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Tuesday, April 13, 2004

The statement, issued as the independent panel's spotlight turned to the FBI and Justice Department, said Ashcroft on Sept. 10, 2001, rejected a request made earlier by acting FBI Director Thomas Pickard for "further counterterrorism enhancements" in the 2002 budget, which already would have boosted FBI spending by 8 percent.

That rejection came four months after Ashcroft, in testimony at a Senate terrorism hearing, said the Justice Department "has no higher priority" than protecting Americans from terrorism at home and abroad. And the decision occurred after months of rising concern at high government levels that Osama bin Laden's al-Qaida network might be preparing a major attack against U.S. interests.

Handguns Worse Than al-Qaida?

The statement by the commission's staff quotes a former FBI counterterrorism chief, Dale Watson, as saying he "almost fell out of [his] chair" when he saw a May 10 budget memo from Ashcroft listing seven priorities, including illegal drugs and gun violence, but not terrorism.

The statement opened a two-day round of hearings Tuesday on how law enforcement responded to the terror threat, with testimony from Ashcroft, former FBI Director Louis Freeh, Pickard and former Attorney General Janet Reno. Former CIA counterterrorism center director Cofer Black also was scheduled to testify.

Ashcroft's aides said the attorney general wanted to rebut criticism that he was less focused on terrorism than other law enforcement priorities. In a statement released Monday, FBI Director Robert Mueller, who testifies Wednesday, said that since his tenure began on Sept. 4, 2001, he and Ashcroft "have been in lockstep" in working to secure adequate counterterrorism resources for the FBI.

Gorelick's 'Surprising' Inclusion on Panel

According to a commission document obtained by the Associated Press, Pickard also raised questions about the presence of former deputy attorney general Jamie Gorelick on the panel. The document said that Pickard found her membership "surprising" because she and Reno had developed the policy to counter international terrorism primarily using law enforcement techniques.

Commission members say it is critical to learn what law enforcement officials did to confront the rising threat of terrorism inside the United States.

"The FBI is going to have to answer the question: 'Why didn't they deliver the information up? Did they get clear instructions from the top that it should be delivered up?'" said former Sen. Bob Kerrey, a Democrat member of the Sept. 11 commission.

Counterterrorism 'Backwater'

The commission staff statement discussed a long list of FBI shortcomings on terrorism, including a culture in which agents got credit and promotions for making cases and arrests but not for intelligence work that resulted in fewer prosecutions. Counterintelligence and counterterrorism, the report said, "were viewed as backwaters" within the FBI.

Other problems included outmoded computer systems that hindered sharing of information, lack of strategic analysis, a legal barrier called "the wall" that barred most contact between criminal and intelligence investigators, and a decentralized structure that kept terrorism cases in the 56 field offices instead of FBI headquarters.

"It was almost impossible to develop an understanding of the threat from a particular terrorist group," the staff statement said.

© 2004 Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

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