FBI’s Primary Focus is Now National Security

Since 9/11, the FBI has been steadily shifting into the world of counterterrorism, but it wasn’t until last summer that the agency made it official on one of their fact sheets, changing their primary focus from law enforcement to national security.

Obviously, the FBI has always been a part of national security, but its primary purpose has been interpreted as enforcing the laws of America; however, with their “re-branding” and new mission statement, looks like the FBI will be securing a broad range of threats against the nation.

FBI spokesman Paul Bresson told Foreign Policy, “We rank our top 10 priorities and CT [counterterrorism] is first, counterintel is second, cyber is third. So, it is certainly accurate to say our primary function is national security.”

Honestly, I’m ok with the FBI switching its primary focus, but what’s puzzling, at least in my opinion, is the timing of this change. I wonder what happened during 2013 to make this agency decide that now is the time to shift away from law enforcement officially and embrace national security. Yet, I think what puzzles me even more is the fact that the media didn’t start reporting on this until early January 2014, based on my Google research. In fact, it wasn’t until after Kel McClanahan, a Washington-based national security lawyer, noticed the change during December 2013 and brought his knowledge to the media.

So, readers, what are your thoughts on the FBI shifting its focus? Are you for it or against it?

Why do you think it took so long for the media to report on this change?

What about the NSA? Why wasn’t it enough to have the NSA focused on national security? Do you think the NSA and the FBI will now work together to enhance national security or will they be “at each other’s throats”?

As always, I look forward to your comments, thoughts and opinions. Let's discuss!

(Image courtesy of Foreign Policy.)