Ashcroft is currently overseeing the biggest criminal investigation in U.S. history. Since September 11, more than 5,000 suspects (mostly Arab men) have been questioned and more than 500 people have been detained. But as of December 6, there have been no major, publicly-announced breakthroughs in the investigation.

Since September 11, Ashcroft has shaken things up significantly at the Justice Department. He has rearranged the department's agencies, from the FBI to the Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS), to make counter-terrorism the top priority. Working with the president, he has also revised federal rules to make it easier for the feds to snoop on suspected terrorists.

Some of Ashcroft's moves have infuriated civil rights activists and civil libertarians from both the left and right. They claim the administration's institution of military tribunals, its refusal to disclose all the names of those currently under arrest, and other measures it has taken in its domestic war on terror have unfairly and illegally infringed on the rights of U.S. citizens and residents.

Testifying on December 6 before the Senate Judiciary Committee, Ashcroft defended his agency's actions and bludgeoned its critics. "Our efforts have been crafted carefully to avoid infringing on constitutional rights, while saving American lives," he said. And, the attorney general added, "To those who scare peace-loving people with phantoms of lost liberty, my message is this: Your tactics only aid terrorists, for they erode our national unity and diminish our resolve. They give ammunition to America's enemies and pause to America's friends. They encourage people of good will to remain silent in the face of evil."

Ashcroft earned his conservative stripes well before becoming America's top law enforcement official. As a U.S. senator from Missouri, he opposed abortion and gay rights. More than 40 U.S. Senators opposed Ashcroft's nomination to the job of attorney general last January.

With the U.S. in the midst of a domestic security crisis, the job of attorney general has taken on unprecedented importance. That Ashcroft should hold such an important role is somewhat ironic, as just a year ago his career in public service appeared to have come to an end. In November 2000 he lost a hard-fought race for re-election to the Senate to Jean Carnahan. Ms. Carnahan's husband, Governor Mel Carnahan, had been campaigning for the job against Ashcroft when he died in a plane crash. After several weeks of mourning, Ms. Carnahan jumped into the race as her husband's proxy. She went on to defeat Ashcroft.

Ashcroft is reported to be a highly devout Christian. The deeply religious son of a Pentecostal minister, he reportedly does not drink, smoke, dance, or go to the movies.

Share your thoughts on the attacks in Afghanistan You Tell Us.

An MTV News Staff report

 Back to Fact Files Index