FBI Said Conducting Intelligence Abroad34 minutes ago
White House - AP Cabinet & State
By KATHERINE SHRADER and MARK SHERMAN, Associated Press Writers
WASHINGTON - The FBI (news - web sites) is conducting intelligence operations abroad without notifying colleagues at the CIA (news - web sites) and State Department, current and former government officials say.
Intelligence veterans say coordination is crucial, ensuring that the ambassador and CIA station chief in a given country can organize U.S. government activities and prevent diplomatic blunders or conflicting intelligence missions.
FBI officials acknowledge there have been some instances when agents failed to notify the CIA about their activities, but consider the cases anomalies. Intelligence officials see the communication problems as potentially significant.
CIA and FBI officials, none of whom would speak on the record for this report, declined to say where the breakdowns have occurred. But a former intelligence official with knowledge of the situation said problems have arisen in Germany and elsewhere. The former official spoke only on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the issue.
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In addition, the FBI is expanding its legal attache program, now operating in 52 foreign countries. The attaches' primary role is to foster cooperation with foreign counterparts in support of the FBI's domestic law enforcement mission.
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Officials are considering ways to avoid duplication domestically, particularly as the CIA and the FBI approach foreigners in the United States. One concern is that the agencies could gather information from the same source, giving the appearance that the agencies have corroborating information.
So, that means we now have 1) CIA 2) FBI 3) Rumsfeld's Pentagon spies all operating here and there and everywhere. No doubt they'll be able to get over egos and such and coordinate perfectly.
― Kingfish MuffMiner 2049er (Kingfish), Tuesday, 15 February 2005 15:17 (twenty years ago)