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“I tend to be impatient.”
- Robert S. Mueller, quoted by Time magazine
To call it baptism by fire would be an understatement. Barely a week had passed after Robert Mueller took over as the FBI chief when 9/11 terror struck. The catastrophic event sent shockwaves across the country, triggering a backlash against the massive intelligence failure that had let the American nation down. The onus was on the new incumbent to ensure that such a thing would never happen again on the soil of the world’s only superpower.
And thus far Mueller has succeeded. In the process, he has also changed the face of the FBI from a crime-fighting agency to a counterterrorism watchdog. National security now tops the FBI’s agenda, which also prompted President Obama to grant him a two-year extension recently, a rare honor in the century-old history of the organization.
To the uninitiated, the Federal Bureau of Investigation may look like a strange animal. Guided by its motto, “Fidelity, Bravery, and Integrity,” the agency has not only been entrusted with domestic law enforcement tasks such as fighting bank fraud, kidnapping, and organized crime, but also the bigger role of gathering intelligence about terror outfits and spy networks.
In fact, the agency’s all-encompassing mandate had come under criticism from U.S. lawmakers who pointed out the example of the U.K. where the counter-intelligence agency MI5 and the law enforcement wing Scotland Yard function as two separate entities. In fact, close on the heels of the Sept. 11 terror attack, there was a move to split the agency into two wings, one to deal with intelligence and the other to take care of criminal investigations.
Realizing the gravity of the situation, Mueller got down to the task at hand in quick time. He let go of the old guard and hired almost half of the agency’s present workforce, changing an organization known more for its blue collar culture that valued physical courage, rather than for its intelligence-gathering skills. Post 9/11, almost all security agencies in the U.S. had come under fire, including the Central Intelligence Agency and the FBI.
However, the feisty cancer-survivor was not one to give up easily. After having successfully fended off the bifurcation proposal, the FBI chief reshaped the agency into a threat-based, intelligence-driven, enterprise in right earnest. When Mueller took over, the organization had 56 field offices, each run by a special agent who was in charge. Mueller doubled the number of agents and tripled the count of analysts. Under his stewardship, the agency developed a trip-wire system, which helped thwart some terrorist plots. Operation TRIPWIRE, a counter-terrorism initiative launched after 9/11, was “designed to improve the FBI’s intelligence base with a specific goal to aid in identifying potential terrorist sleeper cells within the U.S.,” according to the agency’s website. Understandably, Mueller had to maneuver the corridors of power well to ensure that his hands were never tied. To prevail upon the then President George W. Bush to alter his course, he even threatened to quit.
“I believe continuity and stability at the FBI is critical at this time”
- U.S. President Barack Obama, quoted in The Wall Street Journal
Even still, a stint at the nation’s top intelligence agency is bound to rake up controversies. Mueller also had his moments of shame when FBI agents came under a cloud over abuse of power in the course of its probe into the 2001 anthrax attacks. Civil-liberties groups and others have criticized the bureau’s mode of interrogation and prosecution of terrorism suspects, especially among Muslim communities in the United States, as a WSJ report points out.
Yet, one of the longest-serving bosses at the national-security establishment has carefully managed to avoid the spotlight throughout, though it is not unusual for a secret service chief to keep a low profile. Seen from a political angle, many cynics feel that the term-extension for Mueller also signals President Obama’s intent to ensure that nothing goes wrong with the national security apparatus as he gears up to run for a second presidential term. Interestingly, the extended tenure for Mueller follows the President’s recent appointment of Leon Panetta as Defense Secretary and General David Petraeus as the CIA boss. The U.S. Senate’s unanimous endorsement of the Obama administration’s request for Mueller’s extension also showed that he has admirers among politicians of both persuasions.
Straight out of college, Mueller had a stint with the U.S. Army, winning combat medals in the Vietnam War. He returned to studies after the military service, obtaining his degree from the University of Virginia’s School of Law in 1973. What makes Mueller different is that he has had a successful career as an attorney as well. Serving in this capacity, he had investigated crimes ranging from corruption cases to money laundering to terrorism-related offences, an experience which came in handy during his long innings at the FBI. He had held the position of United States Attorney in San Francisco when President Bush named him for the top job in the FBI.
Mueller, 66, is married and has two daughters. In office, Mueller cuts an awe-inspiring personality, who thinks impatience sometimes is a virtue that helps him make quick decisions and allows him to direct his troops in a way he sees fit. An ice-hockey player even after his college days, he has kept the sportsman spirit intact to this day.
It appears that the Federal Bureau of Investigation has come a long way from the days of J. Edgar Hoover, when the organization was often seen as a group of bullies. As he nears the end of his first term as the agency’s chief, Mueller has steered the FBI from the worst hour in its history to a fair degree of respectability in the eye of the general public. The Obama administration also acknowledged the FBI’s makeover under Mueller by handing over interrogations of top terrorism suspects from the CIA to the FBI.
Having spearheaded the FBI’s transformation to a domestic intelligence service, Mueller has carved a niche for himself as the nation’s top watchdog. Yet, as Mueller acknowledged before the Senate committee that approved his term extension, “the demands on the FBI have never been greater” than they are now. And in a world where typically patience is a virtue, Mueller’s impatience and intolerance of mediocrity has been a blessing in disguise.
Image Credit: Federal Bureau of Investigation
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