US President George W. Bush could soon act to implement recommendations from the Sept. 11 Commission for restructuring US intelligence, White House spokeswoman Claire Buchan said Monday.

Bush and top aides have been discussing which of the panel's suggestions he can enact on his own and which require congressional action, which could lead to a protracted election-year debate, local mass media quoted Buchan as saying in Crawford,Texas.

"The president could certainly act within days on some of the proposals," Buchan said. "If we can do anything to make America safer, the president wants to be acting on that as quickly as possible."

In its final report issued on July 22, the Sept. 11 Commission investigating the 2001 attacks recommended a major restructuring of how the government fights terrorism, including a new national intelligence director and a national counterterrorism center to better share information and coordinate action against terrorist threats.

Bush spoke by secure video conference from his ranch in Texas with a group of senior officials, led by White House chief of staff Andy Card, whom Bush has tasked with turning the commission's advice into action, Buchan said.

Bush planned to relax at his Texas ranch while opposition Democrats hold their national convention this week to anoint Senator John Kerry their champion in the November 2 elections.

Buchan said if Bush made a decision on intelligence overhauls, he would not be bound by the US political tradition according to which each major party candidate keeps a low profile during the other's nominating convention.

"If there is something we can do to protect the American people,the president isn't going to wait," she added.

Source: Xinhua