Bush Blocks Inquiry. What Is He Hiding?
By Mike Hersh, Sep 30, 2002
The Joint Inquiry Staff investigating the 9/11 attacks told Congress Bush refuses to cooperate with efforts to prevent another major terrorist attack. To ensure our safety, we have to know what went wrong leading up to 9/11. But the Bush administration continues to stonewall.
Eleanor Hill, Staff Director of the Joint Inquiry Staff says the Bush Occupation blocked investigations into "the President's knowledge of intelligence information relevant to this Inquiry," and "The identity of and information on a key al-Qa'ida leader involved in the September 11 attacks."
Why is the Bush Occupation covering up all "references to the Intelligence Community providing information to the President or White House" before the 9/11 attacks? Hill says, "The American public has a compelling interest in this information," and "public disclosure would not harm national security." Therefore, we have to ask: What are they hiding?
Eleanor Hill, Staff Director, Joint Inquiry Staff
September 18, 2002
Chairman Graham, Chairman Goss, before I proceed with my statement, I want to make clear to you and the members of these two Committees that the information I am going to present has been cleared for public release.
As you know, much of the information the Joint Inquiry Staff has been examining is highly classified. Over the last two months, we have been working with the Intelligence Community in a long and arduous process to declassify information we believe is important to the public's understanding of why the Intelligence Community did not know of the September 11 attacks in advance. By late last night, we were able to resolve all but two issues.
The Director of Central Intelligence has declined to declassify two issues of particular importance to this inquiry:
* Any references to the Intelligence Community providing information to the President or White House; and
* The identity of and information on a key al-Qa'ida leader involved in the September 11 attacks.
According to the DCI [Director of Central Intelligence] the President's knowledge of intelligence information relevant to this Inquiry remains classified even when the substance of that intelligence information has been declassified. With respect to the key al-Qa'ida leader involved in the September 11 attacks, the DCI declined to declassify his identity despite an enormous volume of media reporting on this individual.
The Joint Inquiry Staff disagrees with the DCI's position on both issues. We believe the American public has a compelling interest in this information and that public disclosure would not harm national security. However, we do not have independent authority to declassify intelligence information short of a lengthy procedure in the U.S. Congress. We therefore prepared this statement without detailed descriptions of our work in these two areas.
See complete report courtesy of Findlaw.com: http://news.corporate.findlaw.com/hdocs/docs/terrorism/ssci91802jntinqrypt1.pdf (requires free Adobe Acrobat Reader)
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