Tenet Defends CIA’s Fight on Terrorism

In his first public testimony since Sept. 11, CIA Director George J. Tenet vigorously defended his agency on Wednesday, refusing to characterize the terrorist attacks as an intelligence failure and proclaiming that America has thwarted other planned strikes and succeeded in Afghanistan largely because of the “heroic effort” of the nation’s spy community.

Tenet appeared before a Senate panel that is preparing an extensive probe of U.S. intelligence agencies. He struck a defiant posture, sparring with lawmakers who questioned the CIA’s effectiveness and emphasizing the agency’s sacrifices and successes in combating terrorism.

Sept. 11 “was not the result of failure of attention and focus and discipline and effort,” Tenet said. “We have been at war with Al Qaeda for over five years.”

Tenet was responding primarily to pointed questions from Sen. Richard C. Shelby of Alabama, the ranking Republican on the committee and a Tenet critic. Shelby noted that Tenet had appeared before the committee almost exactly a year ago, offering assurances that the United States was having considerable success combating terrorism.

“Seven months after your testimony,” Shelby said, “Osama bin Laden’s terrorists killed nearly 3,000 innocent Americans in less than one hour.”

Tenet bristled visibly at that line of questioning. But he was also clearly eager to address a continuous chorus of criticism that his agency has faced since hijacked planes plowed into the World Trade Center and the Pentagon.

Americans “need to know that there are competent men and women who risk their lives and undertake heroic risks to protect them,” Tenet said.

Tenet’s words offered an early glimpse of how aggressively he will defend U.S. intelligence agencies’ counterterrorism record during congressional hearings in the coming months.

His remarks came during his annual discussion of global threats with members of the Senate Intelligence Committee. Tenet--who appeared alongside officials from the State, Defense and Justice departments--spent much of his introductory statement going over developments in Iran, Iraq, North Korea and other international trouble spots.

But the focus of the hearing quickly shifted to the war on terrorism. And although members of the committee get frequent private briefings from the CIA and other agencies, Wednesday presented their first opportunity to question Tenet in public.

Tenet’s remarks shed some light on the extent to which intelligence agencies had targeted Bin Laden before Sept. 11.

He said the CIA had penetrated Al Qaeda before Sept. 11, presumably meaning that it had recruited informants within the terrorist organization. But he suggested that details of the deadly operation were so closely guarded by Bin Laden and the hijackers that uncovering the plot beforehand might have been impossible.

“Where did the secret for the planning reside?” Tenet said. “Probably in the head of three or four people.”

Tenet refused to discuss the latest intelligence on Bin Laden and other sensitive topics, saying he would provide such details only in a private session with senators scheduled later in the day.

A former Senate staffer who now oversees the CIA and a dozen other spy agencies, Tenet has at times appeared vulnerable in his job. He is the only holdover from the Clinton administration in the Bush White House, and his tenure has been marked by a series of Al Qaeda strikes against the United States, including the bombings of American embassies in East Africa and a U.S. warship in Yemen.

But Tenet has also won wide praise for bringing stability to a beleaguered agency, and he has the clear backing of President Bush.

Several lawmakers Wednesday voiced their support for Tenet. Most notably, Sen. Bob Graham (D-Fla.), chairman of the committee, praised Tenet for his leadership and noted that CIA operatives were the first to hit the ground in Afghanistan and suffered the first casualty of the war.

But other members made it clear that Tenet and the intelligence agencies he oversees would face significant scrutiny in the coming months.

In one exchange Wednesday, Sen. Pat Roberts (R-Kan.) asked Tenet to respond to reports that the CIA had neglected Afghanistan before Sept. 11, was desperately short of officers who could speak Middle Eastern languages and was generally too timid in its pursuit of terrorist networks.

“What fellows at the Dodge City kaffeeklatsch ask me is, ‘If John Walker Lindh could get to talk to Osama bin Laden, why in the heck couldn’t the CIA get an agent closer to him?’ ” Roberts said.

Tenet dismissed the remark about Lindh--the so-called American Talib captured in Afghanistan--and responded to the allegation of a lackluster effort in Afghanistan by telling Roberts, “You better tell everybody at the cafe it’s not true.”

The most pointed criticism came from Shelby, who was chairman of the committee before Democrats regained control of the Senate last year, and who has previously said that Tenet should be replaced. Shelby noted that the CIA was created largely to prevent America from being caught off-guard the way it had been by the Japanese at Pearl Harbor.

“That second devastating surprise attack came on Sept. 11,” he said. “Once we determine why we were caught completely by surprise, I believe we must then work together to ensure that there is no third Pearl Harbor.”

Tenet, a plain-spoken son of Greek immigrants, offered a forceful response that he had clearly been rehearsing in his head for some time. “We welcome the committee’s review of our record on terrorism,” he said. “It’s a record of discipline, strategy, focus and attention.”

He noted that in the months leading up to the turn of the millennium, “We told the president that there would be between five and 15 attacks against American interests both here and overseas. None of these attacks occurred.”

Last summer, he added, there were “spectacular” reports of threats against the United States. “We again launched a massive disruption effort,” he said. “We know that we stopped three or four American facilities from being bombed overseas. We know that we saved many American lives.”