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Bush briefed on al Qaeda threat before taking office
Washington, Mar 24: The CIA told President Bush and his senior officials before they took office that Osama bin Laden was one of the gravest threats to the United States, according to the national commission investigating the Sept. 11 attacks.
Washington, Mar 24: The CIA told President Bush and his senior officials before they took office that Osama bin Laden was one of the gravest threats to the United States, according to the national commission investigating the Sept. 11 attacks.
"President-elect Bush asked whether killing bin Laden would end the problem," and was told by top CIA officials that it would have an impact but not stop the threat, said a report prepared for hearings Wednesday.
CIA Director George Tenet and former counterterrorism coordinator Richard Clarke were to testify at the hearing.
Clarke, a senior counterterrorism adviser to Bush and the three previous administrations, created a stir this week by accusing the Bush administration of failing to recognize the urgency of the threat posed by bin Laden`s al Qaeda network. During the summer of 2001 the volume of intelligence about threats grew alarming. "By late July, there were indications of multiple, possibly catastrophic, terrorist attacks being planned against American interests overseas," the national commission`s staff report said.
The CIA`s Counterterrorist Center identified 30 possible overseas targets and launched operations to disrupt any attacks.
During this period, some CIA officials expressed frustration at the pace of policymaking, the report said. Tenet`s deputy, John McLaughlin, "told us he felt a great tension -- especially in June and July 2001 -- between the new administration`s need to understand these issues and his sense that this was a matter of great urgency," the report said.
Two veteran CIA counterterrorism officers who were deeply involved in bin Laden issues "were so worried about an impending disaster that one of them told us that they considered resigning and going public with their concerns," the report by the commission`s staff said. The report did not identify them.
Bureau Report
CIA Director George Tenet and former counterterrorism coordinator Richard Clarke were to testify at the hearing.
Clarke, a senior counterterrorism adviser to Bush and the three previous administrations, created a stir this week by accusing the Bush administration of failing to recognize the urgency of the threat posed by bin Laden`s al Qaeda network. During the summer of 2001 the volume of intelligence about threats grew alarming. "By late July, there were indications of multiple, possibly catastrophic, terrorist attacks being planned against American interests overseas," the national commission`s staff report said.
The CIA`s Counterterrorist Center identified 30 possible overseas targets and launched operations to disrupt any attacks.
During this period, some CIA officials expressed frustration at the pace of policymaking, the report said. Tenet`s deputy, John McLaughlin, "told us he felt a great tension -- especially in June and July 2001 -- between the new administration`s need to understand these issues and his sense that this was a matter of great urgency," the report said.
Two veteran CIA counterterrorism officers who were deeply involved in bin Laden issues "were so worried about an impending disaster that one of them told us that they considered resigning and going public with their concerns," the report by the commission`s staff said. The report did not identify them.
Bureau Report