Mari Frank Interviews Mike German, Former FBI Agent, Author, Thinking Like A Terrorist

Mike German is a Policy Counsel for the American Civil Liberties Union's Washington Legislative Office. In this capacity German develops policy positions and pro-active strategies on pending legislation and executive branch actions concerning domestic surveillance, data mining, freedom to travel, medical and financial privacy, ID cards, immigration policy, whistleblower protection, military commissions, and law enforcement conduct. A sixteen-year veteran of federal law enforcement, German served as a Special Agent with the Federal Bureau of Investigation, where he specialized in domestic terrorism and covert operations. As an undercover agent, German twice infiltrated violent neo-Nazi groups using constitutionally sound law enforcement techniques. These operations successfully prevented terrorist attacks by winning criminal convictions against terrorists. German's final assignment with the FBI was as a counter-terrorism instructor at the FBI National Academy. There, he taught courses on extremism in democratic societies and developed a graduate-level training program for state, local and international law enforcement officers. German left the FBI to make Congress and the public aware of continuing deficiencies in FBI counterterrorism operations. Prior to joining the Washington Legislative Office German frequently lectured on counter-terrorism and intelligence matters. His commentary has appeared in the National Law Journal, the Washington Post, the San Francisco Chronicle and the Miami Herald. German is the author of "Squaring the Error," published by the Strategic Studies Institute of the U.S. Army War College, and his first book, "Thinking Like a Terrorist," was published in January 2007. German currently serves as an adjunct professor for Law Enforcement and Terrorism at the National Defense University and is a Senior Fellow with GlobalSecurity.org. http://www.globalsecurity.org/org/staff/german.htm