FBI Chief Tells Congress His Agency Needs More Agents, Money and Time

Associated Press ^ | 6/6/02 | Jesse J. Holland

[browardchad]

Justice Department Inspector General Glenn Fine -- the fall guy?

[FreeTally]

Reward failure with more money? Only in America.

[Zathras]

To the FBI:
Prove to us that you can do more than shoot unarmed women and we might consider it.
A Ruby Ridge Bump!

[rintense]

Now why am I laughing...

[toddst]

Reward failure with more money?

This is SOP for gummint agencies when challenged to produce - more resources. I have another plan: Clean out the dead wood and use the savings for new-hires. Why don't they ever go that route?

[NittanyLion]

Reward failure with more money? Only in America.

Only in American government. If I tried this tactic on my boss I'd find a box on my desk.

[sanchmo]

That's not news. Now this would be news:

<insert government agency name here> Tells Congress His Agency Needs Fewer Agents, Less Money and Less Time

[Ancesthntr]

Great idea - NOT! The main problem with the FBI and its portion of the 9/11-related intelligence failure had to do with its already bloated bureaucracy, with too many layers of people concerned only with the bureaucratic imperitive of CYA. So why in the world would you want to do more of the same, unless you couldn't see the forest for the trees? It is for this reason (i.e. the failure of vision regarding how to fix existing problems) that Bush needs to find a new FBI Director and to replace much of the agency's upper management. The FBI is filled with patriotic, hard-working, dedicated people on the lower and middle levels (and even many on the upper levels), but they are hampered by the structure of the organization. We'd be utter fools to compound the problem in this way.

Bush also needs to kick some serious butt to get the CIA, FBI, NSA, INS and other agencies with intelligence or law enforcement duties to cooperate fully with each other, and to do so in a timely manner. One of my greatest fears is that this will not happen, and that we'll wake up one day to find that an American city has been nuked by al-Quaeda. I sincerely hope that it doesn't take a nuclear Pearl Harbor to wake us up.

[uncbob]

They can start by shutting down the WAR ON some DRUGS

[lavaroise]

I think we need more congress agents to impeach and fire the current FBI.

[RicocheT]

Former Director Freeh went on a hiring binge and hired deadwood. Now, Director Mueller wants to repeat the error. He should light a fire under agents with ability and fire the ones who messed up re 9/11.

[Redbob]

"My agency and I are a bunch of complete screw-ups, but if you'll give us more money, we'll miraculously mend our ways, and everything will be fine."

Did I get that quote right?

[lawdog]

Because if they did as you suggest they couldn't build their "empire", you silly!

[waterstraat]

You dont need more money, you have 2100 agents that are totally non-productive, a complete waste of time. YOu have 2100 agents that are fighting the doomed war on drugs which they cannot win, and have not won.

While Osama bin Laden and his al-Qaida minions were diligently preparing for their murderous mission, the FBI was looking the other way with equal determination. More than twice as many FBI agents were assigned to fighting drugs (2,500) than fighting terrorism (1,151). And a far greater amount of the FBI's financial resources was dedicated to the war on drugs.

[waterstraat]

"My agency and I are a bunch of complete screw-ups, but if you'll give us more money, we'll miraculously mend our ways, and everything will be fine." Did I get that quote right?

Yeah, you got it right. That is the way I read it too.

[toddst]

Because if they did as you suggest(cut out the deadwood) they couldn't build their "empire", you silly.

10-4 on the empire-building mentality. Perhaps in his second term, George W. can get some serious agency eliminations going. Downsizing of the federal monster has to happen if there is to be any chance of significant tax reduction, not to mention preservation of the private sector. At the rate we're going everyone will end up working for the feds. Isn't that a disgusting thought?

[fivecatsandadog]

...as it works to meet its "paramount mission of prevention" in an age of terrorism.

I've got a really bad feeling that nothing, short of annihilating the rest of the world, is going to keep anyone from committing acts of terror in our country, with or without the New and Improved agencies. There's just no way, without putting an electronic tether on every single individual who is already here and putting up 20 ft. electrified, barbed wire, monitored fences on all the borders and shorelines. No way. I used to have more confidence in our government, but after all that's been revealed these last few weeks, WE look like an Abbott and Costello movie. Who's on first.... God help us.

[Octavius]

Like all gov' agencies they want to add new folks at the bottom but keep the same loosers at the top.
Thank God my local high school football team is not run so stupidly.

[PhiKapMom]

For everyone's information -- Director Mueller was nominated in July 2001, confirmed in August 2001, and did take the oath as Director until 4 September 2001 -- exactly seven days before 9/11! Just what was he supposed to in seven days?

Not to mention he was left with a bunch of people that were clintonites many of whom have since retired or quit to "spend more time with their families!" You don't clean up an agency that has been on a downhill slope overnight! He is right -- they need more agents -- anything to put the clintonite holdovers on notice that their time is up! Why don't they go back and call in Freeh to find out what went wrong -- he was there since 1993 until July of 2001? Would be interesting to hear his take on additional agents!

Just my two cents worth!

[thulldud]

"All we want is less to do,
More time to do it, and
More money for not getting it done."

Where have I heard this before?