2017JANFEB

www.fbinaa.org

THE TERRORIST WHO LOVED ME

T he hiring process was not easy; it’s a long and arduous process that can literally take years. Many of us in the counterterrorism business, whether it be law enforcement or in the intelligence business, have expe- rienced that “gulp” moment during our background investigation. This is the moment you are strapped to the polygraph machine and the FBI polyg- rapher asks you that one question you were dreading. For many of us that question had to do with drug policy and that marijuana experimentation you did in college. Or that year you failed to file a tax return or that one-off juvenile act of graffiti vandalism or some other such trivial yet guilt induc- ing event in your young life. For François that question was “Have you ever had any contact with terrorists?” After 9/11 many Americans decided to take action in the effort to fight terrorism. Some joined the military, some joined the intelligence services, some joined the police and some applied for the FBI. The FBI had an urgent need for people fluent in select foreign languages. One such patriotic applicant was an American immigrant named François Cassar . 1

Eugene Casey (as told to by François Cassar)

16