Bush praises FBI antiterror efforts

National Security Service seeks to help agents investigate crimes before and after they happen in order to prevent new attacks, president said.

President Bush on Monday touted the work of the FBI's National Security Service as a means to strengthen the bureau's anti-terrorism capabilities.

The service seeks to help agents investigate crimes before and after they happen in order to prevent new attacks, Bush said during a speech at the FBI Academy in Quantico, Va.

"The FBI is in the fight," Bush said. "The FBI has deployed its personnel across the world, in Iraq and Afghanistan and other fronts in the war on terror. FBI agents are questioning captured terrorists and uncovering information that will help prevent new attacks on our homeland." The government is "reforming our intelligence agencies to meet the new threats," Bush added, pointing to the creation of the National Counterterrorism Center. "We're sharing intelligence across all levels of government."

Bush also used the speech to once again tout the benefits of the soon-to-expire portions of the 2001 anti-terrorism law known as the USA PATRIOT Act.