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Attorney General John Ashcroft spoke today to an "Anti-Terrorism
Coordinators Conference" organized by the Executive Office for United
States Attorneys (http://www.usdoj.gov/usao/eousa/).
An excerpt from Ashcroft's prepared remarks:
>Today I am issuing a second directive to provide training to federal,
>state and local law enforcement in the use of all available resources in
>the war on terrorism, including training on foreign intelligence, how to
>identify it and with whom to share it... In addition to these fundamental
>changes, I am establishing a National Law Enforcement Coordinating
>Committee on Counter-Terrorism.
I obtained this transcript and the earlier Politech message from the
Justice Department:
"USA PATRIOT opens CIA, NSA, intelligence databases to police"
http://www.politechbot.com/p-02787.html
Also see:
"Three DOJ documents: Wiretapping, searches, computer seizures"
http://www.politechbot.com/p-02782.html
-Declan
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Prepared Remarks of Attorney General John Ashcroft
(NOTE: The Attorney General often deviates from Prepared Remarks)
Anti-Terrorism Conference
November 13, 2001
It is a pleasure to have this opportunity to address you today. I
want to begin by doing something that doesn't get done often enough and
that is to thank you for your hard work, particularly in these past
weeks. I thank not just you but your families as well. Some of the
greatest burdens of public service are bourne by the husbands, wives,
children and parents we leave behind each day. Our family members too have
sacrificed, and they, too are deserving of our thanks and gratitude.
This has been a difficult time for our nation, a time that has
dramatically tested the strength, spirit and resolve of all
Americans. For two months America has been keenly aware of the new and
continuing threat of terrorism.
For two months we have endured the video-taped tauntings of Osama
Bin Laden.
For two months, Americans have had their lives disrupted. Law
enforcement has had to work overtime. But throughout dozens of warnings,
a deliberate campaign of terrorist disruption, and tighter security around
potential targets, America has only grown stronger.
Americans have made difficult adjustments, and so too have the men
and women of justice and law enforcement.
The attacks of September 11 have redefined the mission of the
Department of Justice. Defending our nation and its citizens against
terrorist attacks is now our first and overriding priority.
We are engaged in an aggressive arrest and detention campaign of
law breakers with a single objective: to get terrorists off the street
before they can harm more Americans. We have modeled our tactics after a
previous Justice Department, fighting a different threat to the nation.
The Justice Department of Robert F. Kennedy, it was said, would
arrest a mobster for "spitting on the sidewalk" if it would help in the
fight against organized crime. In the war on terror, it is the policy of
this Department of Justice to be equally aggressive in protecting
Americans. We will arrest and detain any suspected terrorist who has
violated the law. Our efforts, in all cases, will be conducted with full
respect for the rights and freedoms of all Americans. But make no
mistake: terrorists who are in violation of the law will be convicted, in
some cases deported, and in all cases prevented from doing further harm to
Americans.
Last week I announced a sweeping wartime reorganization of the
Department of Justice that places a high priority on cooperation and
coordination between Washington and state and local prosecutors and law
enforcement. Our plan calls for re-focusing on our core mission and
responsibilities with the understanding that the Department will not be all
things to all people. We cannot do everything we once did because lives
now depend on us doing a few things very well.
We will re-focus our resources on front-line positions. The war
on terrorism will be fought not in Washington but in the field, by agents,
prosecutors, investigators and analysts. Our long-term goal is to transfer
10 percent of current headquarters-based positions to the field offices
where citizens are served and protected.
Our new mission requires not just a new structure but a new
approach to our jobs. In evaluating the merits of a prosecution, Assistant
United States Attorneys must consider more than the scale of the case but
the likelihood that the prosecution may disrupt and dismantle terrorist
networks. In the changed world in which we now live, a seemingly routine
prosecution of an immigration violation may be much more important than a
million-dollar fraud case, because the immigration prosecution or minor
identity theft case may remove a terrorist operative from our community.
It is critical that we begin to view our responsibilities as
justice officials in the fight against terrorism from the standpoint of the
culture as a whole, not just the individual case at hand. Individuals who
perpetrate anthrax hoaxes, for instance, have committed serious violations
of the law and must be charged and prosecuted accordingly.
Perpetrators of these crimes often claim that they are meant to be
"just between friends." But the fact is, anthrax hoaxes do not long remain
"just between friends." They involve serious diversions of resources from
already taxed police, FBI and emergency response systems. The cost to the
taxpayers from this waste of time and energy runs into the tens of
thousands of dollars per incident. As prosecutors, you wouldn't view the
theft of thirty thousand dollars from the U.S. Treasury as a harmless
joke. Terrorist hoaxes aren't harmless jokes either. They're costly,
serious offenses that demand a serious response.
As you know, on September 17th, I directed each United
States Attorney's Office to establish Anti-Terrorism Task Forces that
bring together federal and state and local anti-terrorism officials. These
Anti-Terrorism Task Forces serve three distinct purposes:
- first, to gather information from and disseminate
information to federal, state, and local agencies;
- second, to use swiftly and intelligently such information
to prevent future attacks from occurring;
- and, third, to ensure an efficient, effective, and
coordinated response to any future terrorist incident in a particular district.
To those of you who have been selected as Anti-Terrorism
Coordinators for your Districts, I congratulate you. You have been
entrusted with a great responsibility. Remember that the experience,
determination, and professionalism you bring to this job are lessons and
examples for those who work with you and look to you for leadership.
Task Force Coordinators will be responsible for ensuring that
federal, state, and local law enforcement are communicating regularly
regarding potential terrorist activity. You will be responsible, as well,
for insuring that the information highway is not a one-way street. Just as
federal officials must have access to information collected at the state
and local level, Task Force members from state and local police must have
access to appropriate information available to federal agencies.
The battle against terrorism will require an unprecedented level
of cooperation among all members of the law enforcement community and
beyond. As I have said before, I want to emphasize again today how
crucial it is that we share with the necessary federal or state agencies,
as soon as possible, any information that exposes a credible threat to the
public or national security - even though this may hinder a criminal
investigation. Prevention of terrorist attacks - even at the expense of
prosecution - must be our priority.
To facilitate this communication, today I am issuing a directive
to all United States Attorneys mandating that they begin immediately to
develop communications protocols for sharing information with state and
local leaders. Each district is to designate a Chief Information Officer
to serve on its Anti-Terrorism Task Force. This officer will consult with
state and local officials on how best to disseminate information within the
district. Based on these suggestions, and by December 1 of this year, each
district will develop communications protocols for sharing information with
state and local leaders on the Anti-terrorism Task Forces, as well as
chiefs of police and elected officials who may not be members of the Task
Force in their district.
Effective communication is vital because the Task Forces will be
one of the primary vehicles through which we call upon the assistance of
our state and local partners. As you know, I have just directed the Task
Forces to coordinate the interviews of individuals who we believe may have
information helpful to our investigative or prevention efforts. By
necessity, many, if not most, of these interviews will be conducted by
members of state and local law enforcement. Task Force Coordinators will
be responsible for collecting interview reports so that the information
they contain may be thoroughly analyzed. We recognize that this will be a
time-consuming and complicated task, but it is critical that we expand our
knowledge of terrorist networks operating within the United States. This
intelligence gathering initiative only serves to underscore the obvious:
September 11th changed us and changed the way we do our jobs.
The Department has worked and will continue to work with Congress
to obtain the additional tools we need to fight effectively against
terrorism. The recently passed anti-terrorism legislation-the USA Patriot
Act of 2001-- accomplished much to improve the effectiveness of law
enforcement's efforts to intercept and stop terrorists.
In particular, the new law gives us an expanded ability to share
information between and within the law enforcement and intelligence
communities. Our ability to share information is only as good as our
capacity to identify useful intelligence. Therefore, today I am issuing a
second directive to provide training to federal, state and local law
enforcement in the use of all available resources in the war on terrorism,
including training on foreign intelligence, how to identify it and with
whom to share it. No later than January 31, 2001, a training session
shall be convened for Anti-Terrorism Coordinators and Task Force members,
including state and local members. Another training session will be
conducted for chiefs of police and state and local trainers, regardless of
whether or not they are members of the district's Anti-terrorism Task Force.
In addition to these fundamental changes, I am establishing a
National Law Enforcement Coordinating Committee on Counter-Terrorism. The
purpose of the coordinating committee will be to provide the Attorney
General with recommendations on how to facilitate better cooperation and
communication between all levels of law enforcement in the war on
terrorism. This enhanced coordination will center around three key areas:
organization, information and equipment and training.
I am asking for an action plan to be developed by this committee
to provide me with recommendations on how the Department can better
facilitate and promote cooperation between federal, state and local law
enforcement. Due to the high priority the Department places on disrupting
terrorist activity, I am requesting that this report be submitted within
six months of the committee's inception.
I also am directing that 9.3 million dollars be made available to
support state and local participation in the Anti-Terrorism Task
Forces. This approximately $100,000 per Task Force should be used as seed
money to help our state and local partners meet the emerging communication
and information sharing demands placed upon them. This money could be
used, for example, to pay for an intelligence analyst or communications
equipment. Additional state and local funding is also available through
existing Department of Justice grants-and you should encourage members of
your Task Forces to apply for that funding where needed. I've asked
Deborah Daniels, Assistant Attorney General for the Office of Justice
Programs, to make these requests by U.S. Attorneys a priority.
I know how valuable your time is during this challenging and
turbulent period, and I thank you for taking the time to be here today. I
hope you will return to your districts with the additional guidance and
direction that you need to continue your extraordinary efforts to combat
terrorism. I recognize that the work we are asking you to do, when added
to the duties that already burden U. S. Attorney's Offices, has required
great sacrifices from you, your families and the members of your staff.
At the conclusion of World War II came the reckoning at
Nuremberg. Former Attorney General and Supreme Court Justice Robert
Jackson led the prosecution of 21 Nazi defendants for crimes against their
countrymen, against their neighbors, and indeed crimes against
humanity. All pleaded not guilty. Some claimed that they were merely
following orders. Others disputed the jurisdiction of the court. But
Jackson successfully argued their guilt with a sense of urgency borne of a
civilization threatened by a new force for evil.
"The wrongs which we seek to condemn and punish have been so
calculated, so malignant and so devastating," said Jackson, "that
civilization cannot tolerate their being ignored because it cannot survive
their being repeated."
It is now as it was then. A calculated, malignant and devastating
evil has arisen in our world. Civilization cannot ignore the wrongs that
have been done. America will not tolerate their being repeated.
Justice has a new mission, a new calling against an old evil.
Thank you for your hard work. Thank you for your leadership. God bless
the United States of America.
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