GOP questions 9/11 panel credibility

Washington Times ^ | 4/17/04 | Stephen Dinan and Charles Hurt

[kattracks]

Top Republican House lawmakers, including Majority Leader Tom DeLay, say the commission investigating the failures leading up to the September 11 attacks has degenerated into partisanship that "not only undermines its credibility, it undermines the war effort and endangers our troops."

[Diogenesis]

The constitution, assembly, organization, and conduct of this committee is
more than enough insight and evidence into EXACTLY
how we in America became vulnerable to the 911 Atrocities by al Qaeda.

[MEG33]

More Commission news here.

[Michael81Dus]

Thanks for the Ping.

Now it looks as if several Congressmen have understood how foreigners perceive the whole "investigation" - as "political football". When I left the States, the TV news still commented the work of the commission positively, but that was Wednesday. Is there already a change in comments, or take commentators still the "investigation" as serious?

[angkor]

This is how Reno - Gorelick's boss - "recused" herself from any serious questioning:

GORTON: That's preliminary to a number of reservations or even complaints that we have heard directly or indirectly from people in the CIA, that your office counseled the White House against any memorandum of notification, which unambiguously allowed for the CIA simply to kill or to eliminate Osama bin Laden, and that that contributed to the fact that all of its plans inside of Afghanistan failed to come to fruition or were never ordered into execution.

Can you comment on that? Did the CIA, or did anyone in the White House ask your view as to whether that phrase could be unambiguous? And did you answer that question in the negative?

RENO: I was not asked whether they could assassinate him. I was asked whether they could capture or follow through with it.

GORTON: You were only asked if they could capture him or perhaps kill him in an attempt to escape or to resist that.

RENO: I need, Mr. Chairman, some direction. I don't know what the commission has done in terms of the declassification of these issues, and I want to be able to answer the question.

KEAN: Madam Attorney General, I think if there's any doubt in your mind, we should probably talk with you about it privately, rather than publicly, particularly on this subject, which is a very sensitive one.

RENO: I'm happy to do anything that will forward the issue.

GORTON: We'll submit that question to you in a closed session.

[Shethink13]

Earlier this week Judiciary Committee Chairman F. James Sensenbrenner Jr., Wisconsin Republican, called for her to step down, arguing that link between the FBI and the intelligence community is central to the panel's inquiries and her involvement compromises that investigation.

I questioned her participation on this commission from the outset. She was deputy attorney general under Janet Reno. Would the dems have allowed someone from Ashcroft's office on the commission?

If I can see the obvious conflict of interest, why couldn't these guys?

[randita]

There's a strategy about leaving Gorelick on the committee and maybe the GOP is setting the stage for that.

Imply that the work of the committee is partisan and tainted with Gorelick left in place. Then when the report comes out, which no doubt, will be a partisan hatchet job on the GOP, as most of these stupid committee reports are, say the report isn't worth anything.

[hgro]

When these pictures appear of the Towers and the poor souls that perished, has any investigation ever been made into the faulty design of these buildings? If not, why not? An air force plane flew into the Empire State building a number of years ago and while there were casualties and an hole in the building - that was the extent of the damage.

[Eric in the Ozarks]

An unintended karom shot...

[bvw]

What organization is better represented than Republicans or Democrats on the 9/11 Commission?

The CFR.

And the CFR's and CFR-like interests is paramount in all the panelists minds -- because it is their careers and pocketbooks. Those elitist connections are their personal assets!

We have an alternative -- alternatives -- we could apply:

A panel made up of fine, upstanding cictizens -- say county level judges of over five years service picked at random from counties over 10,000 pop. That would serve AMERICAN interests.

[independentmind]

And the CFR's and CFR-like interests is paramount in all the panelists minds -- because it is their careers and pocketbooks. Those elitist connections are their personal assets!

If what you are saying is true, where does that place the Bush administration?

[Diogenesis]

Please. The entire fault is with disgraced Commissioner's Gorelick's clients.

---

Islamic 911 Attack Calendar which was distriibuted worldwide the year before
the terrorists murdered 3000 Americans per hour in the 911 Atrocities.

INQUIRING MINDS WANT TO KNOW BEFORE THE NEXT ATTACK
How many were in the Offices and homes of clients of Gorelick and/or Kean and their associates?

[bert]

faulty design of these buildings....

What faulty design/ There is no such problem. There is some concern about steel insulation but it is not at all conclusive.

Where is your specific evidence of design error??

[maica]

    In 1995 she wrote a memo that was seen as enhancing what both law enforcement and intelligence officials called "the wall," which hindered sharing intelligence information between the two communities.
    Mrs. Gorelick was deeply involved in the relationship between intelligence and law enforcement, according to testimony she gave before the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence in 1995. Then, she told that committee she had been specifically tasked by Attorney General Janet Reno to work on the relationship between the FBI and intelligence communities.
    "When I came over to be her deputy, she asked me to take this on as a special project," Mrs. Gorelick testified at the time.
    Though she was on the dais during this week's hearings of intelligence and law enforcement officials, she recused herself from questioning Miss Reno, her former boss, or former FBI Director Louis Freeh. She cited the commission's policy against interviewing people with whom "a commissioner or staff member has a close personal relationship."


@@@@


Recusing herself from asking questions in public testimony is such a red herring.

Ms Gorelick has been one of a very select few to see ALL the documents sent by the White House. I am sure that she has been the decision maker on Which documents the rest of the panel have been made aware.

more that one million documents
80 staff members
MS Gorelick, terrific person
R Ben Veniste, attack dog mafia-type mouthpiece
8 weak sister panel members, willing to let Ms Gorelick do the work

Recipe for Disaster

[Tom Bombadil]

An air force plane flew into the Empire State building

Was it loaded with enough fuel for a trans-continental flight?

[randog]

Imply that the work of the committee is partisan and tainted with Gorelick left in place. Then when the report comes out, which no doubt, will be a partisan hatchet job on the GOP, as most of these stupid committee reports are, say the report isn't worth anything.

Bingo. The WH had to know the dums would stack the commission with partisan attack dogs, then dug up the goods on whoever showed up. They must have been doing back flips in the Oval Office when Gore-lick surfaced. I wonder if they drew straws to see who would fire the torpedoe at her (glad to see Ashcroft won--he deserves it after all the s--t he's been getting from the opposition).

[bvw]

If what you are saying is true

It is true. It is obvious. There is NO "if". CFR memebers dominate, are the majority on the 9-11 panel, and the ones who are not CFR members move in similar circles. Not only is it reasinable to suspect they'd have significant motives outside of those of most Americans -- the "F" in CFR stands for "Foreign", after all -- but events in teh hearings and related to those hearings over the past two weeks have made those conflicts of interest inescapble to the decent observer and ruining to any sense of integrity.

AMERICA deserves it's OWN commission -- of people from inside, whose concerns in nearly all regards are inside concerns. A panel of County level Judges selected at random would make a fart more trust-worthy alternative. One whose motives are beyond reasonable suspicion.

[bvw]

(apologies for typos above)

[randog]

...has any investigation ever been made into the faulty design of these buildings?

Yes. They were never designed to survive the impact of a modern commercial aircraft. Call that faulty if you will, but I don't think many structures can survive such an assault. Even the Pentagon sustained extensive damage.

[Carolinamom]

Gorelick may have recused herself, BUT she failed to reveal that prior to Reno's appearance before the commissioners, Gorelick prepped her former boss AND gave her (Gorelick's) questions to Slade Groton, who used Gorelick's questions in questioning Reno. Some recusal.

Source: American Spectator, Aug. 14, 2004.