by Sundance
Lots of people are talking about U.S. FBI Director Christopher Wray discussing the agencies “partnership with the private sector” as it relates to modern FBI activity. However, I’m just that random oddball in the crowd who just wants to point out something, well, kind of a big picture issue.
I notice in all of the discussions surrounding the FBI activity, and there are a lot of discussions – including admissions and outlines from the FBI itself, there appears to be an element of the subject matter being overlooked. Here’s a segment from Wray at the World Economic Forum {Direct Rumble Link} as a precursor to what few are noticing. WATCH:
The FBI is a criminal investigative agency. Meaning, a crime is committed, and the FBI mission is to investigate it, solve it, and bring the information to the justice department for pursuit. At least that was the customary role of the FBI as it was/is commonly discussed.
However, please note that in Director Wray’s remarks, every element of the FBI mission is framed around “prevention” of criminal activity, or what we would call pre-crimes.
Stop for a moment and rewatch it if needed, you’ll see what I am talking about.
Um, please excuse my interruption.
While it might seem like an unusual thing to notice, this is not a small issue.
In the era following the 9-11 attacks, there was public outcry around the issue of “how” and “why” did law enforcement, specifically the FBI, not PREVENT the attack. In just about every conversation following the attack every framework was about how to prevent an attack.
The 9-11 commission itself was focused on learning lessons from the attack; thereby the direct and implicit message was to construct systems to prevent another attack from happening. Essentially to move the FBI from a reactive footing in the aftermath of a crime, to a proactive footing to prevent crime.
Now, what I am asking readers to do is to realize when the fundamental mission of an investigative agency changes from investigating the aftermath of criminal activity, to the prevention of criminal activity, we as a society open ourselves up to having severe restrictions on our liberty. After all, just about everything that we now see as an infringement on freedom, is some form of a proactive action by government.
Change the mission from the investigation of crime to the prevention of crime, and the entire apparatus of the mission fundamentally changes.
Criminals are no longer the target when you are preventing crimes. Criminals are only targets in the aftermath of crime. When you are preventing crime, everyone that could commit a crime is the new mission target. Everyone, regardless of their connection to – or association with – criminal activity, is now a potential criminal. Potential criminals must be monitored.
Potential criminals are now the target. You are a potential criminal. As a result of your potential ability, you are a target for pre-crime investigation. Within the process of pre-crime investigation, your archaic views of freedom and liberty are dispatched.
How many times have we read that a murderer was “on the FBI’s radar,” but they had done nothing.
Thing is, it depends on how and why the person is on their radar.
If it is just because they went to a School Board meeting to protest sex ed in classes, that “radar” needs to be turned off.
If it is that the person is posting threats against someone or a group, is also showing he has weapons, has already commited some crimes, etc., that radar blip needs to be followed thru on to see if anything can be done.
ACTIONS.
Belonging to a certain political party should not ever be considered a “pre-crime.”
Same with color of skin, religion, etc.
ACTIONS, not STATE OF BEING should be what the FBI focuses on.
And right now they are moving in the direction of focusing on state of being.
More than on the radar, they had him on their puppet strings.