" ... "Senior investigators on the 9/11 Commission believed their work was
being manipulated by the executive director to minimize criticism of
the Bush Administration," according to a new book on the Commission.
"Investigative staffers at the Commission believe [executive director]
Philip Zelikow repeatedly sought to minimize the administration's
intelligence failures in the months leading up to 9/11, which had the
effect of helping to ensure President Bush's re-election in 2004," no
less.
That is the sensational thesis of "The Commission: The Uncensored
History of the 9/11 Investigation" by New York Times reporter Philip
Shenon:
http://www.thecommissionbook.com
The claim was immediately disputed by the former Commissioners and by
former staff.
[ ... ]
being manipulated by the executive director to minimize criticism of
the Bush Administration," according to a new book on the Commission.
"Investigative staffers at the Commission believe [executive director]
Philip Zelikow repeatedly sought to minimize the administration's
intelligence failures in the months leading up to 9/11, which had the
effect of helping to ensure President Bush's re-election in 2004," no
less.
That is the sensational thesis of "The Commission: The Uncensored
History of the 9/11 Investigation" by New York Times reporter Philip
Shenon:
http://www.thecommissionbook.com
The claim was immediately disputed by the former Commissioners and by
former staff.
[ ... ]
Mr. Shenon's engaging book provides new details on the efforts of
former national security adviser Sandy Berger to destroy documents at
the National Archive; the discovery of a highly classified Memorandum
of Notification authorizing the killing of Osama bin Laden that was
signed by President Clinton on December 24, 1998 then modified a few
months later for reasons that remain obscure; John Ashcroft's attempt
to embarrass Commissioner Jamie Gorelick, which had the unintended
effect of unifying the Commission; and lots of interesting, gossipy
details about the internal dynamics of the Commission, some of which,
as noted, have been disputed.
[ ... ]
"One of the most neglected observations in the report was in our
section comparing the Millenium period (end 1999) with the 'summer of
threat' in 2001," Mr. Zelikow wrote to Mr. Shenon on September 20, 2007
in a passage that was not included in the book.
"We made the point there that the main driver in all the attention in
the earlier period was the massive publicity surrounding the Ressam
arrest. [Ahmed Ressam was convicted of plotting to bomb Los Angeles
International Airport on New Year's Eve 1999.] We contrasted that with
the muffling secrecy of Summer 2001."
"Imagine what might have happened if the Moussaoui arrest had gotten
the kind of publicity and extended coverage that accompanied the Ressam
arrest. We had evidence from [Khalid Sheikh Mohammed] that, had he known
of the Moussaoui arrest, he might have cancelled the operation," Mr.
Zelikow wrote. ... "
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