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U.S. to interview 3,000 more 'visitors' in terror probe

ALEXANDRIA, Virginia (CNN) -- A Justice Department program to interview men from the Islamic world living in the United States provided leads in the investigation of the September 11 terrorist attacks and likely disrupted potential terrorists in the country, according to a federal analysis of the results.

On Wednesday, Attorney General John Ashcroft said he was directing federal prosecutors across the country to arrange interviews with 3,000 additional people who "fit the criteria of people who might have information regarding terrorism."

As with the first round, the interviews announced Wednesday drew protests from some advocates for Arab-Americans, who said the process smacked of racial profiling.

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"The fact is, this creates more of a chill than cooperation," said James Zogby, president of the Arab American Institute.

More than 2,260 people were questioned during the first round of voluntary interviews, which began last November.

A Justice Department source said the latest group includes males between the ages of 18 and 46 who entered the country between October 1, 2001, and February 28, 2002, holding passports from countries where the al Qaeda terrorist network "is prevalent."

But Ashcroft, speaking at the U.S. attorney's office in Alexandria, Virginia, insisted that those tagged for interviews "are not suspected of any criminal activities."

"We are merely trying to get their assistance," he said.

In the first round of interviews, those questioned were primarily non-resident immigrant men between 18 and 33 who entered the country after January 1, 2000. They held passports from or had visited countries with an al Qaeda presence, according to a report issued in February by the Executive Office of U.S. Attorneys, an arm of the Justice Department.

A list of the countries was not disclosed.

From an original list of 4,793 names, more than 2,260 were located and interviewed, the report said. Of the remaining number, authorities determined 681 had left the country. Nearly 800 others had moved, and authorities are still completing the process of tracking them down and arranging interviews.

But 1,097 people on the list -- nearly 23 percent -- could neither be located nor verified as having left. Ashcroft attributed the inability to locate so many of the names on the list to "serious flaws in our ability to find visitors to this country."

While most of those interviewed had no information related to terrorists or potential terrorist acts, "some provided leads that may assist in the investigation of [the September 11 attacks] or other potential terrorist activities," the report said.

Among the things authorities learned during the interviews, according to the report, were the name and address of an associate of a September 11 hijacker and information about an organization that may be assisting terrorist groups. At least two immigrants identified acquaintances who had taken flight training.

Law enforcement officials also obtained information about criminal activity linked to terrorists, such as manufacturing phony identification cards, visa documentation and passports, the report said.

In addition to obtaining information, the interviews were also designed to disrupt terrorist cells that may already exist in the United States. While the report concluded that it is impossible to determine how well the program thwarted potential attacks, "we have every reason to believe that the project had the desired disruptive effect" by putting terrorists "on notice."

According to the EOUSA report, few of those approached to give interviews refused. In eastern Michigan, home to a large Arab-American community, only three out of 313 people refused, the report said.

The report also concluded that a public relations campaign waged by federal authorities to go into Arab and Islamic communities and explain the program to calm their fears "has forged stronger ties between law enforcement and these communities."

"Not only did very few of those contacted for interviews decline to answer questions, most expressed a strong desire to help law enforcement in its campaign against terrorism," the report said.

Fewer than 20 people contacted during the first round of interviews were arrested, the report said. Most were arrested for immigration violations, but three were arrested on criminal charges not related to terrorism.

The interviews were conducted under the supervision of U.S. attorneys across the country, who tapped federal, state and local law enforcement agencies to actually question the men.

Law enforcement agencies in a handful of jurisdictions declined to participate, the report said. The most high-profile refusal came in Portland, Oregon, where the local police concluded that the interviews would violate state law.

Justice Department officials insisted that the interviews were voluntary and did not constitute a round-up of Islamic men. Wednesday, Zoby criticized the plans for more interviews as a "PR stunt for the broader public."

In instances where local officials would not agree to question people on the list, federal law enforcement officials made up the difference by conducting a larger share of the interviews, the report said.

Wednesday, Ashcroft and his deputy, Larry Thompson, made their first visit to the U.S. attorney's office in Alexandria, which has become the focus of federal prosecution against accused terrorists.

They were met by U.S. Attorney Paul McNulty, who, along with his team of prosecutors, will provide updates on federal efforts to bring to trial Zacarias Moussaoui and John Walker Lindh.

Moussaoui is the only person directly charged in connection with the September 11 terrorist attacks. Walker Lindh, an American, is accused of fighting on behalf of the ousted Taliban regime in Afghanistan.