Restored archive. The original History Commons is no longer online; this is a read-only edition of its timelines. Content is licensed CC BY-NC-SA.

May 8, 1998: FBI Announces Its Highest Goal Is to Prevent, Detect and Deter Terrorism

1998-05-08

FBI Director Louis Freeh announces a strategic plan for his agency. He notes that domestic counterterrorism falls “almost exclusively within the jurisdiction of the FBI.” He summarizes the FBI’s policy on terrorism established in 1998: “Some terrorism now comes from abroad. Some terrorism is home-grown. But whatever its origin, terrorism is deadly and the FBI has no higher priority than to combat terrorism, to prevent it where possible. Our goal is to prevent, detect and deter.” [US Congress, 10/8/2002]