The FBI's Domestic Counterterrorism Program
The FBI's Domestic Counterterrorism Program
April 26, 1995
Recent news commentary has suggested that the FBI is hamstrung in its
efforts to combat domestic terrorism. One former FBI official was quoted as
saying that "you have to wait until you have blood on the street before the
Bureau can act." Steven Emerson has asserted that the FBI is severely
restricted in infiltrating known extremist groups, that it has no terrorism
data base like the CIA's, and that it is powerless to stop extremist groups
from masquerading as "religious" groups.
All of these claims are incorrect. Persons concerned about addressing the
threat of terrorism need to begin with a clear understanding of current FBI
capabilities, which are in fact broad.
Attorney General Guidelines
The FBI currently operates under a set of guidelines issued in 1983 by
Ronald Reagan's Attorney General, William French Smith. The Smith guidelines
were a modification of guidelines issued by Gerald Ford's Attorney General
Edward Levi in 1976. The Levi guidelines were criticized as being too
restrictive and cumbersome. Indeed, many of the criticisms of the current
guidelines are really the same criticisms lodged against the Levi
guidelines, which the Smith guidelines were intended to rectify.
The Smith guidelines make it absolutely clear that the FBI does not have to
wait for blood in the streets before it can investigate a terrorist group.
The guidelines expressly state: "In its efforts to anticipate or prevent
crimes, the FBI must at times initiate investigations in advance of criminal
conduct."
The threshold for opening a full investigation is low: a domestic
security/terrorism investigation may be opened whenever "facts or
circumstances reasonably indicate that two or more persons are engaged in an
enterprise for the purpose of furthering political or social goals wholly or
in part through activities that involve force or violence and a violation of
the criminal laws of the United States."
Indeed, the FBI is also authorized to open a preliminary inquiry on an even
lower threshold: The Bureau can begin investigating when it receives any
information or allegation "whose responsible handling requires some further
scrutiny." Preliminary inquiries can be conducted without headquarters
approval for 90 days, during which the FBI can conduct interviews, contact
confidential sources and previously established informants, and carry out
physical surveillance. Preliminary inquiries can be extended with
Headquarters approval.
Advocacy
One of the main purposes of the Smith guidelines was to make it clear that
the FBI could open an investigation based on advocacy of violence. While
urging respect for the First Amendment, the guidelines state: "When,
however, statements advocate criminal activity or indicate an apparent
intent to engage in crime, particularly crimes of violence, an investigation
under these guidelines may be warranted ... ."
How do the Guidelines work in practice?
In any given year, the FBI engages in approximately two dozen full domestic
terrorism investigations. Over the years since the Smith guidelines were
adopted, nearly two thirds of these full investigations were opened before a
crime had been committed. The FBI has investigated right-wing,
anti-government, anti-tax, paramilitary and militia groups under this
authority. The FBI's characterization of White American Resistance (WAR) is
typical: After opening a domestic terrorism investigation of WAR, the FBI
stated "No known acts of violence have as yet been attributed to WAR;
however, leaders of the group have been encouraging members to arm
themselves."
The FBI has been successful in preventing terrorist crimes before they
occurred. In 1993, for example, the FBI arrested several skinheads in Los
Angeles after a lengthy investigation determined that they has been
discussing and planning attacks on a black church, Jewish targets and other
religious targets.
Calling something a church or a religious organization does not immunize it
from investigation. In fact, a number of the white supremacist groups
investigated by the FBI had assumed a religious mantle, under the "Christian
Identity" philosophy. The FBI investigated under the terrorism guidelines
the Yahweh Church, a militant black group in Miami, and other religious
groups.
Nothing in law or logic prohibits the FBI from opening investigations based
on public source material or reports from private civil rights groups like
the Southern Poverty Law Center. The FBI opens investigations based on any
credible source, including news reports. For example, the FBI opened a civil
rights investigation into the Rodney King case as soon as officials saw the
broadcast of the videotape. And the Justice Department has met with abortion
rights activists to solicit information about groups that may be planning
attacks on abortion clinics.
Terrorist Information System
The FBI has a state of the art, on-line computer database known as the
Terrorist Information System containing information on suspected terrorist
groups and individuals. The system has over 200,000 individuals and over
3000 organizations or enterprises. The individuals indexed include not only
subjects of investigations but also known or suspected members of terrorist
groups, associates, contacts, victims and witnesses. The organizations or
enterprises include not only terrorist groups but also affiliated
organizations or enterprises. TIS allows the FBI to rapidly retrieve
information and to make links between persons, groups or events.
Issues to Be Considered
There appears to be a growing problem of disaffected loners who cut
themselves off from all groups. An increased effort to monitor
anti-government groups is unlikely to identify these loners, who may pose
the greatest threat. In this context, the enterprise concept that serves as
the basis of the Smith guidelines -- and that serves as the basis for calls
for greater infiltration of groups -- may be irrelevant.
CENTER FOR NATIONAL SECURITY STUDIES
Gelman Library, Suite 701
2130 H Street, NW
Washington, DC 20037
tel: (202) 994-7060
fax: (202) 994-7005
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