Sunday, January 15, 2006

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How public corruption and 9/11 are linked

Timothy J. Burger has a short item in Time on why the FBI has had such success in recent years at nailing high-profile public corruption targets, such as Jack Abramoff. Turns out that 9/11 had something to do with it, in a roundabout sort of way:

Since 2002, the FBI has engineered a surge of more than 40% in public-corruption indictments, with 2,233 cases pending nationwide, compared with 1,575 four years ago.

Much of that increase stems, strangely, from 9/11. As the FBI turned more of its attention and manpower to counterterrorism, the bureau handed off most of its drug-related inquiries to the Drug Enforcement Administration. Since only some of the former drug agents were moved to the counterterrorism division, the shift in focus freed up 200 additional agents to combat public corruption, says special agent Chris Swecker, the criminal-division chief. By 2003, senior FBI officials were fanning out to field offices across the U.S. to drive home the point that public corruption was now the criminal division's No. 1 priority.

posted by Dan on 01.15.06 at 10:34 PM




Comments:

Basil Liddel-Hart "The Strategy of the Indirect Approach"

Meanwhile, in Australia, Prime Minister John Howard risked his political career to ban many private firearms.

This "shift in focus" freed up many "additional agents".

Leadership?

posted by: Thomas Esmond Knox on 01.15.06 at 10:34 PM [permalink]



Or it could be that it's one of the biggest scandals we've ever seen in washington and you'd have to be deaf, dumb and blind to miss it.

posted by: Hal on 01.15.06 at 10:34 PM [permalink]



It coule also be that there was more corruption to find.

posted by: spencer on 01.15.06 at 10:34 PM [permalink]






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