In testimony before the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence on February 24, 2004, CIA Director George Tenet said: “I have consistently warned this committee of al-Qa’ida’s interest in chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear [CBRN] weapons. Acquiring these remains a ‘religious obligation’ in Bin Ladin’s eyes, and al-Qa’ida and more than two dozen other terrorist groups are pursuing CBRN materials. …Over the last year, we’ve also seen an increase in the threat of more sophisticated CBRN. For this reason we take very seriously the threat of a CBRN attack.”
– CIA, “DCI Testimony: The Worldwide Threat 2004,” (Testimony of George Tenet, Before the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence), The Central Intelligence Agency’s 9/11 File:, The National Security Archive, Feb. 24, 2004