Bush 'aware' of al-Qaeda threats

Rumsfeld says 9/11 could not have been prevented

The US secretaries of state and defence have countered criticism that the Bush administration ignored the threat from al-Qaeda and Osama Bin Laden.

Colin Powell and Donald Rumsfeld are among several top officials testifying before a commission looking into the 11 September 2001 attacks on America.

Soon after coming into office, Mr Bush had ordered a comprehensive strategy to destroy al-Qaeda, they said.

Mr Rumsfeld said he had received no prior intelligence of imminent attacks.

"First, I know of no actionable intelligence since 20 January 2001 that would have allowed the US to attack and capture or kill Osama Bin Laden," Mr Rumsfeld told the commission.

WEDNESDAY HEARINGS CIA director George Tenet Former US national security adviser Samuel Berger Former US national counter-terrorism co-ordinator Richard Clarke Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage

"Second, even if Bin Laden had been captured or killed in the weeks before 9/11, no-one I know believes it would have prevented 9/11," he said.

"Rooting out and dealing with terrorist enemies is tough. It will require that we think very differently" to previously, he said.

The commission heard that just one day before the 11 September of attacks, the Bush administration had finally agreed a strategy to overthrow the Taleban and dislodge Osama Bin Laden from Afghanistan.

Mr Rumsfeld also said that before the 11 September attacks, it would have been impossible to get support from Congress or the American public for a full-fledged invasion of Afghanistan.

Powell testimony

Earlier on Tuesday, Mr Powell said the Bush team had been given extensive briefings on the threats posed by al-Qaeda and the Taleban by the outgoing Clinton administration, but not a counter-terrorism action plan.

President Clinton and his team did everything we could... to protect our people and disrupt and defeat al-Qaeda Madeleine Albright Former US Secretary of State Quotes from testimonies Hearings threaten Bush

Mr Bush, he said, had asked for a more aggressive approach than Mr Clinton's containment.

"I'm tired of swatting flies," Mr Powell quoted the president as saying.

"It was no longer to roll it [al-Qaeda] back, or reduce its effectiveness. Our goal was to destroy it," Mr Powell said.

Mr Powell said military action to destroy al-Qaeda - as well as any safe haven for terrorists by liberating Iraq - had not eliminated the terrorist threat against US targets.

"We know we have crippled their ability to work in Afghanistan, but we know they are trying to recreate themselves elsewhere. We've got to chase them."

Earlier, former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright told the commission President Bill Clinton had done all he could to defeat al-Qaeda and Bin Laden.

Mrs Albright said Mr Clinton had authorised action to "neutralise" Bin Laden after the 1998 US embassy attacks in Africa - her worst day in office.

But despite those efforts, "we have failed to comprehend the gathering storm," former Defence Secretary William Cohen told the panel later.

"I believe we have been complacent," Mr Cohen said.

Clarke row

No serious blows were landed on Tuesday on President Bush's response to the terrorist threat, but on Wednesday the commission will hear testimony from Richard Clarke, the former senior White House official who has been scathing about the president's handling of the war on terrorism, says the BBC's Adam Brookes in Washington.

On Monday, Mr Clarke accused the president of ignoring the threat from al-Qaeda - concentrating instead on Iraq.

I think the president ignored terrorism prior to 11 September Richard Clarke

In his first reaction to the criticism, Mr Bush said on Tuesday he would have taken faster action against al-Qaeda if he had had information before the 11 September attacks.

"Had my administration had any information that terrorists were going to attack New York City on 11 September, we would have acted," Mr Bush told White House reporters.

White House spokesman Scott McClellan has accused Mr Clarke of political opportunism ahead of November's presidential poll.

Vice-President Dick Cheney said that Mr Clarke clearly missed a lot of what was going on during his time at the White House.

He also questioned Mr Clarke's effectiveness in running anti-terrorism efforts, citing the attacks on the US embassies in East Africa in 1998 and other incidents.

Mr Clarke served as head of counter-terrorism under four consecutive US presidents, from Ronald Reagan to George W Bush.

Policy formulation

This is the eighth public hearing held by the bi-partisan commission, established in 2002.

The hearings - on Tuesday and Wednesday - are on "the formulation and conduct of US counter-terrorism policy".

ISSUES FOR COMMISSION Congressional oversight and state of aviation security Terrorism, al-Qaeda, and the Muslim world Intelligence warnings against trans-national threats Emergency preparedness Security and liberty Border and aviation security

In a preliminary report on its findings so far, the commission said the Clinton and Bush administrations were too slow in moving away from diplomatic pressure to direct military action as a way of dealing with the al-Qaeda leadership.

In his opening statement, commission chairman Thomas Kean said he regretted that National Security Adviser Condoleezza Rice had declined to give evidence.

Mr Clinton's National Security Adviser Sandy Berger will testify on Wednesday as will Central Intelligence Agency Director George Tenet.