Tampabay: Top agent discusses terror, the FBI

James F. Jarboe

Since late May, James F. Jarboe has been the special agent in charge of the FBI's Tampa Division. He comes from FBI headquarters in Washington, D.C., where he worked as a section chief of a counterterrorism division.

In his new role, the 22-year veteran oversees about 150 agents spread over an area that stretches from Orlando to Naples and includes Pinellas, Hillsborough, Pasco and Hernando counties.

St. Petersburg Times reporter Graham Brink recently sat down with Jarboe, 53, at his office in downtown Tampa to talk about terrorism, his leadership style and what he would say to Osama bin Laden.

Here are excerpts from the interview:

What are the biggest changes you've seen since Sept. 11 in how the FBI operates?

I think the most important change that we've had is our priorities. Prior to Sept. 11, the No. 1 priority in the bureau was identifying criminals, arresting them, sending them to court, getting convictions, putting them in jail. Since Sept. 11 ... the first priority is to ensure that there are no more Sept. 11ths.

How do you think the war on terrorism is progressing and how long will it take?

As far as length, I don't think that's determinable. ... If you look at who the adversary is, these folks grow up with the philosophy that teaches them to hate the United States from the time that they are little children. They will continue with that until they're in their graves ... It's not just ... Osama bin Laden. You have other terrorist groups out there who hate us just as much. So time-wise, we're going to be at this for quite a while.

How is it progressing?

Nothing yet has happened of a major consequence (since Sept. 11). That doesn't mean we can let down our guard. All that means is our preventive measures are out there and that makes our targets harder to get so they've got to think about how to do it. We've disrupted them. And that's very, very difficult to measure. How do you tell that nothing happened because of something we did, or did nothing happen because nothing was going to happen anyway?

The FBI has been criticized since Sept. 11 for not communicating well with other federal agencies, including the CIA. Have there been changes?

We have many more people at FBI headquarters from the CIA. We're bringing over a whole lot of analysts because that's what they do extremely well. They analyze information. We are sending a bunch more of our people over there because we investigate. ... The marriage had already started years ago. (It's) much more intense right now.

How is the investigation into University of South Florida professor Sami Al-Arian proceeding?

We're not going to get into that.

What's morale like in the Tampa office, and in the FBI as a whole?

I think some of the people are concerned. The employees of the bureau are all hard-working, dedicated people. Many of them have given up much higher-paying jobs to come work for the government because they want to do something productive, and they are. And it hurts them to see this public criticism. We understand that we play in a very rough league, and perfection is a standard that we're held up to.

What should be done to combat the number of Fortune 500 companies and their executives who are breaking the law?

How do you solve a world's problem in 30 words or less? It goes back to personal integrity, I think. If you look at it, most of the issues that I've seen and read about have to do with integrity, people shading the truth for financial gain. If leaders don't have a personal integrity then ... the entities that they work for are going to suffer.

Let's suppose for a second that you're sitting in this room with Osama bin Laden. What question would you want to ask him?

(Laugh) There wouldn't be one question. There would be thousands of questions.

What are a couple of questions?

None that you could really print.

Do you ever wish you were back in the Navy flying jets on the aircraft carrier USS Constellation?

I would love nothing better than to jump in a jet and take off a carrier again. I mean, it's better that any 20-ticket ride at any amusement park you could ever go to. It's a very difficult life, a very dangerous lifestyle. A lot of my friends got killed when I was in and I don't think people quite understand how dedicated our military personnel really are and the limb that they walk out on, on a daily basis, on a volunteer basis. ... But I'm too old to go out on a carrier anymore. That's definitely a young man's, and now, a young woman's business.

What are the main focuses of the Tampa office right now?

Terrorism.

Given the focus on terrorism, some members of the local legal community have jokingly opined that now would be a good time to be committing white collar crimes. What is your response to that?

I think people who have the impression this is a good time to commit white collar crime, violent crime, drug crime, any kind, they're sadly mistaken. Nationwide, FBI (staffing levels for those areas) are up over 80 percent of where it was before (Sept. 11). ... If somebody's out there with the mind set that the whole government is focused on terrorism, that we're not going to pay attention to that fraud or this scheme, I'm sorry, they're sadly mistaken.

What can be done to make sure that when we look back 10, 20 or 30 years from now on this war on terrorism and its effects on individual rights, we don't think, wow, that was a mistake?

Well, you do have to be very careful because what you are dealing with is the rights of folks who may or may not be citizens ... The attorney general has made it very clear that we have to be very aggressive ... There are still (thousands of immigration violators) in the country. We've got to find them. We've got to invite them out of the country. Especially (people from) certain areas of the world who are more, apparently more dangerous to us now than other areas of the world. Is it profiling? No, it's just common sense. We're at war, folks. ... We're not about to arbitrarily and capriciously tread on people's rights. ... You have a First Amendment right to free speech and assembly and all the other things you're given ... but once they start going over that line into the criminal side, then they're fair game.

What are some of the areas that need improving in the Tampa office?

Communication with state and local authorities. What I mean by that is not that we don't talk to them, because we do. ... The amount of intelligence information that comes in is staggering. It has to be (analyzed), and then that information has to flow in a logical way to the people who need it. ... If you're going to put out warnings, you know, be on the lookout for X, Y or Z, and you're expecting the officer in the blue uniform or the county sheriffs ... to look for something, you've got to tell him what the heck it is you want him to look for. So you've got to get that information that's at a very classified level and you've got to break it down and push it down vertically to get it out to the streets. The state and local officers know the streets, they know the community. They can get good information and they can push it up so we can get it.

How do you balance a good working relationship with local law enforcement agencies with the FBI's traditional role of investigating corruption in some of those agencies?

First of all, you have a good working relationship with the powers that be with all the agencies around. ... But if you have a sworn official, at a state, local, or federal level, that's using their position for personal gain and are selling out, then it's our responsibility to look at them and go after them as vigorously as we can. ... We've got to have the trust of the people, if we lose the trust of the people, then we've lost a major battle.

-- Staff writer Olivia Gifford contributed to this report.

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