FBI on war footing after bin Laden's death

Working with British to comb through a treasure trove of evidence left at the terrorist's compound.

The death of Osama bin Laden and the expectation of a trove of intelligence derived from his computers has caused the FBI to ramp up its efforts to prevent a terrorist attack.

The bureau is "back on a post-9/11 war footing," said a senior counterterrorism official who sought anonymity because they are not authorized to speak with the press.

Within hours of the president's announcement that the U.S. intelligence community had confirmed the identity of bin Laden's body, FBI officials briefed field offices via secure videoconference calls.

Agents will push ahead stagnant prosecutions as a means of mitigating the potential for lone-wolf terrorists to strike out of frustration or revenge, the official said. Field offices have been authorized to expand their surveillance and monitoring to include hundreds of subjects.

Read the whole story at National Journal.