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Monday, Nov 9, 2009
When the 9/11 commission grills the attorney general Tuesday, here's what they should ask.
Apr 12, 2004 | Until now, Attorney General John Ashcroft has been a beneficiary of the intense attention paid to National Security Advisor Condoleezza Rice. The controversy surrounding Rice has taken the focus away from Ashcroft's own counterterrorism record -- a record of misplaced priorities, missed opportunities and mistakes. But, on Tuesday, Ashcroft will raise his right hand, take an oath and testify publicly before the 9/11 commission.
Here are 10 key questions the commissioners should ask the attorney general:
1) If counterterrorism was a top priority for the Justice Department prior to 9/11, why did Ashcroft ignore the FBI's specific request in August 2001 for additional counterterrorism resources?
That month the FBI submitted its internal budget request to the Department of Justice, seeking 248 counterterrorism agents and support staff, 54 translators to review a backlog of foreign language intelligence, and 200 professional intelligence researchers to analyze the intelligence. Yet when Ashcroft submitted his final budget request to the White House on Sept. 10, 2001, 24 hours before the al-Qaida attacks, he did not request funding for any of the FBI's urgent needs. In fact, Ashcroft proposed cuts in counterterrorism efforts, including a $65 million reduction for counterterrorism equipment grants, a $20 million reduction for border control, and a $1.4 million reduction for the National Domestic Preparedness Office. Of the 68 programs where Ashcroft proposed increases, not a single one involved counterterrorism. In Attorney General Janet Reno's budget for 2000, counterterrorism was her first priority. What was Ashcroft's thinking that led him to remove it as a priority and to propose extensive cuts?
2) Why wasn't counterterrorism one of the seven strategic goals Ashcroft outlined in a May 2001 memo to his division heads?
In that memo, he outlined his major goals for the upcoming budget year. Among his priorities: reducing gun violence, protecting the rights of crime victims, and strengthening internal Justice Department financial systems. Counterterrorism was not mentioned. By contrast, Attorney General Janet Reno's budget guidance of April 2000 listed counterterrorism as the area where "up-to-date human and technological infrastructure" was critical.
By August 2001, Ashcroft had created a "strategic plan" document to spotlight his priorities. Out of 36 "objectives" Ashcroft highlighted 13 in yellow. The document explained "Highlight=AG Goal." Although objective 1.3 was "combat terrorist activities," it was not highlighted. Tellingly, in November 2001, Ashcroft released a revised strategic plan that contained the same seven strategic goals as the original and one addition. Now his No. 1 goal: "Protect America Against the Threat of Terrorism." But who had neglected it before 9/11?
