Agent: FBI has a new mandate
2/26/2009
By Joni Simon - Contributing Writer/Hill Country View
Leon Springs Business Association members sat mesmerized at the February meeting as Ralph Diaz told them what it's like being an FBI special agent.
For a guy who's spent 33 years in the agency, comparing today to the days of yesteryear is akin to life on Mars. Sept. 11, 2001, changed everything, he said.
Diaz pointed out the threat that confronts the nation today is far different than anything in the past and there is no room for error.
“We don't do business the way we did in the past,” Diaz said.
“Prevention has become more important that prosecution.”
Diaz said although there will be domestic terrorists like Timothy McVeigh, for the most part, the threats that confront national security are from foreign-born individuals who see the world in a whole different light.
“Now the threat that this country is challenged with is somebody who thinks God is whispering in their ear,” Diaz said.
“It's very difficult to reason with somebody who thinks God is telling them what to do. If Al Qaeda could push a button and kill every man, woman and child in this country, he would think it's a good day's work.”
The former New Yorker told the group it's not just the Big Apple that's vulnerable. Diaz said people who think a terrorist attack can only happen in New York need to realize that it can happen in San Antonio, too.
“You have one of the most progressive communities I've ever seen and I've been everywhere in this country. What you have in terms of law enforcement, educational services, research and development, and the military installations tells you how progressive this community is,” Diaz said.
Online: www.mysanantonio.com/community/hill_country/Agent_FBI_has_a_new_mandate.html
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