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Semiannual Report to Congress

October 1, 2002–March 31, 2003
Office of the Inspector General


CONGRESSIONAL TESTIMONY

The IG testified before the Senate Judiciary Committee's Subcommittee on Technology, Terrorism, and Government Information on October 9, 2002, about the OIG's audit of the FBI's counterterrorism program. The full 131-page audit (classified at the "Secret" level) was provided to the Department, the FBI, and congressional oversight committees, and the OIG publicly released an unclassified executive summary that highlighted our major findings and recommendations.

The IG testified that the FBI had not developed a comprehensive written assessment of the risk of a terrorist threat facing the United States despite its statement to Congress in 1999 that it would. The OIG audit concluded that such an assessment would be useful not only to define the nature, likelihood, and severity of the threat, but also to identify intelligence gaps that needed to be addressed. Moreover, a comprehensive, written threat and risk assessment would be useful in determining where to allocate attention and resources - both within the FBI and governmentwide - on programs and initiatives to combat terrorism.