At least 105 foreign nationals suspected of terrorist involvement who may “pose a threat to national security” received visas granting them access to the United States earlier this year because of lapses in a new background check system ordered by President Bush, according to government officials and documents.
Investigators for the General Accounting Office first uncovered the breaches and are trying to determine how many of the 105 entered the United States and how many might still be here, according to congressional officials familiar with the ongoing probe.
Compounding their fears, investigators believe the breaches typically were not discovered until at least five to six weeks after the suspects were granted visas.
The Justice Department and the FBI declined to comment Monday. But one government official familiar with the case said the FBI had found and arrested some suspects inside the U.S. and was attempting to keep others under surveillance.
Still, none of the 105 should have been granted visas, officials said. The news comes as the FBI warns that Al Qaeda could be planning “spectacular attacks.”
The information suggests the government has made only halting progress following the Sept. 11 attacks in keeping out potential terrorists. But State Department officials involved say they are confident the problems that led to the 105 mistaken visas had been fixed by August.
BLIX WARNS IRAQ: Chief UN weapons inspector Hans Blix said Monday that he warned Iraq it must provide convincing evidence if it maintains as it did last week that it has no illegal weapons programs. Iraqi officials said they intend to cooperate fully with UN inspectors. But on the issue of access, Blix said he told the Iraqis that his teams would exercise their right to go anywhere at anytime.
INSPECTORS ARRIVE: A team of 17 UN weapons inspectors returned to Iraq on Monday to begin searching for chemical, biological and nuclear weapons. With the threat of war hanging over the mission, a spokeswoman for the inspectors urged cooperation from the Iraqis and patience from other countries, an apparent reference to the U.S.
