The pre-op surveillance portion of it where they have a chance of getting caught It’s limited now because they can do all that on the Internet, which limits our ability to disrupt them during the pre-op surveillance. They can get it through Google, through Earthnet. Where to purchase them from, how to get them, how to test them, what works best. But because of the advantages of the Internet, they may be able to share recipes When I talk about recipes, how to make bombs, what components to use. They may have limited travel or not traveled at all overseas. They go on the Internet and they go on websites, they’re radicalized through these websites. What concerns me are individuals living here who have the ability to utilize the Internet. We work with our partners in Europe and they are also on the radar for this terrorist activity, but we know when they talk about the west it’s the U.S. Have you seen any difference in terms of the focus, some of the intel showing terrorists focusing more on Europe or the U.S.? We have to cull through all that intelligence to see what is affecting the homeland and what is about to affect American interests or citizens over there. Whatever happens over there, whatever is developing over there intel wise, that has an impact on us here. We’re responsible for the Middle East, Afghanistan and Iraq. We get an intel brief from our analyst who sits at the table and tells us what’s happening not only here in our area of responsibility, but in the Middle East. I look at all the intelligence reports, then the SACs (special agents in charge) go for a morning briefing about 8 o’clock. My day for example starts out, I come in, I look at all the intel cables that are coming in. We’re part of the intelligence community. What we’re doing now is we’re using intel, we’re sharing information, we’re digging to prevent, to detect, to dismantle these organizations. If we’re responding we’ve messed up that part of our job. How we’ve come along, is we prevent events from happening. What I’ve seen the bureau do is not just to respond to an event. It’s a perfect venue to share information, to share intelligence. And when I came back three or four years later, we still had 34 which told me any agency that was in the Capital region that could bring something to the fight, we had on the JTTF. When I left in 2005, we had 34 agencies on board. When I started with the Joint Terrorism Task Force (JTTF) with the Washington Field Office, we only had 9 agencies on board the task force. How do you see the bureau evolving since 9/11? Does it seems like a different FBI than it was than in 2001? You’ve been dealing with terrorism for along time. The questions have been edited for clarity. The following is a condensed version of the conversation. He has twice filled in as acting head of the field office. cop was named special agent in charge of the Counterterrorism Branch at the Washington Field Office. In 2005, he spent a half year in Iraq as the FBI’s on-scene commander before returning home to headquarters to become section chief of the Weapons of Mass Destruction/Domestic Terrorism Operations Section. He was supervisor of the Washington Field Office’s Joint Terrorism Task Force and then assistant special agent in charge. Perren is no stranger to counterterrorism. What’s to say they can’t be contacted by some terrorist organization who wants to use those human trafficking lanes to bring in operatives, to bring in people under the radar?” You have human traffic lanes already established. “What concerns me is the infrastructure that’s already in place at the Mexican border. He also expressed concerns about the potential links between terrorists and drug and human traffickers in Mexico. 11, about the challenges the Internet has posed for terrorism investigations and the dedication he expects from his agents who work the endless leads and reports of suspicious activities that flow into the office. Perren, special agent in charge of the Counterterrorism Branch, talked to editor Allan Lengel about lessons learned since Sept. WASHINGTON - Earlier this month, on the 5th floor of the FBI’s Washington Field Office, in the shadow the nation’s Capitol, John G.
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