The White House has acknowledged President Bush was warned of a possible hijacking attempt by followers of Osama bin Laden, one month before the September ll terrorist attacks. The Bush administration says appropriate action was taken.

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The White House has acknowledged President Bush was warned of a possible hijacking attempt by followers of Osama bin Laden, one month before the September ll terrorist attacks. The Bush administration says appropriate action was taken.

 The president got the information last August while at his Texas ranch.
 
 

Ari Fleischer

 He says the president did not get information indicating Al-Qaida terrorists were planning to use hijacked airplanes as missiles ramming them into the World Trade Center and the Pentagon. "This was a new type of attack that had not been foreseen," he said.

 Mr. Fleischer says this warning was seen in the context of those received earlier, that appropriate action was taken and certain agencies were notified. He says there had been an increase in reports of possible terrorist activity since May 2001, but most of the information pointed to American targets overseas.

 Some leading members of congress say this new admission from the White House warrants further scrutiny. They point to other indications that the Bush administration did not piece together several signs that Al-Qaida was planning something new and horrifying.
 
 

Sen. John Edwards (D-NC)

 "Why are we finding this out now, so many months after this occurred? Why did the American people not get this information before?," he asked. 

Senator Edwards pointed to another recent revelation, word that an agent with the Federal Bureau of Investigation in Arizona wrote a memo last July warning that a large number of Arabs were seeking flight training in the United States.
 
 

Sen. Richard Shelby

"There was a lot of information, I believe and others believe, if it hand been acted on properly we may have had a different situation on September 11," he said. 

Senator Shelby also discussed the issue in an interview with C-N-N. He wondered aloud why it took the White House so long to acknowledge the president knew of the hijacking threat.

 White House spokesman Fleischer offered an answer. He emphasized the president was only told of a generalized hijacking threat - the kind of information the government has been getting for decades and handling behind the scenes. He said the Bush administration will cooperate with congressional investigators.

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