Negroponte: al-Qaida the Biggest Threat

Outgoing Director of National Intelligence John Negroponte, second from right, accompanied by other intelligence officials, testifies on Capitol Hill in Washington, Thursday, Jan. 11, 2007 before the Senate Intelligence Committee hearing on national threats. From left are, Randall Fort, Assistant Secretary of State for Intelligence and Research; CIA Director Gen. Michael Hayden; Negroponte; and FBI Director, Robert Mueller. (AP Photo/Lawrence Jackson) (Lawrence Jackson - AP)

In his written testimony, FBI Director Robert Mueller said al-Qaida's choice of targets and methods most likely will focus on the aviation, energy and mass transit sectors. The group is interested, too, in attacks against large public gatherings and symbolic targets such as monuments.

Their testimony came as President Bush pursues a revised course in Iraq and overhauls his national security team. Last week, the president nominated Negroponte to the No. 2 State Department post and asked former National Security Agency Director Mike McConnell to succeed Negroponte.

Senate Democrats were skeptical that Bush's decision to send 20,000 more U.S. troops would improve security in Iraq.

The Senate committee chairman, Sen. Jay Rockefeller, said he was concerned that "misguided policies of the administration" have increased the threat to the United States. "I believe our actions in Iraq have placed our nation more at risk to terrorist attack than before the invasion," said Rockefeller, D-W.Va.

The committee's top Republican, Sen. Kit Bond of Missouri, said now that Bush's has detailed his plan, "It is time for the Iraqis to step up to the plate or we will obviously consider other options."

In his first hearing as chairman, Rockefeller took issue with counterterrorism programs undertaken by the Bush administration, including secret CIA prisons. He pledged to hold hearings and said the administration can "no longer stonewall" requests for information now that Democrats control Congress.

Outlining other global threats, the intelligence officials told senators:

_The DIA believes attacks in Afghanistan from the Taliban-led insurgency will increase this spring. "Nearly five years after the Taliban's fall, many Afghans expected the situation to be better by now and are beginning to blame President (Hamid) Karzai for the lack of greater progress," Maples said.

_In Somalia, where the Islamic government has collapsed, the transitional U.N.-backed government faces the same obstacles that have prevented political stability since 1991. "More turmoil could enable extremists to regain their footing. ... Al-Qaida remains determined to exploit turmoil in Somalia," Negroponte said.

_Iran and North Korea raise the greatest concerns regarding weapons proliferation. Iran, he said, "is determined to develop nuclear weapons _ despite its international obligations and international pressure." He said the country "is continuing to pursue uranium enrichment and has shown more interest in protracting negotiations than reaching an acceptable diplomatic solution."

_The U.S. has identified 21 countries _ Iran, North Korea and China are of highest concern _ that can develop weapons of mass destruction or acquire sensitive weapons technologies, Mueller said. The FBI and other agencies have conducted joint investigations that have led to both arrests and intelligence.

The separate report by a task force of the Homeland Security Advisory Council said the most significant threat to the U.S. arises from the radicalization of Islam, particularly in underdeveloped societies.

The council, which advised the Homeland Security secretary, recommended that the government curb the Islamic radicalization of inmates in U.S. prisons; hire more people from different cultures and more people who speak more languages; and study attacks abroad and design domestic tactics to counter those methods.

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Associated Press writer Beverly Lumpkin contributed to this report.