ORLANDO — A nostalgic Robert S. Mueller III addressed the International Association of Chiefs of Police Annual Conference (IACP) here on Monday for the last time as FBI director as he finishes up his 10 year term, which ends next fall.
“My first IACP conference took place seven weeks after September 11th,” Mueller told the crowd. “There was much discussion that year about whether to even hold a conference. Many of you did not want to leave your departments in a time of crisis.
“In the end, you chose not to allow the events of that day to stop you from doing what needed to be done,” he said.
“In the past nine years, we have gone about our business in new ways, with new partners. And we are all better and stronger for it.”
Mueller went on to discuss the threats of terrorism — threats from al Qaeda and its affiliates “from the attempted Christmas Day bombing by al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, to the failed Times Square bombing by TTP, a militant group in Pakistan.”
And he emphasized the increasing importance of cooperation among law enforcement in the states and internationally.
Mueller closed by saying : “This is my final IACP Conference as Director of the FBI, and with that comes a degree of nostalgia.”
“Today, we all understand that the foundation of our partnership rests not only on training, task forces, and technology, but on friendship and trust…on our willingness to pick up the phone, walk across the hall, or meet after work for a beer or a glass of wine.”
And we know that this foundation of friendship will outlast any Director, any police chief, any agent, and any officer.”
