July 13, 2004
WASHINGTON (AP) — The acting director of the CIA said Tuesday that Osama bin Laden must be aware of any planning for a terrorist attack to disrupt the U.S. elections because operatives believed involved in the plot have been closely associated with him.
In an interview with The Associated Press, John McLaughlin, who took over the agency this week while President Bush decides who to name as permanent director, also said the CIA has enough personnel in Iraq to recruit the necessary intelligence sources there.
McLaughlin was less forthcoming about his own future, giving no hint if he expects to be picked as director and noting it is up to Bush.
"I'm happy to stay as long as I'm needed," said the 30-year veteran of the agency, whether that means in an acting capacity or to help prepare an incoming director for the job.
McLaughlin's rise from deputy to acting director came after Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge warned last week of a heightened period of alert for a terrorist attack, given the upcoming elections and assessments indicating Muslim extremists may want to disrupt the democratic process and influence the outcome.
McLaughlin said Ridge based his announcement on "very solid" information. Although local terrorist cells appear to have more autonomy, McLaughlin said bin Laden is still thought to be knowledgeable of any plotting under way.
"It would be very hard for me to imagine that he is not aware of all of this planning because the people responsible for it are people with a history of close association with him," McLaughlin said.
Last week, a senior intelligence official, briefing reporters on the condition of anonymity, said U.S. authorities were working to understand whether cells were part of the al-Qaeda organization or offshoots of it.
As acting CIA director, McLaughlin oversees the entire 15-agency intelligence community, which was hammered by a Senate Intelligence Committee report released Friday. The panel found systemic failures that led to unsupported and overstated conclusions on the threat from Iraq before the U.S.-led invasion, particularly flawed estimates on the regime's weapons of mass destruction.
Among nearly 120 conclusions, mostly negative, the report faulted intelligence analysts for assembling information that was not substantiated and blamed intelligence collectors for setting out to prove — rather than question — assumptions.
But on Day Two in his new job, McLaughlin rejected suggestions that the mood in the CIA is dark.
"One of the things people don't realize about this place is that it is humming all the time," McLaughlin said. "The idea that we are somehow besieged or not doing our jobs is absolutely wrong."
McLaughlin sees progress in handling Iraq, where the agency has acknowledged intelligence operatives didn't have access to former President Saddam Hussein's inner circle before the invasion.
Now, however, the agency has enough people in Iraq to recruit operatives who can blend into Iraqi society and collect intelligence, McLaughlin said.
"I think we have sufficient numbers of people to recruit the kinds of agents and human sources to get a good window into that situation," McLaughlin said.
The White House has refused to be pinned down on a timetable for naming a new CIA chief despite mounting pressure from Congress. Officials emphasize that it is a time-consuming process and that each potential candidate has to be vetted for the highly sensitive job. The latest indication is that a nominee will not be named this week.
Among names floated over the last month was that of House Intelligence Committee Chairman Porter Goss, R-Fla., and former Navy Secretary John Lehman, a member of the independent commission investigating the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks.
After Goss' name emerged, Sen. Jay Rockefeller of West Virginia, the top Democrat on the Senate Intelligence Committee, released a statement saying no politician should get the job. And White House officials have reacted skeptically to speculation that Lehman would be nominated.
Others mentioned include Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage and former Sen. Sam Nunn, D-Ga. Nunn has said he does not want to be considered.
Copyright 2004 The Associated Press.
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