Draft Version: 3/10

Suggested Questions for Panel One

Diplomacy

Designated Commissioners:

For Secretary Powell:

1) Bush foreign policy agenda before 9/11?

a. Could you describe the most pressing foreign policy issues facing the
incoming Bush administration?

b. Where would you rate counterterrorism on this list? What was the basis
for that particular concern? Did representatives from the previous
administration voice any concerns to you about this issue? How were
they conveyed?

c. Generally, how did the Bush administration seek to address al Qaeda?

Where did diplomacy fit into this strategy? How was this fine tuned as
the level of threat reporting increased during the summer of 2001?

2) Troubles with the Taliban.

a. Through the spring and early summer of 2001, how was diplomacy used
to pressure the Taliban on the Bin Ladin problem? Was it producing any
movement by the Taliban on expelling Bin Ladin? If not, why not?

b. In our meeting, you recalled supporting the notion of aiding the Northern
Alliance. What were the pros and cons of doing so? Iran and Russia
were providing them with arms and they were making little progress on
the battle field; would American assistance really make a difference?
Why was there not robust support for this earlier in the administration?

c. Today, what is being done diplomatically in order to prevent Afghanistan

from once again becoming a terrorist sanctuary?

3) Pakistan. In your discussion with the Commission, you mentioned that

Washington's relationship with Islamabad before 9/11 was a strained one and
there was concern about Pakistan's support for the Taliban.

a. What were U.S. priorities regarding Pakistan before 9/11 ?

b. What diplomatic efforts were considered and/or used in hopes of

changing Pakistan's Afghan policy? Why was Pakistan not designated a
 State Sponsor of Terrorism? Were you aware of the prior
administration's attempt to persuade Islamabad on the Taliban issue?
How did they differ from those employed up until 9/11?

c. To what extent did congressional sanctions complicate our approach?

Describe State's efforts to seek congressional repeal or waiver of these
sanctions.

d. You mentioned to us that on the night of September 13,2001, you called

Pakistan's Prime Minister Pervez Musharraf. Can you describe the
requests you made and the prime minister's responses?

e. What is the State Department doing to address the presence of al Qaeda in

Pakistan today?

4) Saudi Arabia.

a. What diplomatic efforts were being conducted by the USG to elicit Saudi
cooperation on terrorism financing, pressuring the Taliban and sharing al
Qaeda related intelligence prior to 9/11? How did Riyadh respond? Did
the USG consider withdrawing any support if the Saudis failed to respond
positively?

b. You met twice with Crown Prince Abdullah before 9/11 but records
indicate that neither terrorism nor Bin Ladin were discussed at either
meeting. Why was this?

c. In our meeting, you described Riyadh's cooperation on counterterrorism

as much improved, especially since the al Qaeda attacks in the Kingdom
last spring. Why did it take almost two years for Saudi cooperation to
increase to an acceptable level? Generally, what is being done today to
ensure that the Saudis continue with this level of cooperation? What is
the Saudi government not doing that it should do?

5) Diplomacy in the present and future.

a. How is this administration using foreign policy to combat the al Qaeda?

b. As a Pew Research survey indicated last year, global attitudes towards the
U.S. have eroded significantly since 2000- what do you cite as the cause
for this drop and what is being done to remedy it? How are we using
diplomacy to win the hearts and minds of potential adversaries in the
Islamic world?

c. South Asia and the Middle East are receiving most of the USG's attention
in its war on terror. What are other "at risk" regions and what are we
doing to prevent them from becoming the next Afghanistan? For
example, what is being done in east Africa and south east Asia?