FOXNews.com - White House Wades Into Terror Intel Dispute Between FBI, Homeland Security
Over 30 years ago when I joined the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), narcotics work was done in much the same fashion as the FBI does its' terrorism investigations. The standard procedure was to keep all your cards close to your chest so that no one but your partner and your supervisor knew what you were doing until the last possible minute. The rationale for this was, of course, that we couldn't be sure who to trust because of the amount of corruption that narcotics investigations engendered.
The real reason, of course, was that we didn't want someone else jumping in and arresting the target that we were working on. By "someone" we meant the FBI, U.S. Customs, State and Local law enforcement and even our fellow DEA agents. Secrecy was important more because we wanted to advance our own careers and ensure that DEA got the credit than because of the specter of corruption or the possibility that information might accidentally get back to a target.
As DEA matured as an agency, and we as the operators on the ground, we were faced with an amazing revelation: We made better, larger and more sophisticated cases when we were cooperating with other agencies. That’s not to say that there were some really excellent cases made that were purely DEA for there were. But by cooperation we were able to bring in more pieces of the puzzle and operate more effectively. By the time I left DEA, cooperation was the hallmark of the agency. Working in and leading Task Force operations was the most cost efficient and effective way to do drug investigations. I know because I led a combined Federal, State and Local Task Force in the late 80’s in Laredo, Texas. It was highly effective because all information was shared fully and completely.
The FBI, while a mature and reasonably effective agency, has always jealously guarded its’ investigations just as DEA did in the early years. They have never changed because the FBI’s culture is one of the strongest of all law enforcement agencies when it comes to its’ opinion of itself. Therein lies the problem and they are unlikely to change because their culture prevents them from totally trusting other law enforcement agencies and sharing information openly. The only way they will change is if they are dragged, kicking and screaming, into the arena of information sharing and made to stay there.
It won’t be an easy process but it is a necessary one. The FBI needs to realize that they are not the only cops on the block and accept that other agencies can do the job as well and sometimes even better. To fight terrorism effectively we must share the information across the board. It worked in narcotics investigations. It will work in terrorism investigations.
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