WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. President George W. Bush denied on Thursday that al Qaeda is as strong today as it was before the September 11 attacks.

Bush spoke to reporters after media reports, citing a new intelligence report, that the militant network is now as great a threat to U.S. soil as in the months before the suicide hijack-plane attacks in 2001.

"There is a perception in the coverage that al Qaeda may be as strong today as they were prior to September 11. That's just simply not the case," Bush told a news conference.