FORT MEADE (USA), June 4: US President George Bush said on Tuesday it was clear the FBI and the CIA were not communicating properly before Sept. 11 but that the two agencies are now in much closer contact.

Speaking to reporters as he toured the top-secret National Security Agency that eavesdrops on the world, Bush said “in terms of whether or not the FBI and the CIA were communicating properly, I think it is clear that they weren’t”.

“Now we have addressed that issue. The CIA and the FBI are now in close communication.

“I have seen no evidence to date that said this country could have prevented the attack,” said Bush, standing beneath a banner that said: “We won’t back down. We never have. We never will.”

President Bush expressed concern that congressional probes into the Sept 11 attacks might take government experts away from their central job of preventing another attack.

“What I am concerned about is tying up valuable assets and time and possibly jeopardizing sources of intelligence,” Bush said as congressional hearings were beginning on Capitol Hill into the failure of US intelligence to thwart the attacks.

The NSA is located at the Fort Meade Army base, a sprawling and heavily guarded military facility between Washington and Baltimore, Maryland. The NSA is housed in a tall modern building faced with reflecting black glass.

Bush gave a pep talk to employees that was closed to the press. The NSA work force represents an unusual combination of specialties: analysts, engineers, physicists, mathematicians, linguists, computer scientists and researchers.

Bush said he saw no evidence suggesting the United States had information that would have allowed it to prevent the attacks on New York and Washington, in which some 3,000 people were killed.

“In terms of whether or not the FBI and the CIA were communicating properly, I think it is clear that they weren’t,” Bush said. “Now we have addressed that issue. The CIA and the FBI are now in close communication.”

“I have seen no evidence to date that said this country could have prevented the attack,” added the president, standing beneath a banner that said: “We won’t back down. We never have. We never will.”

As the FBI and CIA traded blame in the newspapers, Bush said he was less concerned about finger-pointing and more concerned about congressional investigations turning into distractions.

The intelligence committees of the US Senate and House of Representatives plan to hold a series of hearings through the end of the year, with the proceedings to be opened to the public from the end of this month.

“Yes I am concerned about distractions from this perspective. I want the Congress to investigate, but I want a committee to investigate, not multiple committees to investigate ... because I don’t want to tie up our team when we were trying to fight this war on terror,” he said.

“In terms of the gossip and the finger-pointing — level 3 staffers trying to protect their hides — I don’t think that’s (of) concern. That’s just ... Washington, D.C.”

Asked if the finger-pointing was hurting morale, Bush said he was “more worried about their being overworked” because “these good people are putting in long, long hours.” He said he wanted to convey to them that he appreciated their sacrifice.

“I’d rather have them sacrifice on behalf of our nation than endless hours of testimony” spent before congressional committees, he added.

Also asked if a military move against Iraq had now been placed on the backburner, Bush referred reporters to his speech on Saturday in which he said the US military must be prepared to launch preemptive strikes to keep “terrorists and tyrants” from obtaining weapons of mass destruction.

Bush has singled out Iraq, Iran and North Korea as “axis of evil” nations bent on obtaining such weapons.

“One option of course is the military option ... I have no plans on my desk at this moment in time but nevertheless these nations ... that I have named need to take America seriously.”

“We’re very serious about this. We expect them to change their behavior.”—Reuters