FBI officials to defend counterterror efforts

Tuesday, April 13, 2004

WASHINGTON -- The nation's top law enforcement officials say they recognized the threat posed by al-Qaida in the months leading up to the Sept. 11 attacks, but members of the commission looking into the attacks say they want proof that concern equaled action. The panel begins a new two-day hearing today with testimony from former FBI director Louis Freeh, Attorney General John Ashcroft and former Attorney General Janet Reno. Thomas Pickard, who served as acting FBI director in the months just before the attacks, and former CIA counterterrorism center director Cofer Black also are scheduled to testify.

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