The FBI Intelligence Analysts Association (FBI IAA), seeking to elevate the importance of the FBI’s intelligence mission and to represent the professional interests of the FBI’s 3,100 plus Intelligence Analysts (IAs), has made a request to the President, members of the Senate and House of Representatives, and the Attorney General to consider the association’s views on the critical matter of selecting the next Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI).
In its letter to senior government officials, the FBI IAA articulated the need for the selection of a nonpartisan Director who will maintain the FBI’s traditional neutrality and independence.
The FBI IAA believes it is vital that the next Director come without attachment to, or a background as, a partisan elected official in a political party.
Additionally, the FBI IAA listed three necessary traits for a successor to manage the FBI in the 21st century.
Specifically that the next Director:
- Has Deep Understanding of and Commitment to the FBI’s Dual Intelligence and Law Enforcement Mission
- Has the Ability to Strengthen a Culture of Collaboration within the FBI and Across the Law Enforcement and Intelligence Communities, and
- Is Innovative, Adaptable, and Forward-Leaning to Effectively Target the Nation’s Criminal and National Security Threats
The FBI IAA emphasized that it is vital for the next Director continue to build the FBI’s Intelligence Career Service (ICS), with intelligence leadership, and be committed to strengthening a culture of collaboration, which engages the diverse talents of the entire FBI workforce.
The next Director must also quickly adapt the FBI’s priorities and develop new ways of doing business, including technology advancements, in the face of an ever-changing set of diverse and sophisticated threats.
“The next Director must fully implement the 9/11 Commission’s primary recommendation for the FBI to establish a dedicated FBI ICS, under the leadership of an intelligence professional,” said IAA President Clarence Stiehm.
While the association chose not to endorse a specific candidate as the ideal successor, the FBI IAA will welcome a Director who will be as strong of an advocate for the FBI’s intelligence mission as former Director Comey.
The letter in its entirety is posted at the FBI IAA’s website: http://www.fbiiaa.org/.
(Learn More about being an FBI Intelligence Analyst, courtesy of the FBI and YouTube)
The FBI Intelligence Analysts Association is nonprofit organization, led by a Board of Directors, who voluntarily serve the members without compensation of any kind.
The FBI’s Intelligence Analysts are an integral part of the FBI’s dual intelligence and law enforcement missions.
Totaling more than 3,100 intelligence professionals, they are the FBI’s second largest employee group and work to represent the views of FBI Intelligence Analysts, develop their profession within the FBI, and advance the FBI’s Intelligence Program.
