comment by Jerry Gordon

Shame on the Washington Times for giving us the misleading impression that Bassem Yousef, an FBI agent and Muslim American has any credibility in his statement made before yesterday’s Hearing by the House Sub Committee on Crime, Terrorism and Homeland Security. He has filed a whistleblower suit on grounds of discrimination and has suggested that only Muslims understand the nuances of the Arab language and ‘culture’. We have written on Mr. Bassem and his ‘whistleblower’ law suit. I think the Subcommittee Chair, Rep. Robert C. “Bobby” Scott (D-VA), and ranking minority, Louis Gohmert (R-TX) have been taken in by having Mr. Youssef provide rebuttal witness testimony to that of Assistant director John Miller on the adequacy of counter terrorism unit manning and funding. But then Rep. John Conyers (D-MI) is head of the House Judiciary Committee. We presume that if Mr. Bassem had his way, then no Christians or Jews need apply for the slots at the FBI’s CT unit, only fellow members of the ‘ummah’.

by Jerry Seper, Washington Times, May 22, 2008

More than one out of every three positions in an elite FBI division that tracks al Qaeda terrorists is vacant, according to an internal bureau document. Efforts are under way at the FBI to canvass for “volunteers” to fill what the agency said is a “critical” need in its counterterrorism efforts.

A senior bureau official said yesterday that because of significant staffing shortages and a lack of experienced managers, the FBI cannot properly defend the United States against “another catastrophic and direct attack by Middle Eastern terrorists.”

Bassem Youssef, [former ]chief of the communications analysis unit of the FBI’s counterterrorism division, said the bureau’s International Terrorism Operations Sections (ITOS) — which include those that track al Qaeda terrorists — are “inexcusably understaffed.”

FBI Assistant Director John Miller rebutted the charge late yesterday, saying the bureau had made “great and steady strides to build a domestically focused national security organization” and shifted its priorities to make prevention of another terrorist attack its top concern.

Mr. Miller noted that several years had passed without a successful terrorist attack by al Qaeda or its affiliates on U.S. soil. He said that by combining the FBI’s intelligence-gathering capabilities with its law-enforcement experience and authority, as well as its state and local partners, the bureau has disrupted several terrorist plots across the country and, by working with its intelligence community partners, it has helped to disrupt more plots globally.

“While we appreciate any employee’s views on the state and direction of the FBI, those assessments may be very limited in scope,” he said. “It is cynical to write off the work of so many dedicated FBI employees or the accomplishments of the bureau by suggesting that these efforts are failing, especially when they are not.”

Mr. Youssef, in a written statement delivered to the House Judiciary subcommittee on crime, terrorism and homeland security, said critical supervisory personnel within ITOS are at a staffing level of 62 percent, which has forced the FBI to recruit supervisors who lack the necessary background and expertise.

The FBI’s highest-ranking Arab-American agent and an FBI whistleblower who is suing the bureau for discrimination, Mr. Youssef cited a March 5 FBI e-mail sent to all counterterrorism employees at FBI headquarters in Washington that said: “Executive management is canvassing the division for volunteers to be permanently assigned to ITOS 1. This is due to the fact that ITOS 1 is currently at 62% of its funded staffing level.” (Continue Reading this Article)