CIA director says al Qaida is damaged but still dangerous

(24 Feb 2004) 1. Pan view of CIA Director George Tenet and FBI Director Robert Mueller greeting Senators 2. Back view of hearing 3. Pan, side view of hearing 4. SOUNDBITE: (English) George Tenet, CIA Director "The al-Qaida leadership structure we charted after September 11 is seriously damaged, but the group remains as committed as ever to attacking the American homeland. As we continue to battle against al-Qaida we must overcome a movement, a global movement infected by al-Qaida''''''''s radical agenda. In the battle we are moving forward in our knowledge of the enemy, its plans and capabilities and what we''''''''ve learned continues to validate my deepest concern that this enemy remains intent on obtaining and using catastrophic weapons." 5. Back view of hearing 6. SOUNDBITE: (English) George Tenet, CIA Director: "Across the operational spectrum, air, maritime, special weapons, we have time and again uncovered plots that are chilling. On aircraft plots alone we have uncovered new plans to recruit pilots, and to evade new security measures in South-East Asia, the Middle East and Europe. Even catastrophic attacks on the scale of 9/11 remain within al-Qaida''''''''s reach. Make no mistake these plots are hatched abroad but they target the U-S soil and those of our allies." 7. Side view of hearing 8. SOUNDBITE: (English) Senator Jay Rockefeller, Democrat, West Virginia: "The question I am wrestling with this morning is whether in fact we are, as a country and as a people safer today than we were when the three of you were here a year ago. We fought a war against a vicious dictator, but bringing security to Iraq remains elusive and we are paying a very high price in blood and resources. We are also paying a high price in world public opinion, which is important, not just for its own sake but in order to obtain the cooperation necessary to achieve greater security." 9. Mid view of Tenet, Mueller and Defence Intelligence Agency Director Vice Admiral Lowell Jacoby listening STORYLINE: CIA Director George Tenet on Tuesday said that the al-Qaida terror group was seriously damaged but had spread its radical anti-American agenda to other Islamic extremist groups that now posed a great threat to the United States. Tenet made the comments before the Senate Intelligence Committee as he gace his agency''''''''s annual assessment of global threats. He said the growth of Osama bin Laden''''''''s anti-US sentiment through the wider Sunni extremist movement ensured that a serious threat would remain for the foreseeable future. Beyond al-Qaida, however, Tenet said there was a continuing threat to the United States from a global movement infected by al-Qaida''''''''s radical agenda. He said that intelligence gathered by the CIA continued to be his deepest concern and that enemies remained intent on obtaining and using catastrophic weapons. The public hearing came after months of scrutiny of the intelligence community''''''''s pre-war and so-far faulty estimates that weapons of mass destruction would be found in Iraq. Senator Jay Rockefeller told the session that he was unsure whether the United States was safer today than a year ago. Rockefeller said security in Iraq remained elusive and that the United States was paying a high price in blood, resources, and world opinion. FBI Director Robert Mueller told the committee that the the FBI''''''''s top security concerns this year included the Olympic Games in Greece and the Democratic and Republican presidential nominating conventions. Find out more about AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/HowWeWork Twitter:   / ap_archive   Facebook:   / aparchives   ​​ Instagram:   / apnews   You can license this story through AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/metadata/you...