9/11 Family Members Petition: Release ALL September 11 Documents!

posted by ewing2001 on Saturday November 08, @11:59PM

Update 11/14: Petition pushed again- almost 9500 already signed
(1500 more in one week since this article)

Update : 9-11 Victims' Relatives Criticize Deal (11/13)
Update : Panel Reaches controversial Deal
Two members of the commission would have access
to the full library of daily briefings (11/13)

Investigation by 9-11 Commission still being Blocked

Care2.com -November 9

The pain and grief of September 11, 2001, is etched into all of our memories. To move on as a nation, and to honor the victims, we must uncover the truth behind what happened leading up to the terror attacks to prevent further attacks in the future. For these reasons, Congress wisely created an independent, bipartisan commission in late 2002.

But the White House is withholding important intelligence information from the commission, information that is directly relevant to this investigation. The panel's chair, Republican Thomas H. Kean, is considering issuing a subpoena and risking a courtroom battle with the White House if the documents are not released within the next few weeks.

Sign this petition to demand that the White House release ALL documents requested by the 9-11 commission: Care2.com

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How can our government refuse to cooperate with this bipartisan commission, which was established, in part, at the request of the families of the September 11 victims? How can President Bush continue to guard secrets that could put this nation at risk for further terror attacks?

Help us urge President Bush to do the right thing: sign this petition to demand full cooperation with the 9-11 Commission! Care2.com

We the undersigned, endorse the following petition:

Come Clean, Mr. President: Release ALL September 11 Documents!

Target: George Bush President

Sponsor: J Dasher

The pain and grief of September 11, 2001, is etched into all of our memories. To move on as a nation, and to honor the victims, we must uncover the truth behind what happened leading up to the terror attacks to prevent further attacks in the future. For these reasons, Congress wisely created an independent, bipartisan commission in late 2002.

But the White House is withholding important intelligence information from the commission, information that is directly relevant to this investigation. The panel’s chair, Republican Thomas H. Kean, is considering issuing a subpoena and risking a courtroom battle with the White House if the documents are not released within weeks.

How can our government refuse to cooperate with this bipartisan commission, which was established in part at the request of the families of the September 11 victims? How can President Bush continue to guard secrets that could put this nation at risk for further terror attacks?

Sign this petition to demand that the White House release ALL documents requested by the 9-11 commission.

Panel Reaches Deal on Access to 9/11 Papers

NY Times -November 13, 2003

WASHINGTON, Nov. 12 The commission investigating the Sept. 11 attacks said on Wednesday that it had reached agreement with the White House to give the panel access to copies of the daily intelligence briefings sent to President Bush's desk shortly before the attacks.

The accord was reached after months of talks over the reports, known as the President's Daily Brief, which the Central Intelligence Agency presents to Mr. Bush and his senior aides every morning. The bipartisan commission had threatened to subpoena the reports.

"We believe this agreement will prove satisfactory and enable us to get our job done," the panel said in a statement that lacked details on the agreement.

Although panel officials said the pact imposed substantial limits on access, it still appeared to establish a precedent for outside access to some of the most highly classified intelligence reports in the executive branch, a precedent that the White House had not been eager to set.

Administration officials acknowledge that they fear that information in the reports might be construed to suggest that the White House had clues before Sept. 11, 2001, that Al Qaeda was planning a catastrophic attack. The White House acknowledged last year, in response to news reports, that an intelligence briefing in August 2001 suggested that Al Qaeda might be planning hijackings.

Commission officials said that under the accord two members of the 10-member commission would have access to the full library of daily briefings prepared in the Bush and Clinton administrations and that two other members would be allowed to read just the copies of the briefings that the White House deemed relevant to the inquiry.

9/11 panel gets limited access to White House documents

UPI

...But commissioner Tim Roemer, a former Democratic congressman from Indiana, said that the terms of the deal -- which he declined to elaborate -- were too restrictive. "To paraphrase Churchill," he told UPI, "Never have so few viewed such important documents under so many restrictions." "I have deep reservations and doubts about this deal," he concluded.

Many of the relatives of those killed on Sept. 11 -- who campaigned to have the commission established in the first place -- said they, too, were unhappy with the agreement.

"Why is it necessary to exclude any of the commissioners?" asked Patty Casazza, who lost her husband John. "They all have the highest level of clearance."

"If the commission believes this is such a good deal, why don't they publish the terms," added Mindy Kleinberg, whose husband Alan was killed. "The public should have the right to reach their own judgment about whether this is a good deal, or whether the commission should have used its subpoena power." But commissioner Slade Gorton, a former GOP senator, welcomed the agreement, saying,

"The fewer people (that see documents like this) the less likely there'll be leaks."

Newsday - Letter to the Editor

Newsday - 11/12/03

Truth Seekers

Many times President George W. Bush has revealed his true feelings on the investigation of Sept. 11, 2001. First, there was never to be one. Now it's a stall tactic. But his mistake is that his feelings are not confined to the White House walls, they are revealed for everyone to see.

The requested documents would show a snapshot of what happened on Sept. 11. Again, it's no secret there were security and intelligence failures. Otherwise, there would have never been a Sept. 11. But what Bush has shown us is that the victims' families aren't worthy of the truth.

Barry Zelman

Editor's Note: The writer's brother, Kenneth Zelman, died in the World Trade Center.

9-11 Victims' Relatives Criticize Deal

AP

(AP) - Relatives of people who perished in the Sept. 11 attacks say a federal commission accepted too many conditions in striking a deal with the White House over access to secret intelligence documents.

The Family Steering Committee, a group of victims' relatives who are monitoring the work of the independent commission, criticized the agreement announced late Wednesday. Under the deal, only some of the 10 commissioners will be allowed to examine classified intelligence documents, and their notes will be subject to White House review

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