FOR
IMMEDIATE RELEASE
March
21, 2002
SEPTEMBER
11 COMMISSION CLEARS COMMITTEE, HEADS TO FULL SENATE
WASHINGTON - Senate Governmental Affairs Committee
Chairman Joe Lieberman, D-Conn., commended committee members
Thursday for unanimously reporting legislation to establish a
commission to study the circumstances surrounding the September
11 terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon.
The legislation, (S.1867), co-authored by Lieberman and
Senator John McCain, R-Ariz., and amended by Robert Torricelli,
D-N.J., would establish a National Commission on Terrorist
Attacks Upon the United States to examine the facts and causes
relating to the attacks, to make a full accounting of the
circumstances surrounding the attacks, and to report on the
extent of the United States’ preparedness for the attacks.
“The overriding purpose of this inquiry must be a
learning exercise,” Lieberman said, “to understand what
happened without political interference or preconceptions about
the ultimate finding.”
Under the legislation, the commission will report to the
President and Congress on its findings and recommendations for
corrective measures. The
members of the commission will be appointed by the leaders of
the Senate and House, and by the President, although none may be
current office holders. The
President will appoint the Chairman.
Commission members will be prominent U.S. citizens with
national recognition and significant experience in a variety of
professions.
“After the infamous attacks of September 11, the
American people have been asking questions: Why was this plan so
successful in achieving its evil goals?
Were opportunities missed to prevent the destruction?
What additional steps should be taken now to prevent any
future attacks?” Lieberman
said. “The
American people deserve answers to these very legitimate
questions. Just as
importantly, if we can learn lessons from this tragedy, lessons
that will protect our citizens, then the horrific losses
Americans suffered will not have been entirely in vain.”
Lieberman cited a number of blue-ribbon commissions that
have contributed to the nation’s understanding of significant
national security questions.
They include the Hart Rudman Commission, which predicted
that weapons of mass destruction or mass disruption would be
used on United States soil, and the Rumsfeld Commission, which
shaped the views of policymakers on the threat posed by
ballistic missiles in the hands of other countries.
Commission members will decide which issues to investigate.
Possible areas of inquiry spelled out in the bill include
intelligence, law enforcement, border control, and commercial
aviation.
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