Now, because of last week's events, its findings bear close scrutiny.The commission's detailed report, Countering the Changing Threat of International Terrorism, is contained in the State Department's vast internet archive of published material, and can be found by British readers on the website of the US embassy in London.While the commission identified Mr bin Laden and al-Qa'ida as involved in organising attacks against US targets, it warned they were not alone. It concluded: "Neither al-Qa'ida's extremist politico-religious beliefs nor its leader, Osama bin Laden, is unique. If al-Qa'ida and Osama bin Laden were to disappear tomorrow, the United States would still face potential terrorist threats from a growing number of groups opposed to perceived American hegemony."Elsewhere, the report displays an almost uncanny ability to predict the outrages in New York, Washington and Pennsylvania. "International terrorism once threatened Americans only when they were outside the country.

Today international terrorists attack us on our own soil."The commission said: "Now, a growing percentage of terrorist attacks are designed to kill as many people as possible."It also said a move towards higher casualties "reflects .. a growing trend towards hatred of the United States".. The United States accused a number of unnamed foreign governments yesterday of providing crucial support for the hijackers who attacked New York and Washington last week ­ the first time it has clearly voiced its suspicion that Osama bin Laden and his al-Qa'ida network received sponsorship from states as well as like-minded groups bent on America's destruction."It is pretty clear that the networks that conduct these kinds of events are harboured, supported, sustained and protected by a variety of foreign governments," John Ashcroft, the Attorney General, told reporters after receiving a briefing from the Pentagon. The accusation coincided with countless media reports that one of the presumed hijackers, Mohamed Atta, had met an Iraqi intelligence agent in Europe earlier this year. The Iraqi government has vigorously denied any role in last week's attacks. Donald Rumsfeld, the Defence Secretary, had warned on Tuesday that America would "drain the swamp" inhabited by terrorists, stressing that Afghanistan was not the only country that would face retaliatory strikes But like Mr Ashcroft, he did not specify any names. Colin Powell, the secretary of state, has held talks with Sudan, which sheltered Mr bin Laden before Afghanistan did, and Cuba. Contacts with the two countries were described by US officials as positive.Mr Ashcroft's statement came the day after three potentially crucial arrests in Michigan, which led federal investigators to evidence of an attempted attack on a US military base in Turkey as well as false identity documents and sketches of airport buildings, runway and airline flight lines.The Federal Bureau of Investigation found the three men in a raid on a house in suburban Detroit believed to be the address of one of the most wanted men in the unfolding investigation: a suspected bin Laden operative called Nabil al-Marabh, who had links to at least two of the hijackers who flew from Boston. Mr al-Marabh could not be located ­ his landlord later said he had moved out in July last year.

What the FBI found instead were three men named as Farouk Ali-Haimoud, 21, Ahmed Hannan, 33, and Karim Koubriti, 23, with a mass of documents in Arabic, false passports, social security cards and visas. The documents alluded to an attack in Turkey as well as hand-written sketches of what an affidavit filed by the FBI described as "an airport flight line, to include aircraft and runways." The Turkish references may tie into a foiled attempt to attack a US base in Incirlik. A Jordanian man is already in custody in Jordan on suspicion of involvement in that plot.The FBI also discovered that two of the men had worked for an airline catering company at Detroit airport this summer ­ apparently a substantiation of the suspicion that members of the hijacking network may have had jobs as part of the ground staff at airports where the doomed planes took off last week.In his briefing, Mr Ashcroft said it was too early to tell whether the arrests in Detroit were a big break in the case. Federal investigators in Michigan said they were still working through the documents to see if there was any link to last week's attacks.

The three men are being held without bail on charges relating to fraudulent documents and are due to appear in court tomorrow. Theirs are the first criminal arrests made since the investigation began.Another four people are being held in New York as material witnesses, and about 75 others are being held on immigration irregularities while investigators continue to check possible links to the attacks.As the investigation expands, confusion and mistakes appear to be growing alongside possible breakthroughs in the case. The Saudi government now believes at least five of the names attributed to the hijackers in an official US list last week in fact belong to innocent Saudis whose identification papers were stolen. The FBI has also admitted it is linguistically challenged and put out an appeal for Arabic and Farsi translators. Arab and Iranian American groups have responded with mixed feelings, expressing astonishment that the US government did not have enough foreign-language speakers already.* Germany's intelligence agency believes as many as 30 "terror cells" could be operating in the country while another security source suspects Mr bin Laden has used Germany as a guerrilla base, media reports said yesterday.The German government declined to comment on the reports, but a minister in charge of domestic security said he believed last week's attacks in America might have been only the opening volley in a campaign of terror.. President George Bush ordered 100 fighters, bombers and other aircraft to move towards the Middle East last night in the first clear sign that America is preparing to launch retaliatory strikes for last week's terror attacks.

President George Bush ordered 100 fighters, bombers and other aircraft to move towards the Middle East last night in the first clear sign that America is preparing to launch retaliatory strikes for last week's terror attacks. Donald Rumsfeld, the Defence Secretary, signed the order yesterday for an initial deployment. Experts said the deployment would almost certainly include Special Forces that could be positioned inside Afghanistan, in addition to the array of warplanes.A Pentagon spokesman said: "The United States is repositioning some of its military forces where required to prepare for and support the President's campaign against terrorism and to support efforts to identify, locate and hold accountable terrorist and those who support and harbour them." The deployment, Operation Infinite Justice, came amid signs that Mr Bush has become increasingly frustrated with the mixed messages being delivered from the Taliban, the regime harbouring Osama bin Laden, the prime suspect.Washington bluntly told the Taliban regime "actions and not negotiations" were needed, as it responded to a statement from Mullah Mohammed Omar, the Taliban's reclusive leader, in which he said he was ready to hold talks with America.With the strike force – including F-15E attack jets, F-16 fighters, B1 bombers and refuelling aircraft – making its way to the Middle East, Mr Bush will meet Tony Blair today and deliver to him what amounts to a timetable for the much- anticipated military strikes. At the same time, Richard Armitage, the US Deputy Secretary of State, will brief Nato on America's three-pronged plans involving diplomatic, financial and military action.While Mr Bush continues to consider a wide range of military options, US officials will arrive in Pakistan later this week to discuss ground support requirements for a strike inside Afghanistan. General Pervez Musharraf, Pakistan's military leader, made a television broadcast last night explaining to his 140 million people why he was backing the imminent action. Mr Bush has already consulted Mr Blair on the precise timing of those strikes and there is a growing belief in London that operations could start within a week.As the war clouds gathered and the Taliban sought to play for time, the President told reporters at the White House: "I would strongly urge the Taliban to turn over the al-Qa'ida organisers who hide in their country We're on the case. We're gathering as much evidence as we possibly can to be able to make our case to the world.