FBI Director James Comey in Mobile visit: 'There will be a terrorism diaspora' PrintBy Brendan Kirby |December 03, 2014 at 1:55 AM
0 Reddit [image: James Comey.jpg] View full size FBI Director James Comey, flanked by federal and local law enforcement officials, talks to reporters on Wednesday, Dec. 2, 2014, in Mobile, Ala. (Brendan Kirby/[email protected]) MOBILE, Alabama --- Stopping by the FBI field office here Tuesday - his 54th of 56 in the country - Director James Comey talked about the transformation of the terrorism threat facing America and how agents across the country are confronting it. In a wide-ranging news conference with local reporters, Comey also talked about a local kidnapping case, the war on drugs and how to balance public safety with privacy concerns. Comey said that when he took office 18 months ago, he discovered a "transformed terrorism threat" compared with his last stint in government in 2005 as deputy attorney general. He compared al-Quaida since the death of Osama bin Laden to fighting cancer. "We've shrunk the tumor dramatically, but at the same time, we've seen metastasization," he said, referring to smaller extremist groups that have spread to ungoverned or lightly governed global hot spots. Comey said he has been touring the bureau's field offices to find out what his agents need. He visited Birmingham in January. Comey said one of the biggest challenges facing the bureau is the increasing number of Americans drawn abroad to terrorist groups like the Islamic State in Syria and Iraq. He said people from all walks of life, ranging in age from 18 to 63, have taken up the jihadist cause. The Mobile area has made its own contribution to the phenomenon. Omar Hammami, who grew up in Daphne, went to the African nation of Somalia to fight for a Islamic group called al-Shabaab before his death last year. "Their going there is worrisome," he said. "Their coming back some day is more worrisome. There will be a terrorism diaspora." Comey said the bureau has to remain nimble because in the Internet era, "The threat moves at the speed of light." The first sign of a terrorist threat in Mobile likely will not be spotted by an FBI agent, Comey acknowledged. More likely, he said, a local police officer or sheriff's deputy will be in position to respond. Flanked by an array of local law enforcement officials from throughout the region, Comey said, "The relationship represented here is vital." Because counter-terrorism in the bureau's No. 1 priority, Comey said, every field office in the country has a Joint Terrorism Task Force made up of federal agents and local law officers. "It is nobody's part-time job in Mobile or anywhere else," he said. Comey said that the feedback he got Tuesday from law enforcement officials is that the federal-local partnership is strong. "I'm pleased to report that this is a fired-up law enforcement community," he said, adding that the cooperation is "something, frankly, I'd like to bottle and spread." Mobile police Chief James Barber agreed. In an interview after Comey's remarks, he said his officers and the FBI have daily interaction at the "soldier" level, as well as frequent contacts at the manager level. "Probably the Southern District of Alabama has one of the strongest inter-agency relationships," he said. The other piece of the puzzle, Comey said, is the public. He said a review of every homegrown terrorism incident in the last 15 years indicated that in nearly every case, someone saw or heard something that could have prevented it. He said it is important that people report anything that seems suspicious and put aside worries that it might unfairly get someone in trouble. Investigators will work discreetly and not needlessly harm someone, he said. "They tend to convince themselves that what they saw was innocent," he said. "My answer is, 'Yeah, maybe it is.'" Comey covered a number of other topics, including: Privacy concerns. He said he respects privacy but added that the push-back by cell phone providers and other tech companies has led to a situation where federal agents with court orders have been thwarted because the firms will not or cannot provide the information sought. As a society, he said, that might be an acceptable trade-off. But he added, "I wouldn't want to go there by accident." The kidnapping of Hiawayi Robinson. "It's a case I'm familiar with. I've been briefed on it in Washington," he said. He said he understands public frustration surrounding a lack of information about the probe into the 8-year-old Prichard girl's death. He said there are good reasons for the secrecy. "We do not ever want to smear the innocent. ... As important, we don't want the bad guys to know we're coming." The change in federal sentencing rules in drug cases. As a former prosecutor, Comey said he has been curious about the effect of the recent trend rolling back long prison sentences for many drug offenders and whether it has made it harder to investigate narcotics cases without the threat of long prison terms to hang over defendants. "I have not seen an impact," he said, in either his own agency of the Drug Enforcement Administration. "I've asked about it all around the country." Public corruption. Holding public officials accountable for misdeeds remains a priority, Comey said. Whenever someone claims his community does not have public corruption, he said, he responds, "That's great. You must not have people holding public office here." In his appearance in Mobile, Comey combined a thorough command of facts with a sharp wit. In talking about the agency's tech-savvy, he said, "We are very cool. 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