WASHINGTON -- In a sternly-worded internal memo, FBI Director Robert Mueller has said he will not tolerate "bureaucratic intransigence" as the bureau reorders its priorities to focus on counterterrorism, the **New York Times** reported Monday.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation's ability to adapt to change "is now being tested in the extreme," the director, Robert S.

Mueller III, wrote in an internal memorandum to bureau employees on Friday.

"Change will be needed in many areas and needed quickly.

Bureaucratic intransigence cannot be an impediment or excuse," he said.

Mueller added that the bureau must work to identify areas in need of change, make them a priority, pull in senior executives to accomplish the task, and ensure accountability, AFP reported. Without such an overarching plan, he wrote, worthwhile ambitions can "end up abandoned in frustration or done poorly."

In another recent memo, FBI Deputy Director Bruce Gebhardt told Field Office chiefs he was "amazed and astounded" by the failure to commit essential resources to the fight against terrorism, the **Times** reported, and said they must instill a sense of urgency in their agents.

The new push comes seven months after Mueller announced a counterterrorism reorganization that included a restructuring of the management hierarchy at bureau headquarters and a redeployment of some 400 personnel who had been working in nonterrorism investigations like narcotics and white-collar crime.

Mueller's message to FBI employees also comes as the bureau faces increased pressure from leading members of Congress to shore up its counterterrorism operations.

Roughly one-fourth of the FBI's 11,000 agents are now working in counterterrorism, officials say.