Friday, May 23, 2008

Youssef, the FBI's highest-ranking Arab-American agent and who has filed suit for discrimination, said that 40 percent of supervisory positions in the FBI's unit that tracks Al Qaida and others deemed terrorists were vacant. He said FBI officials "rely exclusively on translation services" to understand communications from suspected Al Qaida and aligned insurgents.

"The continuing failure of the FBI to hire or train agents who are fluent in Arabic, knowledgeable about the Middle East and/or experienced in operational counterterrorism is rooted in two factors," Youssef said, "First, an ongoing policy which does not reward these skills in the promotional process and second, deep seated discriminatory practices within the bureau."

In January 2008, the FBI reported staff of 46 agents and 285 language analysts who speak at least conversational Arabic. The agency has maintained that its Arabic speaking personnel was sufficient.

"Since 9/11, but particularly over the past year, the FBI has been addressing staffing concerns, career path issues and how we can better leverage a strategic, intelligence-based view, across all of our investigative programs," FBI assistant director John Miller said in a statement after Youssef's testimony.

"The over-reliance upon translators within the counterterrorism program has undermined the ability of agents to properly understand, monitor, and evaluate threats," Youssef said. "In other words, subtle messages and information not capable of ready translation or that which would be obvious to a native speaker who is simultaneously involved in operational activities are regularly lost."

As a result, Youssef said, the FBI "continue to make major mistakes" and has misidentified threats. He said the agency has relied heavily on electronic surveillance.