Director of National Intelligence Vice Admiral John Michael McConnell, USN Ret., said that he considered Al-Qa’ida the biggest threat abroad. The second major threat, he said, is North Korea. He said that there are three parts to considering what constitutes a nuclear threat: do they have the materials, ballistic systems, and design capabilities to create them. He then said that Iraq’s security is at its lowest level since February 2006, and that Afghanistan attacks exceeded the previous year because of the lack of security to defeat insurgency. He said that China is a risk to the United States because of nuclear capabilities and modernization.

Director of the Central Intelligence Agency General Michael Vincent Hayden said that the “core mission” of the CIA has not changed, but that the means and methods used to collect information have changed. The CIA, he said, is using all the tools available by law to secure information. He named as a success the killing of a senior Al Qa’ida leader that was attributed to information that the CIA had provided. He then said that the capabilities needed to defeat the terrorists created difficult decisions, and that the CIA needs to enhance and expand current capabilities.

Director of the Defense Intelligence Agency, Major General Michael D. Maples, said that Al Qa’ida was a direct threat, and that self-radicalized, home-grown extremists that are influenced and recruited by terrorists via the internet were cyber threats that are becoming “increasingly evident.”

Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation Robert Mueller said that there were major global concerns, including technology, improvised devices of destruction, and cyber capabilities. He said that Al Qa’ida’s extended reach was a threat to Pakistan, and that Pakistan needs more effective counter-terrorism capabilities. He then stated developments within other countries that are of concern, naming Iran’s new missiles, North Korea’s missiles, China’s bomb development, and Russia’s strategic missiles on that list.

In response to a question by Senator Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) as to who actually carried out the “enhanced techniques,” to get information, General Hayden said that they were not “outsourcing” to contractors, but that it was done by a mix of both contractors and government agents because they would use the best one available for the task.

Director Mueller said that people financially supporting Al-Qa’ida were a big threat, and that he felt that Americans had become complacent and were not paying enough attention to threats from within.

Senator John Warner (R-VA) asked Director McConnell what his confidence level was that there would be improvement in Iraq, and both McConnell and General Hayden responded “medium.” McConnell said that Shia on Shia, and Iran’s role, were the two greatest risks.

Senator Russell Feingold (D-WI) asked General Hayden to explain what he meant when he said that the level of pain determined when it was torture or not. Hayden said that it was “adjectives,” and also the level and duration of the pain. In response to a question from Vice Chairman Bond, he said that if judgment by the FBI determined a condition of threat, then his agency should be allowed to continue.