NYP: THE 9/11 OMISSION COMMISSION

New York Post ^ | August 15, 2005 | Editorial

[OESY]

...Friday Kean & Co. said the operation was not considered "historically significant." But make no mistake: These facts are critical to a complete understanding of the conditions that permitted 9/11 to take place.

Had the Pentagon information been passed along to the FBI, it's possible the terrorist attack would have succeeded nonetheless....

Either way, the orders preventing the passage of information surely didn't help.

And, just as surely, their role in the story should have been recognized in the 9/11 Commission's official report.

Equally disturbing is the possibility that the commission ignored the information to protect one of its own members, Democratic attorney Jamie Gorelick.

As a deputy attorney general in the Clinton administration, Gorelick wrote the infamous order creating a "wall of separation" that precluded intelligence on terrorists from being shared with law-enforcement agencies — the very "wall" that kept Able Danger from passing along the information it had uncovered on Mohammed Atta.

As The Post's Deborah Orin reported Friday, then-U.S. Attorney Mary Jo White — who headed up key terrorism prosecutions, like the first WTC bombing — blasted Gorelick's order in blistering memos at the time.

But the memos, like the Able Danger information itself, were not included in the Kean Commission's final report.

When Gorelick's order first came to light, and critics demanded she quit the commission and instead appear as a witness under oath, Kean bristled.

"People ought to stay out of our business," Kean huffed.

Now, sadly, Americans are learning the price of not having held the commission's feet to the fire.

Kean and his fellow commissioners have been barnstorming the country, arrogantly demanding more information from the White House, even though they've concluded their work and the commission has officially disbanded.

Before Kean & Co. start making demands on the White House for information....

[OESY]

For the 9/11 Commission to have withheld information is shameful, but worse, potentially harmful. That is because their recommendations included greater centralization of intelligence and reduction of the military intelligence budget. By adding another layer of bureaucracy, the Commission has introduced a new set of political biases, not unlike their own that caused the omission of information damaging to Gorelick. Further, the military intelligence effort may have been more accurate and less plagued by the politics that infected CIA results.

In the end, steps taken since the Commission's report may have improved intelligence gathering and analysis. However, it is now clear the Commission failed in its mandate to discover all the facts so others can also evaluate the risks and benefits of intelligence apparatus changes. That is reprehensible. Co-chairs Kean and Hamilton let it happen and should be condemned.

[Peach]

I'd like to have you state your position here; that Gorelick's wall did not prevent Able Danger from taking their concerns to the FBI.

[ncountylee]

Bravo! Gorelick was and is the beast's minion.

[G.Mason]

""People ought to stay out of our business," Kean huffed."

Kean is, and always has been, a Democrat who claims membership in the Republican Party, with the same mind set as Senator Jay Rockefeller (D-WV).

Build their gallows high

[Soliton]

Gore-lick was well compensated for her work with the Clintons. Somehow she got a job as a vice chairman at Fannie Mae just as they were being occused of padding the books to get big bonuses.

"Among those listed was Jamie S. Gorelick, a Fannie vice chairman and former deputy attorney general who left the company in 2003. She received a bonus of $911,250 in 2002."

[Unicorn]

I never understood why Bush made Kean the chair.

[cookcounty]

" I never understood why Bush made Kean the chair."

Because W wanted a "new tone" in Washington, and Keane is perfect for the assignment, being a certified Democrat Doormat.

Unfortunately the only "new tone" the Democrats want is high-volume shreiking.

[Eric in the Ozarks]

The man is a disgrace.

[bvw]

"People ought to stay out of *our* business" -- 911 Ommission Chair Keane.

Hey elite-wanker Keane: it's "We, the People, ...."!

[TVenn]

Tuesday

Lee Hamilton, co-chairman of the now-disbanded commission, said Tuesday that members of the panel could issue a statement by the end of the week after reviewing claims that officials had identified ringleader Mohamed Atta and three other hijackers.

"The 9/11 commission did not learn of any U.S. government knowledge prior to 9/11 of surveillance of Mohamed Atta or of his cell," said Hamilton, a former Democratic congressman from Indiana. "Had we learned of it, obviously it would've been a major focus of our investigation."

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Friday

AP) The leaders of the 9/11 commission late Friday disputed a congressman's criticism that the panel did not adequately investigate a claim that four hijackers were identified as al Qaeda members more than a year before the attacks.

In a joint statement, former commission chairman Thomas Kean and vice chairman Lee Hamilton said a military official who made the claim had no documentation to back it up. And they said only 9/11 ringleader Mohamed Atta was identified to them and not three additional hijackers as claimed by Rep. Curt Weldon, R-Penn., vice chairman of the House Armed Services and Homeland Security committees.

[ballplayer]

TWO questions I want answered ,WHY WOULD A PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES SIGN A PRESIDENTIAL DIRECTIVE SEPARATING OUR INTELLIGENCE AGENCIES MAKING IT IMPOSSIBLE FOR THEM TO COORDINATE INFORMATION VITAL TO OUR NATIONAL SECURITY?

WHY HAS NO ONE ASKED THAT QUESTION? Folks when those questions are asked and investigated then the story told would expose the greatest scandal in American history,and an American President would be exposed for the fraud that he was.

[Maria S]

The following article seems to be to be one pretty good explanation of what you're asking:


How Chinagate Led to 9/11
By Jean Pearce
FrontPageMagazine.com | May 25, 2004
http://www.frontpagemag.com/articles/Printable.asp?ID=13516

[Lone Red Ranger]

(I realize your question was rhetorical...)

That really is at the heart of Weldon's questions in his letter. Although, he asks it more diplomatically, like a good congressman should. On the radio today it was posed as, "Who decided that...Was it Pentagon lawyers? Was it a White House lawyer?..."

Give him time, it looks like he's building up steam. As a guest on Hannity today, he said that he would allow Sean access to the AD member(s) directly, and he indicated that expected that the AD member(s) would be speaking to the public within the week of their own accord.

I expect that all of our questions will be answered when the (inquisition) Commission is reopened, shortly after this sunshine hits some sore spots.

[GOPJ]

Gore-lick was well compensated for her work with the Clintons. Somehow she got a job as a vice chairman at Fannie Mae just as they were being occused of padding the books to get big bonuses.

"Among those listed was Jamie S. Gorelick, a Fannie vice chairman and former deputy attorney general who left the company in 2003. She received a bonus of $911,250 in 2002."

Look, you've been through hell being in NO. Now's not the time to leave. Please give us a few days...