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Serving as FBI Director for the past seven-plus years has given me an unprecedented perspective on the threats to our country. public safety and national security. From where I sit, these threats are more dangerous and complex than at any time since I began my career in law enforcement nearly 30 years ago.
Our adversaries – be they violent gangs, child predators, cartels, hackers, hostile nation states or terrorists – are bolder, more resourceful, more technologically savvy and more relentless than ever before. With a single keystroke, a foreign hacker can shut down a hospital or disable our critical infrastructure. A would-be terrorist could communicate with conspirators overseas through encrypted programs to secretly plan an attack on US soil. Cartels can produce a slew of deadly drugs with a potency no one has seen before, using chemicals bought half a world away.
The the threat of terrorism rises across the board. Foreign terrorist organizations have drawn inspiration from the horrific attacks by Hamas on October 7 to plan coordinated attacks here at home, while violent extremists inspired by a variety of ideologies and grievances are mobilizing faster than ever, leaving fewer dots for investigators and law enforcement to connect. even less time to connect them.
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The tragedy in New Orleans on New Year’s Day is the latest illustration of the danger posed by people radicalized online who use readily available weapons to attack easy targets – ordinary people going about their daily lives – making the threat of terrorism even more difficult for detection, investigation, and breach.
Foreign adversaries like China, Russia, and Iran aren’t just stealing government secrets, they’re targeting the American people directly and going after what we rely on most. Hostile nation-states are stealing Americans’ personal data on a staggering scale, committing widespread thefts from businesses large and small, exporting their own brands of repression to our shores, and engaging in audacious cyber operations targeting our critical infrastructure. The Chinese government, in particular, has launched an unprecedented effort to eradicate American innovation, steal our most valuable personal data, and interfere with our free and open society. History will mark this as the defining threat to our generation.
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In addition to terrorism and threats to the nation state, violent crime, which has reached alarming levels in recent years, continues to plague too many communities. Cartels flood our country with fentanyl and other deadly drugs, taking the lives of countless Americans every year. And child predators lurk in the dark corners of the Internet, targeting the innocent and vulnerable.
From my vantage point, I see serious threats to adults that require serious adult attention. But I’ve also seen something else over the past seven-plus years: inspiring men and women of the FBIwho fight these threats every day with passion, skill and a fierce commitment to public service and the rule of law. I have seen up close the work they are doing alongside our brothers and sisters in state and local law enforcement and in government in record numbers to keep our communities safe.
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In recent years, working together, the FBI and our partners have arrested about 50 violent criminals every day. They saved hundreds of children from their abusers and put hundreds of predators behind bars. They have taken down hundreds of gangs terrorizing neighborhoods across the country and seized enough fentanyl to kill nearly 80 percent of all Americans. They have innovated in the fight against new threats by joining the fight against cybercriminals, saving victims around the world nearly $800 million in ransoms. And they kept an eye on the constant threat of terrorism, preventing attacks on houses of worship in Las Vegas, Long Beach and Pittsburgh, on crowded piers in San Franciscothe Fourth of July parade in Cleveland and countless other communities across the country. I could not be prouder of the greater work they have done and the sacrifices they have made to protect us all.
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However, this is no time for complacency or distraction. Going forward, our security challenges will become even more serious, and our margin for error will continue to diminish. America’s adversaries will continue to try to take advantage of the divisions in our country to intensify their efforts against us. But our focus must be on the threats and our work, not on what divides us. We must continue to address the dangers facing our country with objectivity, rigor and professionalism. This is what the American people expect and deserve.
I know the FBI, working with our partners, is up to the task. But I also know that our future security depends on The FBI at its best. The FBI needs the resources to match what our adversaries throw at us and the public’s continued support for its important work. The rates cannot be higher. We simply cannot afford to lose focus or be unprepared.
