THE FBI'S J. EDGAR MUELLER

All during his long reign as FBI director, J. Edgar Hoover steadfastly denied the existence of organized crime. Even after all the Mafia hoods were exposed at their Appalachian Conference, Hoover continued to deny that the Mob existed.

It seemed everybody in America knew there was a Mafia, and many knew who its leaders were, especially the heads of New York's five families. Everybody understood that organized crime controlled gambling, loan sharking, prostitution, drug distribution and many unions, including Jimmy Hoffa's vaunted Teamsters. During the Kennedy administration, Attorney General Bobby Kennedy railed at Hoover about the Teamsters and organized crime. But Hoover refused to budge.

(Theoretically, President Kennedy could have fired him, but the FBI chief intimidated Washington with his notorious "raw files." Every key player in Washington was afraid he was in Hoover's files for some indiscretion or other. Thus, Hoover had shrewdly immunized himself from firing.)

Hoover is long gone, but his spirit of "Blind Man's Bluff" still dominates FBI leadership.

FBI chief Robert Mueller recently said, "I don't think al-Qaeda is largely represented in the United States, or people that espouse violent extremism."

• This, after the British foiled a plot by al-Qaeda-linked terrorists to explode ten planes flying from London to the United States. If the plan had succeeded, at least a thousand American passengers would have died.

• This, after Britain's counter-terrorism chief announced that over 8,000 British Muslims may be supporting or facilitating al-Qaeda operations. Because the USA has many more Muslims than Britain, there may be between 30,000 and 40,000 Muslim terror facilitators here.

• This, after it was discovered that some of the arrested British terrorists had placed calls to major U.S. cities.

• This, after the Senate Intelligence Committee Chairman said the National Security Agency is monitoring telephone calls between an al-Qaeda group in the Middle East and the United States.

• This, after 9/11, when new terror cells have been found in many U.S. cities, including Buffalo, Portland, New Jersey, New York and Miami.

• This, after a former Homeland Security official claimed that there are thousands of terrorist supporters in the USA helping hundreds of terrorist operatives.

• This, after 9/11, before which the FBI had given us the all-clear on terrorism.

• This, despite the fact that President Bush says, "Americans are safer, but not yet safe."

FBI Chief Robert Mueller doesn't think there is an al-Qaeda threat in the United States ... just as J. Edgar Hoover never thought there was a Mafia.

In the upper echelons of the FBI, the game of Blind Man's Bluff goes on, and on, and on.

A game led by "J. Edgar" Mueller.

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