White House Official: Nation Is Safer

Sept. 10, 2006 — -- As the nation prepares to remember the fifth anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks, the United States is safer than it was five years ago, according to Fran Townsend, President Bush's assistant for homeland security and counterterrorism.

"We look at al Qaeda's planning cycle, and we know it's about three to five years," Townsend told ABC News' "Good Morning America Weekend Edition."

When asked if the United States was due for another attack, Townsend said, "We worry about that every day.

"But the country is a lot safer than it was before Sept. 11," she said. "By and large, we've been very fortunate not to have another attack."

Townsend denied a Washington Post report that said Osama bin Laden's path had gone cold and that the government hadn't received a credible lead on his whereabouts in two years.

"I can't talk to you about the details of the hunt for Bin Laden, but I can assure that the article is not true," she said, citing the work of forces in Afghanistan and intelligence sources in Pakistan.

"We feel confident that Bin Laden will be brought to justice," she said.

In the fight against terrorism, what most concerns the president, Townsend said, is the potential use of a weapon of mass destruction. So the administration has increased the use of radiation detection at ports, she said.