US law enforcement agencies are seeking broader powers in the wake of the devastating September 11 attacks, but US Attorney General John Ashcroft denied Sunday they would undermine US civil liberties.
"We need the tools to prevent terrorism," Ashcroft said to CBS television, adding that "if we don't build our capacity to fight terrorism, the risk [of other terror attacks] goes up."
Ashcroft said he was asking the US Congress to boost the surveillance and detention abilities of the agencies under his responsibility, such as the FBI.
Specifically, the justice department wants to be able to put "airtight surveillance on spies, terrorists, foreign agents" and keep "suspected terrorists who are already charged with other violations of the immigration law to be detained on a continuing basis," he said.
"I don't want to be releasing suspected terrorists onto the streets of United States of America who have been -- who are being adjudicated as violators of the immigration laws already," he said.
Civil liberty groups have expressed concerns about the draft legislation as removing the checks and balances that separate the United States from a police state.
But Ashcroft insisted: "This isn't a threat to the civil rights of individuals."
In a series of US media interviews, Ashcroft also warned that a "clear and present danger to Americans" from terrorists remained.
"It's very unlikely that all those associated with the attacks of September 11 have been detained or detected," he told CNN.
Moreover, he said, the risk of further terror actions against the United States would increase with US retaliation against the attacks.
Meanwhile, Ashcroft would not be specific on the number of people being held by US authorities probing the attacks, saying only "we have quite a number of them" to CBS and telling CNN "we've arrested and detained almost 500 people."
None of them is being held on charges directly related to the September 11 attacks.
Instead, they are being detained on alleged violations of immigration law, state law or because they are considered "material witnesses" to the investigation.
The efforts of US authorities to crack what they believe is an international terror network linked to Osama bin Laden and his al-Qaeda network have gone global, turning into the biggest investigation ever.
A critical focus is the world's flying schools, as at least some of the 19 men suspected of hijacking four passenger jets on September 11 received US or European pilot training ahead of the hijack strikes that left more than 6,000 dead or missing.
Cropduster aircraft and rigs that carry hazardous materials have formed another prong of the investigation amid clues that some of the hijackers may also have considered a biological or chemical strike.
More than 20 potential suspects have been detained in Europe, where Germany and Britain have emerged as likely hubs for the squad that later launched the attack.
US authorities were Sunday seeking the extradition of an Algerian pilot Lotfi Raissi after British prosecutors claimed he trained four of the hijackers in flying.
There are signs the operation may have been planned in the German city of Hamburg, where at least three of the hijackers -- including 33-year-old Mohammed Atta -- lived.
Germany issued international arrest warrants for two men suspected of belonging to a terrorist organization and of plotting mass murder.
The US has said that 19 men -- all of Arab descent and mostly from Saudi Arabia -- carried out the hijackings of four jets that left Boston, Washington and Newark, but even their true identities are not certain, amid reports that some of the men originally identified are still alive.
Of all of the hijackers, Egyptian-born Atta, who is thought to have been at the controls of the Boeing 767 that plowed into one of the WTC twin towers, stands out as a pivotal figure.
Investigators say they found a chilling document in his luggage left at a US airport ahead of the attacks, which included a checklist for the hijackers to follow during the operation as well as Islamic prayers and exhortations -- WASHINGTON (AFP)
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