FBI SHIFTS FOCUS OF AGENTS

FBI Director Robert S. Mueller III said yesterday that the war on terrorism
demands that the FBI pull agents away from narcotics task forces and no
longer make drug enforcement a top priority.

The comments, which came at the 20th anniversary celebration for the
Organized Crime and Drug Enforcement Task Force, followed statements by
Attorney General John Ashcroft reaffirming that the drug war would be
reorganized but not abandoned.

Mr. Ashcroft said law enforcement agencies have created a "most wanted list"
of 54 drug organizations that must be toppled here and abroad. The list will
allow crime fighters to focus their resources.

But the FBI will be less involved in the effort because of the shift toward
preventing terror attacks and gathering information on terror groups in the
United States, Mr. Mueller said yesterday.

"We ought to defer to the drug enforcement agency on cartel cases," Mr.
Mueller said. "We will still participate but with fewer resources. Where
there were 10 [FBI agents] on a drug task force in the past, now there will
be five."

Mr. Mueller listed stopping terror attacks, counterintelligence and
undermining strikes at the nation's computer networks as the FBI's new top
three priorities. He listed corporate crime investigations as another major
drain on the FBI's resources.

Mr. Mueller has spoken previously about the need to reallocate resources
from narcotics enforcement, but yesterday's comments were the strongest yet.

September 11 "has required us to look at our resources and make hard
choices," Mr. Mueller said. "That is the bottom line for us - participate
[in drug enforcement] but not in the ways we have in the past."

About 400 of the FBI's 11,324 total agents will be taken from narcotics
efforts and placed on counterterrorism task forces, Mr. Mueller said.

The agency will focus on assisting narcotics enforcement when it intersects
with terrorism and in attempts to financially disrupt drug cartels.

Reaction to the message was mixed. John Fernandes, an assistant director of
the Drug Enforcement Administration in Los Angeles, said that the shift will
not lead to more drugs on the streets.

"We are broadening the war on drugs and looking for ways to fight smarter,
instead of harder," Mr. Fernandes said. "We are getting better at sharing
intelligence and resources to compensate."

Seattle police Officer Mike Helton said the FBI's diminished presence would
hamper efforts.

"Fighting the drug war will be harder without the extra manpower of the FBI
- - there is no way around it," Officer Helton said. "This is a signal that
drugs aren't the most important thing anymore and that will be reflected out
across America."

The focus on terrorism has shifted the way law enforcement officers plan to
fight the drug war, with more concentration on cartel finances and
organizations.

DEA Administrator Asa Hutchinson said the agency is seeking new training for
agents and analysts and 20 agents for money-laundering cases.