Operations

Concepts of Operations (CONOPs) guide FBI intelligence processes and detailed implementation plans drive specific actions to implement them. Our CONOPs cover the following core functions: Intelligence Requirements and Collection Management; Intelligence Assessment Process; Human Talent for Intelligence Production; Field Office Intelligence Operation; Intelligence Production and Use; Information Sharing; Community Support; Threat Forecasting and Operational Requirements; and Budget Formulation for Intelligence.

Accomplishments

What follows are some of our key accomplishments: