The Washington Post
WASHINGTON – Attorney General John Ashcroft Thursday announced a sweeping “wartime reorganization and mobilization” of the Justice Department, declaring that the primary mission of federal prosecutors, FBI agents and immigration officers must become thwarting future terrorist strikes.
Ashcroft, addressing about 300 top managers at departmental headquarters, signaled that Justice will abandon or reduce manpower devoted to many of its current responsibilities, which range from civil rights enforcement to prosecuting environmental polluters. Though he provided no details, the plan could include fewer FBI agents devoted to local investigations such as undercover drug operations, several officials said. The department may scale back grant programs to save money, they said.
“When terrorism threatens our future, we cannot afford to live in the past,” Ashcroft said. “We must focus on our core mission and responsibilities, understanding that the department will not be all things to all people. We cannot do everything we once did, because lives now depend on us doing a few things very well.”
Ashcroft plans to devote 10 percent of the Justice Department’s $25 billion annual budget to counterterrorism efforts, including a speedier overhaul of the FBI’s antiquated computer system, officials said. Less than $1 billion is currently dedicated to terrorism programs, one official said.
In addition, about 10 percent of the employee positions in the Washington headquarters of Justice, the FBI and other agencies will be transferred to field offices around the country as part of a five-year restructuring plan, officials said. Previously planned reforms of the FBI and the Immigration and Naturalization Service will proceed with a new emphasis on counterterrorism, officials said.
Ashcroft said the restructuring is aimed at “rebuilding and remaking” the 125,000-employee department into a highly focused anti-terror force. Congress, which will be required to approve key portions of the restructuring plan, has already granted the FBI, CIA and other agencies sweeping new surveillance and detention powers in the wake of Sept. 11.
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