9/11 Panel Complains Agencies Are Slowing Inquiry; 'Intimidation' Of Witnesses'

WASHINGTON, July 8 � The federal commission investigating the Sept. 11 terror attacks said today that its work was being hampered by the failure of executive branch agencies, especially the Pentagon and the Justice Department, to respond quickly to requests for documents and testimony.

The panel also said the failure of the Bush administration to allow officials to be interviewed without the presence of government colleagues could impede its investigation, with the commission's chairman suggesting today that the situation amounted to "intimidation" of the witnesses.


New York Times

I am so surprised.

I assumed there would be full co-operation and a speedy response to all public concerns from every branch of government, as there is absolutely nothing to be covered up.

Originally posted by MaskedAvatar
I am so surprised.

I assumed there would be full co-operation and a speedy response to all public concerns from every branch of government, as there is absolutely nothing to be covered up.

LMAO!!! My thoughts exactly.

Well, hell, what do you expect?
The gov't to hold a news conference along these terms:

Reporter: Mr. President, what can you tell us about the events leading up to 9/11? The American people want the truth!
Bush: Well, Mary, we f*cked up bigtime. Really, I mean it. It was not part of our strategery to actually pay attention to intelligence gathered about terrorist activityations.
Reporter: *pause* Excuse me?
Bush: See, the voices told me ...
*Thug leans forward and whispers in Bush's ear*
Bush: ...um, I mean, Dick Chaney told me that there were these threats, and um... Anyway. Where were we?
Reporter 2: Mr. President, why did we take no action after the first WTC tower was hit?
Bush: I was reading a book. Duh! The education system in this country is very important and if we don't do something about it, our nations children is gonna be illegitimate!
*whisper*
Bush: Illiterate!
Reporter 2: But, Mr President, what about evidence pointing towards...
Bush: LOOK! Saddam and bin Laden are having an orgy in Iran! GET 'EM!

Please maintain decorum!

You direct some very mean statements towards 'president' George W Bush, Banshee.

I have never before seen such bias in a dramatic portrayal of the 'president' before.

You are an undisciplined, unpatriotic, un-American.

You're probably a pro wrestler or something. How could you have anything worthwhile on this subject matter?

Bush was not illegitimate! He even went to Harvard. Oops, Yale!

They ought to leave 9/11 alone. It was a tragic day. Bush handled it really well. Nobody should have to relive it. We should get the guys who did it in Iraq, or wherever those Arab types live.

etc etc

Originally posted by MaskedAvatar
Please maintain decorum!

You direct some very mean statements towards 'president' George W Bush, Banshee.

I have never before seen such bias in a dramatic portrayal of the 'president' before.

You are an undisciplined, unpatriotic, un-American.

You're probably a pro wrestler or something. How could you have anything worthwhile on this subject matter?

Bush was not illegitimate! He even went to Harvard. Oops, Yale!

They ought to leave 9/11 alone. It was a tragic day. Bush handled it really well. Nobody should have to relive it. We should get the guys who did it in Iraq, or wherever those Arab types live.

etc etc

Sorry, sorry!
Too many shots to the head, don't know what I was thinking!
Wait, I'm a pro wrestler, we don't think!


-B.

The patriots and conservatices are getting quieter and quieter....anybody else notice that here?

Quieter, yes.

But they are valued members of ATS.

I wouldn't like to see them driven away merely because the weight of evidence is against them, and they feel coherently argued into a small corner.

TC will lead them back with a neo-neo-con flourish when the Bush administration is gone...

Well, for all the BushHaters and ClintonHaters, the chairman of the 9/11 committee, Alexander Hamilton, stated this morning that the panel will not call the two for hearings. He also stated that if they were to, they would not be under oath. He stated that we should have confidence in our presidents to tell the truth anyways....I almost spit my fruit loops at that.
Hamilton said the focus will NOT be on any malfeasance of the prez's, but that of State and Justice.

So much for the witch hunt!!

I thought this was only possible in unfree countries like china or iraq ???!??

Tyriffic

How do you think Bush himself bought his way out of being put under the microscope?

From www.dailytimes.com.pk -

FOREIGN EDITORIALs: Burying the Truth of 9/11

The Bush administration, long allergic to the idea of investigating the government�s failure to prevent the Sept. 11 terror attacks, is now doing its best to bury the national commission that was created to review Washington�s conduct. That was made plain yesterday in a muted way by Thomas Kean, the former New Jersey governor, and Lee Hamilton, the former congressman, who are directing the inquiry. When these seasoned, mild-mannered men start complaining that the administration is trying to intimidate the commission, the country had better take notice.

In a status report on its work, the commission said various agencies � particularly the Pentagon and the Justice Department � were blocking requests for vital information and resources. Acting more like the Soviet Kremlin than the American government, the administration has insisted that monitors from various agencies attend debriefings of key officials by investigators. Mr Kean is quite correct in objecting to this as a thinly veiled attempt at intimidation. Meanwhile, the clock is running for the commission to complete a full report to the nation by next May.

Too polite to use the word �stonewalling,� the bipartisan commission nevertheless warned the nation that thus far the administration had �underestimated the scale of the commission�s work and the full breadth of support required.�

The White House has repeatedly pledged cooperation while stressing the delicacy of protecting classified secrets. There are techniques and precedents for the commission to be extended access to critical information without compromising security. Two serious areas of dispute that should be quickly settled in the commission�s favor are access to the minutes of National Security Council meetings and to the daily briefing memorandums prepared by the Central Intelligence Agency for President Bush.

Mr Kean assumed the chairmanship after questions were raised about potential conflicts of interest for the White House�s initial choice, Henry Kissinger. �The coming weeks will determine whether we will be able to do our job,� the commission warned in prodding the administration to protect the nation�s future security as passionately as it clings to its past secrets. �NYT, July 9

Originally posted by MaskedAvatar
Tyriffic

How do you think Bush himself bought his way out of being put under the microscope?

From www.dailytimes.com.pk -

FOREIGN EDITORIALs: Burying the Truth of 9/11

The Bush administration, long allergic to the idea of investigating the government�s failure to prevent the Sept. 11 terror attacks, is now doing its best to bury the national commission that was created to review Washington�s conduct. That was made plain yesterday in a muted way by Thomas Kean, the former New Jersey governor, and Lee Hamilton, the former congressman, who are directing the inquiry. When these seasoned, mild-mannered men start complaining that the administration is trying to intimidate the commission, the country had better take notice.

In a status report on its work, the commission said various agencies � particularly the Pentagon and the Justice Department � were blocking requests for vital information and resources. Acting more like the Soviet Kremlin than the American government, the administration has insisted that monitors from various agencies attend debriefings of key officials by investigators. Mr Kean is quite correct in objecting to this as a thinly veiled attempt at intimidation. Meanwhile, the clock is running for the commission to complete a full report to the nation by next May.

Too polite to use the word �stonewalling,� the bipartisan commission nevertheless warned the nation that thus far the administration had �underestimated the scale of the commission�s work and the full breadth of support required.�

The White House has repeatedly pledged cooperation while stressing the delicacy of protecting classified secrets. There are techniques and precedents for the commission to be extended access to critical information without compromising security. Two serious areas of dispute that should be quickly settled in the commission�s favor are access to the minutes of National Security Council meetings and to the daily briefing memorandums prepared by the Central Intelligence Agency for President Bush.

Mr Kean assumed the chairmanship after questions were raised about potential conflicts of interest for the White House�s initial choice, Henry Kissinger. �The coming weeks will determine whether we will be able to do our job,� the commission warned in prodding the administration to protect the nation�s future security as passionately as it clings to its past secrets. �NYT, July 9

MA.........please, your using a Pakistani Paper and article to back up this claim? No US article, nothing else?

In retrospect:
A whole lot of people in the US are and have been questioning the failure of the government, more so the vaunted Intelligence Agencies of the US, in preventing or 'foretelling' the terrible tragedy of 9/11'.

You folks make like everyone in America is blind, deaf, and stupid. Far from it.....everything has a coarse that it follows called "due-process". It will get resolved one way or the other....count on it. Again, I mentioned it in another topic, but the main concerns on the minds of American's today is putting food on the table, clothes on their childrens backs, roofs over their heads, jobs, etc. Its easy when you can stand "outside" and scream LIES, etc. but American's are far from being blind, deaf, and dumb to what is transpiring in respect to Bush and elsewhere.

Priorities do take precedent over 'head-hunting'.

My two cents....blast away.

regards
seekerof

And MA...my apologies...I erred with the "no US article"....again, my apologies.

regards
seekerof