INTRODUCTION

I want to begin by expressing my prayers and condolences for the victims, and to the Families and loved ones who have been devastated by terrorism, in all of its destructive forms. I spent 26 years in public service as an FBI Agent, prosecutor, Army Officer, judge and FBI Director, striving every day, as did my colleagues, to protect both people and the Rule of Law.

All who serve in law enforcement and public safety go to work every day committed to the possibility of laying down their lives to prevent harm to our fellow citizens. On September 11th, dozens of law enforcement officers, firefighters, and other brave people willingly did so. Special Agent Lenny Hatton and retired Special Agent John O'Neill unselfishly sacrificed their lives that day. John and Lenny represent the very finest of the FBI - men and women who I am immensely proud of and whose courage, skill, sacrifices and dedication in combating crime and terrorism, both here in this country and on the ground in far away dangerous places, deserve the nation's praise and enduring respect. It was a great and unique privilege to serve with these extraordinary Americans. We are sincerely thankful for Director Mueller's able leadership and for an FBI so dedicated to the people it serves.

I often had the occasion to work with John O'Neill. He was the FBI's counter-terrorism chief who helped forge what became the excellent and unprecedented FBI-CIA relationship in counter-terrorism. John and I stood together on the deck of the USS Cole in Aden harbor shortly after the October 2000 attack against our warship. We watched silently and reverently as young FBI Agents and technicians worked in the 110 degree hold of the devastated ship to carefully recover the remains of the 17 sailors killed in that brutal act of war against the United States. In June of 1996, John and I stood together in front of Khobar Towers in Saudi Arabia as hundreds of FBI men and women - again working in 120 degree temperatures - sifted through tons of debris removing human remains and evidence, intent on doing that which law enforcement can do when there is a terrorist act of war against America. In Dar es Salaam and Nairobi in August 1998 again I watched hundreds of FBI men and women sifting through the shattered ruins of our American embassies recovering human remains and evidence, all of us determined to bring to justice those who committed these atrocious acts against the United States of America.

In February 1993, I was sitting in my courtroom at Foley Square in downtown Manhattan when the World Trade Center was attacked by foreign, Al-Qaedatrained terrorists. I walked from the courthouse and when I got to Chambers Street, I saw dozens of FBI Agents running down the street towards the smoke-filled building. My images and memories of these painful events are both horrific and heroic. The horror and suffering of the victims, balanced in a small but vital way, by the heroism, absolute focus and sacrifices of the rescuers and responders - and always, the incredible bravery and selflessness of the FBI employees, people who, like their

It was amazing to me that this part of the scene was always the same. FBI men and women - whether it was New York City, Dhahran, Aden, Nairobi, Dar es Salaam- exhausted, many sick and dehydrated, working until they literally dropped in some cases, down on their knees digging with their hands and fingers, working in harms' way. In Yemen and East Africa, our Agents not only worked in extremely hazardous conditions, but had to be and were guarded round-the-clock by FAST teams of United States Marines to protect their lives as they pursued justice under the Rule of Law.

Another thing that has been a constant was the FBI's concern and support for the survivors of these horrendous acts. Their testimony in these cases speaks eloquently about the superb professionalism and dedication of the FBI's counterterrorism people. The FBI men and women who have cared for and spent hundreds of hours comforting, informing and caring for these survivors are incredible. On numerous occasions, I visited with the surviving Families of the Americans killed in East Africa, on board the USS Cole and at Khobar Towers. We tried never to be too busy elsewhere that we stop pursuing the killers of their loved ones.

One of the most moving events in my years of public service was in June of 2001, days before I left the FBI, when all nineteen Families of the Khobar Towers victims came to my office and thanked me and the FBI for not forgetting about them and for keeping our promise that the FBI would never stop its efforts to bring to justice the terrorists who killed their loved ones. I will treasure that moment forever.

As I said, it was an honor to work with men like John O'Neill, and the thousands of others, people like Dale Watson and Cofer Black – dedicated Americans for whose bravery, skill and absolute integrity America will always be thankful.

I would also like to commend President Bush and the Congress for their immediate responses in kind to the acts of those who are responsible for the events of September 11th. Even after my 26 years of public service, I was awestruck to see a united America exercise the will and might to carry out an all-inclusive, far-reaching and total war against terrorists who, from far away places, have threatened and attacked America for decades.

I would like to take a few minutes this morning to provide a broad overview of the terrorism threat and the FBI's role and history in fighting this evil. I would also like to focus on both the successes and the limitations of that mission prior to September 11th, important because the threats and needs for resources and authorities were the same on September 10th as they were on September 12th. I would also offer some ideas on strengthening and improving America's national security without weakening the foundation upon which our country has been built – governance under the Rule of Law.

OVERVIEW

EVERY ACT OF TERRORISM AROUND THE WORLD CANNOT BE PREVENTED

Terrorism has been waged against domestic, civil authority and invading armies for centuries. Its motivation and execution has unlimited variations over time and place. For that very reason and as a freedom loving people, we have to be careful about how we let terrorism be defined. It is inevitable that every act of terrorism cannot be prevented even under the best of circumstances. If reality was otherwise, some government or regime, using unlimited resources and unrestrained power, would have come up with a 100 percent preventive formula. America and other countries are fully capable of carrying out skillful, covert, highly compartmentalized and effective strikes against terrorists on the other side of the world. Our enemies from time-to-time are equally capable of such an attack against us, especially when they are anxious to die in the endeavor. No agency or country - particularly in a democracy where the Rule of Law is sacred - can be expected to foil and prevent every planned attack. Such a standard will never be met. Nevertheless, our law enforcement, our intelligence agencies, our political, economic, military and our diplomatic policies and efforts must strive to get as close to that 100 percent goal as humanly possible.

THE INTELLIGENCE COMMUNITY AND THE FBI DOES NOT APPEAR TO HAVE HAD SUFFICIENT INFORMATION TO PREVENT THE SEPTEMBER 11 ATTACKS

What has been stated recently to this Committee by FBI Director Robert S. Mueller Ill includes the following:

"The plans for the September 11th attacks were hatched and financed
overseas over a several year period.

"Each of the hijackers, apparently purposely selected to avoid notice,
came easily and lawfully from abroad ...

"While here, the hijackers effectively operated without suspicion, triggering
nothing that alerted law enforcement and doing nothing that exposed them
to domestic coverage. As far as we know, they contacted no known
terrorist sympathizers in the United States. They committed no crimes
with the exception of minor traffic violations. They dressed and acted like
Americans, shopping and eating at places like Wal-Mart and Pizza Hut.
They came into different cities, moved around a lot and did not hold jobs.
When three got speeding tickets in the days leading up to September 11,
they remained calm and aroused no suspicion. One of the suicide
hijackers, Nawaf al-Hazmi, even reported an attempted street robbery on
May 1, 2001, to Fairfax, Virginia Police -- he later declined to press
charges.

"None of the nineteen suicide hijackers are known to have had computers,
laptops, or storage media of any kind, although they are known to have
used publicly accessible Internet connections at various locations. They

used 133 different pre-paid calling cards to call from various pay phones,
cell phones, and land lines.

"The nineteen suicide hijackers used U.S. checking accounts accessed
with debit cards to conduct the majority of financial activity during the
course of this conspiracy.

"Meetings and communications between the hijackers were done without
detection, apparent surveillance flights were taken, and nothing illegal was
detected through airport security screening.

"In short, the terrorists had managed very effectively to exploit loopholes
and vulnerabilities in our systems. To this day we have found no one in
the United States except the actual hijackers who knew of the plot and we
have found nothing they did while in the United States that triggered a
specific response about them."

We have read and heard much about the July 2001 memo by a Phoenix Special Agent, the Minnesota arrest and investigation of Moussaoui in August, and the information which the CIA obtained regarding two of the nineteen hijackers relating to a Kuala Lumpur meeting in 2000.

It is very important in hindsight to segregate this relevant information and put it into a dedicated timeline. However, the predictive value of these diverse facts at the time that they were being received must be evaluated. Analyzing intelligence information can be like trying to take a sip of water coming out of a fire hydrant. The several bits of information clearly connected and predictive after the fact need to be viewed in real time. The reality is that these unquestionably important bits have been plucked from a sea of thousands and thousands of such bits at the time. Additionally, as this Committee well knows, the difference between strategic and tactical intelligence is critically important to keep in mind.

Although not privy to all the relevant information known to this Committee, I am aware of nothing that to me demonstrates that the FBI and the intelligence community had the type of information or tactical intelligence which could have prevented September 11th. In terms of the FBI's capability to identify, investigate and prevent the nineteen hijackers from carrying out their attacks, the facts so far on the public record do not support the conclusion that these tragic events could have been prevented by the FBI and intelligence community acting by themselves. That is not to say things could not have been done better or that more resources or authorities would not have helped. It is only to say I have not seen a reporting of facts that leads to that conclusion, with one important caveat, however. Because of the narrow focus of this inquiry I leave aside any view of the larger but very relevant issues like foreign policy, military might, airline safety, national commitment, etc.

IDENTIFICATION, INVESTIGATION AND ARREST OF DANGEROUS TERRORISTS AND THOSE WHO SUPPORT THEM IS PREVENTION

For instance, the FBI's criminal investigation of the 1993 World Trade Center bombing led directly to the discovery and prosecution of a terrorist plot to blow up New York City tunnels, buildings, and infrastructure which would have killed thousands of innocent people. The FBI's investigation led to evidence and witnesses whose cooperation directly prevented a major terrorist attack. In my experience, the identification, pursuit and arrest of terrorists are the primary means of preventing terrorism. The FBI and CIA have jointly been doing this successfully for many years. Our investigation and pursuit of Ramzi Yousef after the World Trade Center bombing in 1993, let to the Philippines and helped to prevent his plot to blow up eleven United States airliners in the western Pacific. His arrest in Pakistan by FBI Agents certainly prevented him from carrying out further acts of terrorism against America. Bringing Yousef and the East Africa Embassy bombers back to the United States and convicting them in New York City without a doubt prevented them from carrying out more terrorism against America. As these Committees have known for several years, the FBI and the CIA have carried out joint operations around the world to disrupt, exploit and recover evidence on Al-Qaeda operatives who have targeted the United States. These operations, in part designed to obtain admissible evidence, also had the critical objectives of destroying the operational capability of terrorist organizations, collecting valuable intelligence and being able to support our military, should such a response be unleashed.

LAW ENFORCEMENT'S ABILITY TO ACT AGAINST ENTRENCHED TERRORISTS IN OVERSEAS SANTUARIES IS VERY LIMITED

The FBI and CIA can devise and implement a very effective counterterrorism strategy both inside the United States and overseas. However, often a greater involvement of national resources is required. For example, General Noriega was investigated and indicted by the Department of Justice in 1988 operating out of what he thought was a safe, foreign haven. Noriega and his military-like organization were sending tons of deadly drugs into the United States, causing the deaths and devastation of countless Americans. The FBI and DEA built the case and executed the arrest warrant on Noriega in Panama only because our military can and did do what law enforcement and intelligence cannot. Usama Bin Laden was indicted in 1998, prior to Al-Qaeda's bombings of our two embassies in East Africa. Like Noriega, Usama Bin Laden remained secure and operational in his foreign, safe haven. Once the collective will to go in and get him was summoned, it happened with striking speed. The Pan Am 103 bombing is another such example of an FBI case where the Libyan intelligence service was the target of our investigation.

I certainly don't equate Noriega and Usama Bin Laden in terms of their destructiveness and evil. However, the comparison makes an obvious but often