CHAPTER ONE DEVASTATION The failure of the United States to prevent the September 11th 2001 attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon shook the United States intelligence community Every intelligence organization shared blame for the disaster that claimed almost 3,000 lives on American soil Two agencies stood out however the FBI or Federal Bureau of Investigation and the CIA the Central Intelligence Agency The terrorists 9 11 plans slipped by both organizations Today the agencies are dedicated to making sure nothing like 9 11 ever happens again 4
Ground Zero in New York City and the Pentagon in Washington D C will forever be remembered as a place where dedicated emergency workers risked their lives saving people and fighting the ferocious fires 5
CHAPTER TWO THE BUREAU The FBI is the nation’s oldest intelligence agency Its primary objectives are to protect American citizens and uphold the laws of the United States Specifically the FBI seeks to prevent terrorist attacks protect against foreign spies and stop dangerous computer hacking The FBI is also charged with upholding civil rights and investigating both violent and white collar crime To perform these and other objectives it has to collect vast amounts of information both here in the United States and overseas Unlike the CIA the FBI also has the job of law enforcement Once a crime is detected FBI agents have the power to make arrests and prosecute accused criminals Before the creation of the Bureau of Investigation government investigations were performed by Secret Service agents or private companies such as the Pinkerton’s detective agency 6
Nearly 18 million background checks are performed each year by the FBI The FBI maintains supercomputing resources with the ability to decrypt secure media in one day 7
