Head of Congressional 9/11 Probe Quits

— -- Head of Congressional 9/11 Probe Quits

The head of a joint congressional investigation into why U.S. intelligence agencies failed todetect the plot that led to the Sept. 11 attacks on America hasresigned, U.S. government sources said on Monday.

Britt Snider, a retired CIA inspector general, was hired inFebruary to conduct the review for the Senate and Houseintelligence committees.

Some members of the panels had objected to his selection,saying Snider was too closely tied to the spy agency and CIADirector George Tenet to conduct an impartial review.

Snider resigned on Friday and his deputy Rick Cinquegranawill fill in as the acting head of the investigation, sourcestold Reuters on condition of anonymity.

Snider's parting was not amicable and resulted from aconfrontation with the congressional committees over hishandling of a personnel matter, sources said.

Snider was apparently aware of an issue of potentialwrongdoing regarding one of the members of his team and did notinform the committees about it, sources said.

Senate Intelligence Committee Chairman Bob Graham, aFlorida Democrat, would not comment on Snider's departurebecause it was "an internal personnel matter," his spokesman,Paul Anderson, said.

Sen. Richard Shelby, an Alabama Republican who is committeevice chairman, also declined to comment. "He [Snider] has lefthis position and because it is a personnel issue we're notcommenting," Shelby's spokeswoman, Andrea Andrews, said.

Congressional aides said Snider's departure was notexpected to affect the pace of the investigation and thecommittees still hoped to hold the first hearing next month.

Snider could not immediately be reached for comment.

The House and Senate intelligence committees took theunusual step of agreeing to conduct a joint investigation asthe least disruptive method of inquiry at a time of war, sotestimony and information would not have to be presented twice.

The goal of the investigation was to review intelligencefailures and establish remedies for the future.

In the Sept. 11 attacks, four planes were hijacked andcrashed into the World Trade Center in New York, the Pentagonnear Washington, and a field in Pennsylvania, killing about3,000 people.

The attacks were widely viewed as an indictment of theintelligence agencies, which failed to detect the plot. Sincethe attacks, funding for intelligence operations is increasingand agencies are under pressure to fix shortcomings.

The United States has blamed Saudi-born militant Osama binLaden and his al Qaeda network for the attacks and launched awar on terrorism to wipe them out.

—Reuters

Atlanta Federal Buildings Fail Security Test

W A S H I N G T O N, April 29 — Four Atlanta federal buildings have flunked security tests by congressional investigators working undercover.

The investigators were able to easily sneak briefcases and packages past security checkpoints.

One investigator was able to obtain two different security badges and a guard's after-hours access code. One pass allowed the investigator to carry a firearm in the buildings.

The findings are contained in a General Accounting Office report obtained today by media outlets.

The report will be discussed Tuesday at a congressional hearing in Atlanta.

The chairman of the House intelligence subcommittee on homeland security, Republican Saxby Chambliss of Georgia, called the report "pretty alarming."

The General Services Administration is responsible for security at federal buildings.

A spokesman said the GSA wants to work with Congress and other agencies to improve security.

—The Associated Press

Concerns About Four Flights

P H I L A D E L P H I A , April 29 — A jet that took off for Florida was forced to return to the airport because several passengers of Middle Eastern appearance had purchased one-way tickets for cash, passengers said today.

"The FBI had a list. They knew who the people were. They were trying to track the people to their seats," said Jack Clark, who was sitting next to one of the people removed.

The incident was one of four Sunday in which air travelers of Middle Eastern appearance or descent were questioned by the FBI. The other flights were in Houston, Washington, D.C., and Baltimore.

In all cases, the passengers were freed after questioning.

In Philadelphia, passenger Glenn Mattes said five or six men were escorted off the US Airways jet bound for Orlando, Fla. Clark said a federal agent told passengers the men had purchased one-way tickets for cash "and that's what alerted them."

"The agent explained to us what was going on. At that point everyone is clapping and cheering," Clark said.