Torricelli calls for board of inquiry

Sen. Robert Torricelli appearing on CNN's "Saturday Edition."

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Sen. Robert Torricelli, a New Jersey Democrat, is calling for a board of inquiry to investigate what he described as "intelligence failures" prior to the September 11 terrorist attacks in New York and Washington.

"Much as we did after the Challenger accident and much as we did after Pearl Harbor and other national calamities, we need a group to step back, take a look, tell us who and what went wrong, so we can understand how to avoid it," Torricelli said on CNN's "Saturday Edition."

"It's not clear to me that unless we take a look at what went wrong and how our systems failed, we're going to succeed in preventing any future attacks," he said, adding that he was drafting legislation to create such a board.

Meanwhile, two senators said they expect Congress in the coming week to pass anti-terrorism legislation sought by the Bush administration, even as the White House sent out word that it wants Congress to pick up the pace in approving the package.

CNN.COM SPECIAL REPORT  CNN NewsPass Video  Agencies reportedly got hijack tips in 1998  MORE STORIES Intelligence intercept led to Buffalo suspects Report cites warnings before 9/11  EXTRA INFORMATION Timeline: Who Knew What and When? Interactive: Terror Investigation Terror Warnings System Most wanted terrorists What looks suspicious? In-Depth: America Remembers In-Depth: Terror on Tape In-Depth: How prepared is your city?  RESOURCES On the Scene: Barbara Starr: Al Qaeda hunt expands? On the Scene: Peter Bergen: Getting al Qaeda to talk  Anti-terrorism measures proposed by Attorney General John Ashcroft: Give federal law enforcement officers the ability to get warrants for wiretaps that would apply to a specific individual, as opposed to a specific phone or piece of equipment. This would allow the government to monitor cellular telephone conversations of suspected terrorists made from multiple phones. Allow the Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) to detain indefinitely and deport non-citizens suspected of terrorist activities or those who lend support to terrorist activities. Give federal law enforcement new powers to investigate and prosecute terrorist suspects prior to completion of a terrorist attack. It would also make it a crime to lend support for such an attack. Make it a crime to knowingly engage in financial transactions with terrorist groups. The government could also seek forfeiture of financial resources involved in these transactions.

A senior administration official said the White House will increase pressure to get the bills through Congress this week. President Bush is scheduled to make the case personally at a breakfast with the bipartisan congressional leadership Tuesday, the official said.

"It's moving slower than we would like," the official said. "It's very important for Congress to take action to prevent future attacks."

Also speaking on "Saturday Edition," Senate Majority Whip Harry Reid, Democrat of Nevada, and Republican Sen. Arlen Specter of Pennsylvania, a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, said they expect Congress to heed Attorney General John Ashcroft's call for swift action on the anti-terrorism legislation and approve the measures in the coming week.

"I certainly would not want to see a situation evolve where some intervening event occurred which might have been prevented had Congress acted more promptly," Specter said.

"It could get to the president's desk next week, providing we approach it with a sense of urgency, which it requires," Reid said.

'Distinguished Americans' to participate

Torricelli, a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, said the inquiry board would be made up of "distinguished Americans who understand law enforcement, understand national security but are independent." He said President Bush and the congressional leadership would make appointments to the panel.

"These hijackers have been in the United States a long time. Some of them were known to the Central Intelligence Agency. Others had been told to the FBI. Obviously, the failure to infiltrate these groups -- to track them and to understand their methods -- contributed to this terrible crisis," Torricelli said.

The independent board could "give advice to the Congress and the administration about how to restructure these agencies or who did or did not perform well, so we have some accounting," he said.

Torricelli said he was not concerned that such a probe now would distract law enforcement and intelligence officials who are now engaged in what Bush has termed a war against terrorism.

"Structurally or procedurally or in strategy, something failed," he said. "You can't just move on without understanding what went wrong."

But Rep. Christopher Shays, a Connecticut Republican who chairs an anti-terrorism subcommittee in the House, said he was "a little apprehensive" about proceeding with a board of inquiry now.

"I don't think our country ever gets it right in the midst of a crisis, trying to fix blame," he said. "I think we can already tell you right now who's at fault. We're all at fault. And we know what broke down. It won't even take a board to discover that."

Senate narrowing the issues

Last week, Ashcroft urged Congress to adopt the package quickly to combat potential terrorist plots that may already be in motion. House Judiciary Committee Chairman James Sensenbrenner, a Wisconsin Republican, has told the White House he intends to move the anti-terrorism measures through his committee by mid-week, with a full House vote to follow.

But the White House has received no such assurances from Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy, Democrat of Vermont. "It's slower going there," said the senior White House official.

"The issues have narrowed in the Senate. But there will be lots of conversations," the official said.

Civil liberties groups, conservative organizations and some lawmakers, mostly Democrats, have expressed reservations about the wisdom and constitutionality of some of the measures -- particularly as they are moving swiftly through Congress without the scrutiny and discussion such bills usually receive.

"We have to be careful what we do here," Specter said. "We do not want to set up a circumstance where the legislation is so broad because it's been drafted in a hurry.

"We would not want to bring one of these terrorists back to trial ... and have some deficiency at trial. We need to be sure that this will stand up in court."

But Reid said he is opposed to a suggestion made at a Senate hearing last week that the new laws be made temporary, expiring at some future date.

"I don't think we need to sunset laws in this instance. We have certain gaps in our laws. They need to be filled, plugged. And I think there is no reason in the world that we can't do that," he said.

-- CNN White House Correspondent Major Garrett contributed to this report.