Monday, January 6, 2014

Law Enforcement Is No Longer The FBI's 'Primary' Mission


FBI Drops Law Enforcement As 'Primary' Mission -- John Hudson, Foreign Policy

The FBI's creeping advance into the world of counterterrorism is nothing new. But quietly and without notice, the agency has finally decided to make it official in one of its organizational fact sheets. Instead of declaring "law enforcement" as its "primary function," as it has for years, the FBI fact sheet now lists "national security" as its chief mission. The changes largely reflect the FBI reforms put in place after September 11, 2001, which some have criticized for de-prioritizing law enforcement activities. Regardless, with the 9/11 attacks more than a decade in the past, the timing of the edits is baffling some FBI-watchers.

"What happened in the last year that changed?" asked Kel McClanahan, a Washington-based national security lawyer.

McClanahan noticed the change last month while reviewing a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request from the agency. The FBI fact sheet accompanies every FOIA response and highlights a variety of facts about the agency. After noticing the change, McClanahan reviewed his records and saw that the revised fact sheets began going out this summer. "I think they're trying to rebrand," he said. "So many good things happen to your agency when you tie it to national security."

Read more ....

The FBI Changes It's "Primary Mission"

The primary function of the FBI is national security: Agency drops 'law enforcement' as top priority from its mission statement -- Daily Mail
The FBI drops 'law enforcement' from its mission statement -- The Verge
FBI Quietly Drops 'Law Enforcement' as Primary Mission -- Politix
The FBI Just Edited Its Mission Statement ... and Took Out One Big Thing -- Policymic
FBI Admits It's Not Really About Law Enforcement Any More; Ignores Lots Of Crimes To Focus On Creating Fake Terror Plots -- Techdirt

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