Politics

Ashcroft Defends Anti-Terror Tactics

By CBSNews.com staff CBSNews.com staff

December 6, 2001 / 9:37 AM EST / CBS

Attorney General John Ashcroft launched a spirited defense of his controversial anti-terror actions Thursday, saying the Justice Department needs every policy it is using to meet that threat.

Holding aloft an al-Qaida terrorism manual, the attorney general told the Senate Judiciary Committee: "We are at war with an enemy that abuses individual rights as it abuses jetliners.… Defending our nation and its citizens against terrorist attacks is now our first law enforcement priority."

Ashcroft's appearance came in an atmosphere of mounting criticism by Senate Democrats that the Justice Department moved too far, too quickly, to implement a host of stern investigative measures in the wake of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.

But he defended the plans, saying daily threats show an enemy bent on destroying America, reports CBS News Senior Washington Correspondent Bob Schieffer.

"They are a chilling daily chronicle of the hatred of Americans by fanatics who seek to extinguish freedom, enslave women, corrupt education and kill Americans wherever and whenever they can," said Ashcroft.

As evidence, Ashcroft displayed a captured terrorist manual which shows how deadly and detailed terrorist training has become -- a book offering on everything from concealing identity to a graphic passage that outlines guidelines for beating and killing hostages.

Ashcroft chided critics of the various measures, including the government's detention and questioning of hundreds of Middle Eastern men.

"To those who scare peace-loving people with phantoms of lost liberty, my message is this: your tactics only aid terrorists," He said. "They erode out national unity and diminish our resolve."

He said critics are uninformed. "Charges of kangaroo courts and shredding the Constitution give new meaning to the term 'the fog of war,'" he said.

"Each action taken by the Department of Justice as well as the war crimes commission ... is carefully drawn to cover a narrow class of individuals — terrorists," Ashcroft declared.

On the 87th day since the attack, Ashcroft told lawmakers he received chilling daily intelligence reports.

"My day begins with a review of the threats to Americans and American interests," Ashcroft said. "If ever there were proof of evil in the world it is in these reports."

The committee chairman, Sen. Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., said the government needs a good reason to snoop into bank records, tax returns and e-mails.

Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, countered: "Let's keep our focus on where it matters — protecting U.S. citizens."

Ashcroft was expected to be questioned also about why the Justice Department denied the FBI access to records to determine whether any of the detainees had bought guns.

The denial was made in October because Justice Department officials decided it would be an improper use of records, Justice spokeswoman Mindy Tucker said Wednesday.

In addition to the civil rights concerns, some senatrs are unhappy that the White House and Justice Department acted without telling most members of Congress in advance.

Democrats are especially upset about some of the administration's plans because no one from the administration mentioned them during weeks of negotiations between Ashcroft and Congress to expand police powers in response to Sept. 11.

The Democrats see their questioning of Ashcroft as protecting the integrity of the constitutional separation of powers.

"This administration has preferred to go it alone, with no authorization or prior consultation with the legislative branch," Leahy said. "This is no mere technicality. It fundamentally jeopardizes the separation of powers that undergirds our constitutional system."

Ashcroft's relationship with the committee has been rocky all year. In his first appearance in front of the committee as attorney general, Ashcroft only stayed about 90 minutes, which kept some of the committee members from asking questions. Democratic senators have not forgotten.