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"&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Mr. Schiff:&lt;/strong&gt; Hello I\u2019m Neal Schiff and welcome to &lt;em&gt;Inside the FBI&lt;/em&gt;, a weekly podcast about news, cases, and operations. In case you didn\u2019t know it, the FBI has offices around the world, not just in the United States. They are called legal attach\u00E9 offices, and the FBI\u2019s International Operations Division oversees them and the program\u2019s growth.&lt;/p&gt;\r\n&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Mr. Joyce:&lt;/strong&gt; \u201CSince the attacks on 9/11, it has increased substantially to the 61 offices that exist today.\u201D&lt;/p&gt;\r\n&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Mr. Schiff:&lt;/strong&gt; That\u2019s the Assistant Director of the FBI\u2019s International Operations Division, IOD, Sean Joyce.&lt;/p&gt;\r\n&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Mr. Joyce:&lt;/strong&gt; \u201COur role is really to pursue the FBI\u2019s mission overseas. Specifically, to confront and defeat threats to our national security, threats to our, really the criminal organizations that exist abroad that affect the United States and the United States\u2019 interests, by really building these trusted relationships with our foreign law enforcement and intelligence partners.\u201D&lt;/p&gt;\r\n&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Mr. Schiff:&lt;/strong&gt; How do we build trust with our foreign partners?&lt;/p&gt;\r\n&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Mr. Joyce:&lt;/strong&gt; \u201CAgain what we have is what\u2019s called \u2018the FBI representative overseas.\u2019 It\u2019s called the legal attach\u00E9 (legat). They are stationed abroad and live there, sometimes with families, sometimes not, and really build these relationships with our foreign counterparts. So, for instance, if you pick any country throughout the world or in 61 countries where we have legat offices; we have 14 sub-offices, and we cover over 200 countries. In those areas, the legal attach\u00E9 or the assistant legal attach\u00E9 (ALAT) will actually meet with our foreign counterparts and discuss things that we have in common, whether that\u2019s part of the counterterrorism mission, the counterintelligence mission, or the criminal mission.\u201D&lt;/p&gt;\r\n&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Mr. Schiff:&lt;/strong&gt; Why was the legal attach\u00E9 program created, and when did that happen?&lt;/p&gt;\r\n&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Mr. Joyce:&lt;/strong&gt; \u201CThe legal attach\u00E9 program was created in 1940, and initially it was to thwart the counterespionage threat that was developing prior to World War II. And since that time it has continued to develop, and since the attacks on 9/11 it has increased substantially into the 61 offices that exist today.\u201D&lt;/p&gt;\r\n&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Mr. Schiff:&lt;/strong&gt; How has the FBI increased the presence from way back until now with over 60 legats, and I think I\u2019ve seen the quote, \u201CThe FBI\u2019s global footprint?\u201D&lt;/p&gt;\r\n&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Mr. Joyce:&lt;/strong&gt; \u201CWhat\u2019s the FBI\u2019s global footprint is really referring to is the legal attach\u00E9 offices. But not only that, it\u2019s referring to all the FBI special agents that actually travel from our domestic field offices and the Headquarter divisions to various countries overseas where we have a joint investigative interest. As you know, everything, I would say, in the 21st century, and even in the latter part of the 20th century, has really been transnational in nature. Many of you folks out there have read Thomas Friedman\u2019s The World Is Flat\u2014not only does that pertain to the economic aspects of the world but also, unfortunately, the criminal and national security issues that we are faced with today.\u201D&lt;/p&gt;\r\n&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Mr. Schiff:&lt;/strong&gt; How many legat offices are there presently?&lt;/p&gt;\r\n&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Mr. Joyce:&lt;/strong&gt; \u201CThere are currently 61 legat offices and 14 sub-offices.\u201D&lt;/p&gt;\r\n&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Mr. Schiff:&lt;/strong&gt; For the FBI to have a legal attach\u00E9 office, is it the FBI that goes to a country and says, \u201CWe\u2019d like to open and office,\u201D or is a country that approaches the U.S. government and says, \u201CWe\u2019d like to have an FBI legal attach\u00E9 office here?\u201D&lt;/p&gt;\r\n&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Mr. Joyce:&lt;/strong&gt; \u201CHistorically it\u2019s been that the host government has approached the FBI, either through the ambassador at the embassy or some other individual that represents the U.S. government. However, we are now, really, as the FBI has refocused its efforts and become a threat-based and focused organization, we are also looking, in a pro-active manner, to some of the areas where we should have a presence due to some, I think, joint equities that we have with those countries and talking to the folks with the ambassador and other individuals there representing the government to determine if that\u2019s the right place to station some of these individuals.\u201D&lt;/p&gt;\r\n&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Mr. Schiff:&lt;/strong&gt; What are some of the reasons that you would want to move into a country and open an office?&lt;/p&gt;\r\n&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Mr. Joyce:&lt;/strong&gt; \u201CAgain, currently it\u2019s going to be, first and foremost, issues facing our national security and our mission, our foremost mission, protecting the security of the United States. Secondly, we\u2019re also looking at other areas where threats face the United States. And that\u2019s not just limited to national security matters. That includes organized crime, that includes cyber, that includes many other areas. So we\u2019re looking at many of these countries in regions of the world where we will have joint equities with the host country and determine whether, again, placing someone there would benefit both the host nation and the United States.\u201D&lt;/p&gt;\r\n&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Mr. Schiff:&lt;/strong&gt; FBI Special Agent Kathy Stearman is a legal attach\u00E9. She has served in two countries.&lt;/p&gt;\r\n&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Ms. Stearman:&lt;/strong&gt; \u201CThe legat program is excellent, and being a legat overseas is\u2014I describe to people as being the hardest job I\u2019ve ever had in the FBI and also the most rewarding. I was in New Delhi, India from 2006 to 2008, and I\u2019m currently in Beijing, China. When I first got to New Delhi, I made a point to go around to the embassy, particularly the heads of other law enforcement agencies and State Department sections\u2014particularly the DCM, the Deputy Chief of Mission. And I asked them, \u2018How can the FBI move forward our mission here in India.\u2019 And the DCM at the time, he smiled at me and he said, \u2018Kathy, one thing that you really need to keep in mind is that the FBI has this huge mysterious reputation, and that can hurt you and it can also help you. So when you go out there and you deal with your counterparts, whoever it is that you are dealing with in your area of responsibility, just keep in mind that you will be watched very closely, only because people are very, very curious about the FBI, and you may be the first person from the FBI that they meet.\u2019&lt;/p&gt;\r\n&lt;p&gt;So I really kept that in mind when I went out and about in India and the other five countries that I cover. And I made sure that I didn\u2019t go in with a heavy hand. I always went in and indicated to them, \u2018Look, the FBI has a certain expertise and you have a certain expertise.\u2019 And instead of the FBI coming in and saying \u2018well, this is how we do it and this is how it should be done,\u2019 I always made a point to say, \u2018how can we exchange best practices; how can we exchange our good ideas so that we can move our mutual missions forward?\u2019&lt;/p&gt;\r\n&lt;p&gt;I do that in China as well. Both India and China are arguably the world\u2019s two largest emerging economies. So there\u2019s a lot of national pride. So I make sure that, like I said, I don\u2019t go in there as the \u2018FBI, we\u2019re here to take over,\u2019 as is often portrayed, but I go in there as a partner\u2014\u2018how can we work together to move the missions forward?\u2019\u201D&lt;/p&gt;\r\n&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Mr. Schiff:&lt;/strong&gt; On our next Inside the FBI podcast we\u2019ll hear from Assistant Director Joyce about how legats and other countries interact and work together on terrorism, criminal, and cyber matters. We\u2019ll also hear from Legat Stearman about how very different it is being a legal attach\u00E9 from being a special agent on the streets of the U.S. gathering intelligence, chasing the bad guys, and solving crimes. More next week. That\u2019s our show for this week. Thanks for listening. I\u2019m Neal Schiff of the FBI\u2019s Office of Public Affairs.&lt;/p&gt;"^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
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