http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,357025,00.html
FBI Whistleblower Says Bureau Is 'Ill-Equipped' to Fight Terrorism
Wednesday, May 21, 2008
WA****NGTON — The FBI’s counterterrorism program cannot adequately
protect the nation against another attack by Middle Eastern
terrorists, a high-ranking FBI official and recognized whistleblower
claimed Wednesday in a rare appearance on Capitol Hill.
Bassem Youssef, in oral and written testimony, decried what he saw as
major deficiencies in his own bureau’s counterterrorism operations.
He accused the FBI of needlessly violating the civil liberties of
thousands of Americans, misidentifying threats against the United
States and repeatedly making “sloppy mistakes."
“My greatest goal is to get the message across that the FBI
counterterror division is ill-equipped to handle the terrorism
problems we’re facing,” he said before the House Judiciary
Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism and Homeland Security.
Youssef also matter-of-factly declared that the bureau's counterterror
operations, including the prestigious International Terrorism
Operations Centers, are not adequately staffed. He said many of those
who do fill positions in these units have no familiarity with the
basics of counterterror investigations, the Arabic language or the
cultural nuances of the Middle East they must comprehend in order to
be effective.
Supervisor positions in those centers, which cover units that track Al
Qaeda, are staffed at only 62 percent of the federally mandated level,
he said.
Youssef, currently the chief of the FBI's Communications Analysis
Unit, is a known bureau whistleblower whose past statements — and
alleged bureau retaliation against him — have triggered investigation
by the Department of Justice.
He again ran the risk of backlash Wednesday and expressed some anxiety
at the start of his testimony.
"Regardless of what happens to me when I walk into the Hoover building
tomorrow, (these concerns) are what I wanted to get across," Youssef
told the subcommittee.
The sparsely attended meeting included an appearance at the witness
table by Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, a longtime FBI critic and
advocate of government whistleblowers.
Grassley spoke in sup****t of Youssef and other FBI dissidents, saying,
"Underneath all of the good things (in) the FBI, unfortunately, there
is a history of abuse, mismanagement and retaliation so strong that it
has become part of its organization culture.
"Only a brave few dare to speak out. … When they do speak out, they
usually suffer retaliation," he said.
Indeed, Youssef’s testimony Wednesday rattled those on the inside.
FBI Assistant Director John Miller said in a statement Wednesday that
the bureau was working hard to staff positions and hire more
Arabic-speaking agents, and he warned against reading too much into
employee *****sments that are “limited in scope.”
“During those years (since the Sept. 11 attacks) … we have disrupted
several terrorist plots across the country,” Miller said. “As the men
and women of the FBI have accomplished these goals, the threat picture
as well as the capability of our adversaries has constantly ****fted.
We have had to continually develop and ****ft our strategies to meet
those changes.
“It is cynical to write off the work of so many dedicated FBI
employees or the accomplishments of the bureau by suggesting that
these efforts are failing, especially when they are not.”
And raising eyebrows, Youssef was being aided by a Wa****ngton, D.C.,
public relations firm that appears to have accounts with one or more
organizations representing government whistleblowers.
But despite the FBI’s historic disdain for tattletales, sources said
Youssef is still widely respected by his colleagues and holds
considerable power in the bureau.
He has a long history inside the bureau's counterterrorism structure.
According to his biography on the National Whistleblower Center Web
site, he administers two warrantless search programs created under the
Patriot Act.
Youssef spent time Wednesday criticizing the terrorism operations
centers for being “inexcusably understaffed” and filling the gaps with
underqualified applicants.
To bolster this assertion, Youssef read aloud the text of two internal
FBI e-mails about bureau efforts to fill critical counterterror
positions.
One, from April of 2007, revealed that several supervisory agents
specializing in training were to be pulled out of the FBI academy in
Quantico, Va., and reassigned to counterterror duty. The other, dated
March of this year, sought volunteers to fill critical open positions
in the counterterror sections.
"But if you talk to counterterrorism executives, they will say they
are doing a phenomenal job, " Youssef said. He did not pass out paper
copies of the e-mails.
In written testimony, Youssef said the FBI has been unable to
adequately hire and train agents fluent in Arabic — or at least
knowledgeable about the Middle East and counterterrorism — because of
deep-seated discriminatory practices and an ongoing policy that does
not reward skills.
Youssef spoke of problems he encountered at the FBI after the Sept. 11
attacks, when he sought work in counterterrorism but was refused
because of "confusion" over his name and background.
Youssef recommended a full and independent review of FBI
counterterrorism operations by "persons with unquestionable expertise
in Middle East terrorism."
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