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Commission wants cia author of bin laden warning { April 14 2004 } Original Source Link: (May no longer be active)
http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2004/04/13/1081838726685.htmlhttp://www.smh.com.au/articles/2004/04/13/1081838726685.html
Bush again asked to produce CIA author
April 14, 2004
The commission investigating the attacks on September 11, 2001, has again asked to interview the CIA analyst who wrote the intelligence briefing given to President George Bush on al-Qaeda's threat to the United States, Administration sources say.
The commission wants to ask the author of the now famous August 6 President's daily brief about her reason for writing the document and how much information she sought to do so.
The commission chairman, Thomas Kean, said on Monday that the Bush Administration had earlier refused to allow the panel to interview CIA analysts responsible for assembling the briefs.
But the origins and purpose of the document have become the subject of more intense scrutiny since the National Security Adviser, Condoleezza Rice, described it last Thursday as "not a warning" but "an historical memo prepared by the agency because the President was asking questions".
Intelligence officials said work on the document started at the end of July, on the initiative of the CIA analyst, who wanted to raise the issue because most of the terrorism information sent to the White House during the northern summer of 2001 had focused on possible attacks overseas.
On August 9, three days after Mr Bush was given the CIA memo outlining Osama bin Laden's intention to mount attacks on US soil, the Justice Department completed a draft of its seven strategic goals and 36 main objectives for the next four years.
The internal document focused on drugs, violent crime and civil rights. Combating "terrorist activities" was mentioned once - as the third objective under enforcement of criminal laws.
Aides describe the list as a preliminary report reflecting the priorities of the previous attorney-general, Janet Reno. But some members of the commission said it reflected the low priority that the present Attorney-General, John Ashcroft, placed on terrorism during his first seven months in office.
Mr Ashcroft was expected to face sharp questioning during his appearance before the commission yesterday. Draft reports by the commission also portray Mr Ashcroft as largely uninterested in counter-terrorism issues despite intelligence warnings that al-Qaeda was planning a large, perhaps catastrophic terrorist attack.
Officials with access to the draft reports, expected to be made public during two days of hearings later this week, said they showed that FBI officials were alarmed by what they saw as Mr Ashcroft's lack of interest in terrorism issues and his decision in August 2001 to turn down the bureau's request for a large expansion of its counter-terrorism programs.
Mr Ashcroft's aides said he would tell the panel he was briefed throughout the year on terrorist threats and was never informed by either the FBI or the CIA that he needed to take special action, as intelligence reports suggested that any attack would be overseas.
Also due to appear before the commission this week is the former FBI director Louis Freeh, who has defended the bureau's efforts to combat terrorism before September 11. But writing in The Wall Street Journal he said the Government was not then ready to commit the resources necessary to fight a war against al-Qaeda.
Mr Bush has opened the way for changes at the CIA, FBI and other agency, saying that "now may be a time to revamp and reform our intelligence services".
The Washington Post, The New York Times, Associated Press
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