New York: In variance to former US President Bill Clinton's submission that he had ranked Osama bin Laden as number one problem for his successor, President George W Bush has said that al-Qaeda was not the top security concern for the former President's administration.

Clinton "probably mentioned" terrorism as a national security threat but "did not make it a point of emphasis", Time magazine quoted Bush as having told the Commission investigating the deadly attacks on September 11.

Clinton appeared far more passionate about the dangers of North Korea's nuclear programme and Israeli-Palestinian conflict, Bush told the panel.

Clinton had earlier told the panel that he had ranked Osama bin Laden as number one problem the new administration would face.

The content of the testimony of Bush and Vice-President Dick Cheney gave in the Oval Office remains confidential. But a source told Time magazine that Bush had said he had not been warned of the CIA's (Central Investigative Agency) and the FBI's (Federal Bureau of Investigation) concerns about would-be 747 pilot Zacarias Moussaoui, who was arrested in August 2001.

Yet Bush went out of his way to express confidence in CIA Director George Tenet, the report said.