----- Original Message ----- From: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>; <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>; <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Sent: Thursday, February 08, 2001 3:30 PM Subject: CIA Boss Lists Challenges U.S. Faces [STOPNATO.ORG.UK] STOP NATO: NO PASARAN! - HTTP://WWW.STOPNATO.ORG.UK --------------------------- ListBot Sponsor -------------------------- Start Your Own FREE Email List at http://www.listbot.com/links/joinlb ---------------------------------------------------------------------- CIA Boss Lists Challenges U.S. Faces Thursday, February 8, 2001 http://www.sltrib.com/02082001/nation_w/69487.htm BY JONATHAN S. LANDAY KNIGHT RIDDER NEWS SERVICE WASHINGTON -- Terrorist leader Osama bin Laden is the most immediate threat to America's national security, but the Bush administration also faces a Russian leader bent on reviving "some aspects of the Soviet past" and missile proliferation abetted by Russia, China and North Korea, CIA Director George Tenet said Wednesday. In an annual review of global threats to U.S. interests, Tenet also warned that Saddam Hussein would probably show "greater assertiveness" in trying to end economic sanctions against Iraq, and that the United States could not be certain that China has halted its support for Pakistan's nuclear-weapons program. Tenet told the Senate Intelligence Committee that it was increasingly difficult for U.S. intelligence agencies to grapple with the plethora of post-Cold War challenges to U.S. security. "Never in my experience," he said, "has American intelligence had to deal with such a dynamic set of concerns affecting such a broad range of U.S. interests. Never have we had to deal with such a high quotient of uncertainty." Tenet's assessments of some threats, notably Russia, were starker than those presented in his review last year and those of the Clinton administration. CIA directors don't make or present U.S. policy, but politically savvy ones such as Tenet don't ignore it, either. The Clinton administration withheld judgment on Russian President Vladimir Putin's intentions and commitment to democracy, and so did Tenet in his 2000 assessment. The espionage chief was more definitive Wednesday, saying Putin's policies suggest he is determined to revive some attributes of the former Soviet Union, even if that means abridging civil rights and bullying other former Soviet republics. "There can be little doubt that President Putin wants to restore some aspects of the Soviet past -- status as a great power, strong central authority and a stable and predictable society -- sometimes at the expense of neighboring states or the civil rights of individual Russians," Tenet said. He cited as examples the former KGB spy's moves to weaken the power of provincial governors and muzzle independent media that are critical of the Kremlin. Yet Tenet said that the "most immediate and serious threat" to U.S. security is terrorist attacks by the "global network of lieutenants and associates" of Osama bin Laden, the exiled Saudi Muslim extremist who has declared an Islamic holy war on the United States. Bin Laden's "organization is continuing to place emphasis on developing surrogates to carry out attacks in an effort to avoid detection, blame, and retaliation," Tenet said. "As a result, it is often difficult to attribute terrorist incidents to his group, al Qaeda, which means 'the Base.' " Tenet apparently was referring to the failure so far of U.S. intelligence and law enforcement agencies to unearth evidence directly tying bin Laden to the Oct. 12 suicide bombing of the USS Cole. Seventeen American sailors died when a bomb was detonated beside the Cole in the Yemeni port of Aden. Members of bin Laden's organization reportedly have been arrested and charged with the attack and he remains a leading suspect. Bin Laden has been indicted in the United States on charges of orchestrating the 1998 bombings of the U.S. embassies in Kenya and Tanzania that killed 224 people. Another major threat to U.S. security, Tenet said, is the proliferation of nuclear, chemical and biological weapons and missiles that can deliver them. These threats are driving President Bush's pledge to deploy as soon as possible systems capable of defending the United States, its troops overseas and its allies from missile attacks. Tenet said the United States faced missile threats from "a variety of actors beyond Russia and China -- specifically North Korea, probably Iran and possibly Iraq." He warned that the threat is growing because of assistance and technology that China, Russia and North Korea have been providing to countries such as Iran and Libya. These nations, in turn, could begin aiding other governments, he said. Sen. John Kyl, R-Ariz. asked Tenet about Russian assertions that tougher export controls would curb missile proliferation more effectively than a U.S. national missile defense. "The Russian export control system has been about nonexistent," replied Tenet, a sharp contrast with the Clinton administration's assertions that Russia was making progress in enforcing controls on exports of technologies with military uses. Tenet said U.S. intelligence agencies were unable to confirm whether China is living up to a promise it made in November to stop helping other countries develop missiles capable of carrying nuclear weapons. "We are watching and analyzing carefully for any sign that Chinese entities may be acting against that commitment," he continued. Intelligence officials are worried that Pakistan may require further Chinese help in developing its two-stage Shaheen II medium-range ballistic missile, he added. Tenet said the United States also can't be certain whether China was fulfilling a 1996 promise to halt assistance to Pakistan's illicit nuclear weapons program. "We cannot yet be certain . . . that contacts have ended," he said. On another matter, Tenet gave 74-year-old Cuban leader Fidel Castro a backhanded compliment, saying he expects the island's Communist chief to live for many more years. "He's got a great gene pool," said Tenet of the man the CIA once tried to assassinate. "He's going to be around for awhile." © Copyright 2001, The Salt Lake Tribune ______________________________________________________________________ To unsubscribe, write to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
