This quotation from FBI Dirctor Freeh gives cause for hope. However, it also highlights the fallacy of relying upon a charismatic leader to resolve systemic problems. Director Freeh has announced his retirement. Will the cure survive his departure? More to the point, does it really matter who is the Director or what he/she says if the FBI fails to implement and use a DoD-certified E-records management system to manage all of their records throughout their full life cycles? In short, it is not the personality or the rhetoric that matters. As far as accountability is concerned, all that matters is whether the system that is used to conduct business meets the requirements for business-quality treatment of records, or not.
Let's hope that courage of Director Freeh's newly found convictions is evidenced in the FBI's rapid and comprehensive implementation of a DoD-certified ERMS.
