William Safire exposes the out-of-control staff at the 9-11 Commission.
Safire shows how weak the Commission itself is: ex-NSC staffer Philip Zelikow came to the conclusion that Al-Qaeda and Iraq did not have a collaborative relationship as Safire explains:
[The report stated that] "There have been reports that contacts between Iraq and Al Qaeda also occurred after bin Laden had returned to Afghanistan, but they do not appear to have resulted in a collaborative relationship." Zelikow & Co. dismissed the reports, citing the denials of Qaeda agents and what they decided was "no credible evidence" of cooperation on 9/11.
That "no credible evidence" finding was based in large part on the DENIALS of an Iraq/al-Qaeda relationship by bin Laden lieutenants.
More Safire: That paragraph — extending doubt on 9/11 to all previous contacts — put the story on front pages. Here was a release on the official commission's letterhead not merely failing to find Saddam's hand in 9/11, which Bush does not claim. The news was in the apparent contradiction of what the president repeatedly asserted as a powerful reason for war: that Iraq had long been dangerously in cahoots with terrorists.
Then, the useless Commission head, Tom Kean, said this (from Safire's article) on ABC's This Week with George Stephanopoulos: "Members do not get involved in staff reports."
The inmates running the asylum. No wonder the 9-11 Commission is a complete joke.
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