Essay on September 11th Commission Report

The 9/11 Independent Commission was created by the Congressional legislation to investigate the occurrence of the September 11th, 2001 terrorist attack that took place in New York City. Although, the creation of this commission aimed at analyzing the causes that led to the occurrence of the attack which is a noble act, its inception was met with numerous controversies and problems (Griffin 2005). Some of these controversies and challenges were such as the administration of former the United States President George W. Bush had placed various obstacles that discouraged the functioning of the commission. The commission was given a very small sum of money as funding for its activities. By January in the year 2003, the commission had only been issued with $ 3 million. This was a very low figure as compared to what was given for other commissions such as the Commission formed to study legalized gambling in 1996 which was given $5 million.

The Time magazine in March of the year 2003 reported that the commission had requested for an additional $11 million which was declined by the Bush administration. This figure was very low as compared to the $50million that was given to the Columbia Shuttle Disaster Commission. The administration of President Bush took a lot of time in issuing the commission's personnel the required security. This strained the commission since it was supposed to have cleared its report by May of the year 2004. Slade Gorton who was a former Republican United States senator with skills in intelligence is one of the commissions' officials whose security clearance was delayed for no reason(Griffin 2005). The government also created an obstacle in the obtaining of documents and accessing of witnesses. They delayed the release of the Joint Inquiry report to July in 2003, yet the document was supposed to be used by the commission.

Thomas H. Kean who was the commission's chairman said that the Justice Department and other federal agencies withheld various documents that could have been quickly issued upon the authorization of the government. He also said that the federal agencies insisted on having their representatives present while some of its employees were being interrogated which was seen as a way of intimidating the employees by him. The commission was also not allowed to question the president while under oath. The leaders did not well understand the task of commission. Hamilton, the commission's Vice Chairman said that the commission would focus on the future and not to blame. This showed that the commission would avoid trying to find out what happened. According to Griffin (2005), the chairmen appointed by President Bush to head the commission were viewed as once who were not credible. Henry Kissinger who was appointed first was not the most suitable candidate. This is because Mr. Kissinger was a consultant for most of the firm in Saudi Arabia. He was also accused by John O'Neil and other intelligence agents for funding the 9/11 hijackers. His connection with the oil company called Unocal that was planning to build a pipeline through Afghanistan also made him appear as an individual who was not suited for the position.

The President choice showed that the government was not concerned with the findings of the commission. The controversies relating to Mr. Kissinger forced him to resign from the position. Thomas Kean who was the former governor of New Jersey and at that time the president of Drew University was appointed to head the commission. His appointment was also controversial because he was a member of the board of directors of Amerada Hess which is also an oil company that had various investments in Central Asia. The company also joined with Delta Oil from Saudi Arabia to form the Hess-Delta. The president's appointment of Philip Zelikow who was connected with the government as the committee's executive director was seen to be controversial. Zelikow was appointed to the Foreign Intelligence Advisory Board after the occurrence of 9/11. He served with Condoleezza Rice in the National Security Council during the presidency of the elder George Bush (Griffin 2005). Zelikow's close relation with people like Rice made him seem unfit for the position since Rice was one of the people being investigated by the commission.

Despite the various limitations that the Commission faced from the government and other agencies, Kean stated that they would do their best to have all the information needed by the commission including the once guarded by the government and the agencies. The commission gave a subpoena to the Federal Aviation Administration this showed that the documents request should be taken seriously. The commission even threatened to give the White House a subpoena if they continue putting restrictions in relation to their investigation. Senator Max Cleland who was one of the commission suggested that if Kean was really serious on the actions he was planning to take, the Commission would be able to note that the 9/11 terror attack occurred more under complicity and not incompetence. This is because as the days go by more information indicating that the government knew a lot in relation to the attack was being revealed. However, the fact that the president appointed him indicated that this could possibly not happen. This is because despite the fact that Kean was seen to be a person of integrity his appointment may have been to contain the investigation strategically like Kissinger's.

The commission's report exonerating the president and his government of all wrongdoing would be seen as a cover-up of some of the documents and testimonials that were required. In November of the year 2003, the commission agreed to the restriction request from the government relating to the intelligence report in the Presidential Daily Briefs. The White House authorized the access to those briefs to only particular people and could amend the reports before they were sent to the commission. This was viewed to be mischievous since the commission which was independent was supposed to be let to work without the intervention of the government independently. According to Griffin (2005), after the book's manuscript was finished various events that showed the demand of the setting of a new investigation emerged. The events mainly focused on the publications, lawsuits, the independence of the commission, and two presidential candidates. Publications such as the Guardian in its September 2003 article written by Michael Meacher argued the commission's credibility. Meacher was, the former British Minister of Environment, who claimed that the 2000 document produced by the Project for the New American Century (PNAC) gave more highlight of what would have happened in the 9/11 attack as compared to the global war on terrorism thesis. He further stated that the government was not prepared for such an attack even though they had been warned severally of the possibility of the attack occurrence.

Meacher's claims were meet with various responses in articles such as the Guardian's Fury over Meacher Claims' written by Ewen MacAskill and articles published in London's Sunday Times dismissed Meacher's arguments stating that the United States government would not risk the lives of its citizens. However, the Guardian received various letters commending Meacher for his boldness of saying what many feared to say (Griffin 2005). Many articles that highlighted the conspiracy theories on September 11th attack emerged in countries such as Germany, France, Italy, and Spain. The articles were majorly in support of Meacher's argument.

Reference

Griffin, D. R. (2005). The 9/11 Commission report: Omissions and distortions. Olive Branch Press.