Bush praises CIA anti-terror program

WASHINGTON, Oct. 23 (UPI) -- U.S. President George Bush praised the success of the CIA's anti-terrorism efforts, saying it has produced concrete results.

In a speech at the National Defense University in Washington, Bush listed a number of intelligence coups that prevented attacks on U.S. interests, including a U.S. Marine camp in Djibouti in eastern Africa and the U.S. consulate in Karachi. He also credited the CIA with preventing the hijacking of a passenger plane to be flown into Library Tower in Los Angeles and a plot to fly passenger planes into Heathrow Airport and downtown London buildings.

"Despite the record of success, and despite the fact that our professionals use lawful techniques, the CIA program has come under renewed criticism in recent weeks," Bush said. "Those who oppose this vital tool in the war on terror need to answer a simple question: Which of the attacks I have just described would they prefer we had not stopped?

"Without this program, our intelligence community believes that al-Qaida and its allies would have succeeded in launching another attack against the American homeland. The CIA program has saved lives. It is vital to the security of the American people."