18 April 2003
Mueller Reports "Great Strides" in Preventing Terrorist Attacks
(Describes usefulness of FBI interviews with Iraqis in the U.S.) (480) By David Anthony Denny Washington File Staff Writer Washington -- The FBI has made great strides during the past several months in preventing future acts of terrorism against the United States and its interests abroad, and did so particularly during the war with Iraq, its director said April 17 at a Washington press conference. Appearing with Attorney General John Ashcroft, FBI Director Robert Mueller said the FBI had conducted almost 10,000 voluntary interviews during the past month with current and former Iraqi citizens residing in the United States. Those interviews, he said, resulted in about 250 FBI reports to the U.S. military of information potentially useful in conducting operations in Iraq. The reports concerned weapons production and storage facilities, underground bunkers, fiber optic networks and detention and interrogation facilities, Mueller said. The Defense Department said those reports were "timely, excellent, relevant and [they] greatly assisted in bridging gaps in other intelligence," according to Mueller. Mueller said many of those interviewed had fled Iraq in fear of its dictator, Saddam Hussein. They included scientists and engineers and even former leaders in the Iraqi government, he said. The FBI contacted them, he said, because of their possible knowledge of Iraqi leadership, military facilities and support for terrorism. All of the interviews were conducted "within the strict confines of the (U.S.) Constitution," Mueller said, and "with the full respect for rights and dignity." Mueller said he knows of only two complaints to the FBI resulting from the almost 10,000 interviews conducted. In many more instances, he said, the bureau was contacted by Iraqi-Americans who called to volunteer information and wanted to know why they had not yet been contacted. The FBI director also said that, in conjunction with the Justice Department, the bureau has taken steps to respond to the looting of Iraqi museums and other historical sites. The moves include sending FBI agents to Iraq to assist with criminal investigations and issuing Interpol alerts to all member nations concerning the potential sales on black and open markets of stolen Iraqi art and artifacts, he said. Furthermore, the FBI has more than 25 employees working on the identification and analysis of documents seized by the military in Iraq, Mueller said. The bureau's purpose is to identify any future terrorist threats or links to Iraqi intelligence service activities, he said. Mueller said the FBI and also the CIA and the Department of Defense are going through the documents as soon as they are received and "taking whatever action is necessary to follow up on any lead that may come out of those documents: whether it be a telephone number or an address or some other item of information in the United States or around the world, that ... may help us to prevent another terrorist attack." (The Washington File is a product of the Office of International Information Programs, U.S. Department of State. Web site: http://usinfo.state.gov)
|
NEWSLETTER
|
| Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list |
|
|
|
