"9/11 Commission Leaders Blast CIA on Interrogation Tapes"

What exactly did they blast them with?

Imprisonment, Treason, The Rack?

Wake me up when something actually happens.

The commission were very competent since they covered up a crime by muddying the waters to such an extent that the American people believed 19 arabs hijacked four aircraft and killed 3000 innocent people.

The 19 arabs were stooges and victims just as the rest were.

Didn't the FBI confiscate several security camera video tapes of the Pentagon strike?

This is such a fresh turd of a news article...

The 9/11 commission omitted the cause of an entire building falling down, but is very concerned over some torture tapes...

Chenny refused to give the 9/11 commission any of his energy meeting notes. Why wasn't that a concern? You'd think that after 7 years, maybe his executive privilege or claims of national security would ware out.

I read one thing here. "The 9/11 commission gains credibility by championing the main stream political cause of ending torture."

Will Commondreams ever post an article that says, "Undamaged buildings don't fall down by themselves." ??? Or must we continue to discuss the details and color co-ordination of an emperor wearing no clothes...

I would go with fraudulent, but honestly isn't anything different than it was say 200 years ago or even 100 years ago? Kill, kill, kill, that is all this country has done from day 1.

Really?

Bushcon lie, obstruct, redirect, fail?

And we (collectively) buy the story about 911?

America - what a country!

It all started in '63

Nothing but show. The 9/11 commission was a whitewash anyway.

I agree with all those who posted outrage that members of the 911 Whitewash Commission should be feigning outrage now at this late date. Spare us all your righteous indignation, all you traitors who put your signature to it!!!

I hope I live long enough to see the truth behind 911 exposed as the real crime that it was. The hunt for Nazi war criminals pales beside the hunt that will ensue to round up the real perpetrators of 911. Let us hope anyway. Justice will be done.

voxclamantis January 2nd, 2008 12:08 pm

"I don't understand why congressional investigations should assume a spirit of cooperation from its witnesses, or how anyone would be so naive as to expect candor from an agency so totally committed to secrecy."

vox,

I suspect that anyone who pays attention to what's taking place in their own country and particularly on Captiol Hill, wouldn't even consider that Congress is waiting for the CIA or "any" intelligence agency to be candid with any information that is conveniently marked with the "national security" bulls$it we've been seeing and hearing for many decades. In fact, those magic words, "national security", send a clear message to our fearless leaders that they no longer have to be concerned with or perform their "duty and obligations" to the citizens of this country by focusing on the "abuses of power" taking place within our intelligence agencies or executive branch.

What a relief!!! With those magic words the do-nothing Congress can continue to spend most of its time on re-election campaigning to ensure THEMSELVES a life-long seat in Congress while they continue to perpetuate the myth of congressional oversight.

The "spirit of cooperation" is obviously alive and well, particularly among those alleged "patriots" who have sold-out their citizens and country! What a disgrace!

I feel good that so many who have posted comments so far get it. Yes, this is a bogus story. All members of the 9-11 Commission ought to be in prison for life just as all members of the Warren Commission should be. Instead, these filthy murdering traitors will experience a meteoric rise in their personal power and fortunes.

Mr. Kean and Mr. Hamilton, go to jail, go directly to jail, do not pass go, do not collect $200 !!!

The 9/11 Commission was a politicized circle jerk from the start. "Executive Director" Zelikow was a Bush lackey. So far, 9/11 ranks right up there with the '60s assassinations (JFK, MLK, RFK) in its failure to actually investigate what it was charged to investigate.

It's just as laughable that Mukasey is now going to "look into it." Whatever. And I'm going to go redo my old taxes and see if I owe the IRS more money. And the mainstream media is going to sell this crap to the sleepwalking majority.

Oh my, just think of the wonderful things the 911 cover-up commission could have done if only they had that missing information.

Imbeciles, traitors, and buffoons!

The oligarchy and its bought politicians frighten We the People into paying the CIA, the largest news agency in the world, a $50 billion/yr. plus budget, into paying $650 billion/yr. for their MIC, into giving our children's lives for their profit and we're not supposed to know why. Direct democracy now more than ever. http://nationalinitiative.us/

The 9/11 Commission produced a flawed report with inaccurate findings.

I wonder what other evidence was with-held from this august group?

coco,

They'd only destroy them if they had something to hide. They'd only hide them from their own commission, and later destroy them -- risking another scandal and legal quagmire, if the contents were damning indeed.

What else did they hide, and why?

BILLFROMSAGINAW

well, i've just imagined that for a moment. so yes, it begs the question, why on earth would they destroy these tapes?

'it took me 4 days to hitchhike from saginaw; i've come to look for america'

Does this not just scream INCOMPETENCE in every corridor of our government? Only other choice is fraudulent. But it's for-damn-sure, none of them deserve the perks and salaries they draw.

What are Kean and Hamilton really doing by publishing this sort of lament?

Were these men ever serious about fully and properly elucidating what happened on the eleventh of September, 2001?

If they were, why does their report contain so many gross omissions (for example, the report outrageously ignores the collapse of WTC building 7) and glaring errors (for instance, the report describes the core of the Twin Towers as a "hollow steel shaft" (p. 541, note 1) whereas the core of the buildings consisted of forty-seven massive steel columns)?

(For a list of the countless omissions and errors in the 9/11 Commission Report, see David Ray Griffin, "The 9/11 Commission Report: A 571-Page Lie.")

Furthermore, the Commission had subpeona powers, yet barely made use of them. It could have subpoenaed the relevant members of the CIA and other agencies. Instead, it chose not to do so.

Are those two guys telling us that they were victims of obfuscating forces beyond their control? Are they trying to cover their posteriors? Are they attempting to cover over the fact that their very report is an obstruction?

I agree that the 9/11 Commission doesn't have a strong footing when it comes to throwing criticism around. After their "important work" was done most Americans still thought Iraq was involved with 9/11 and had no idea about our relationship with Saudi Arabia.

The 911 Commission based several of its fact finding conclusions upon statements obtained by waterboarding (ie., torture) of Khalid Sheik Mohammed. If the CIA had retained (rather than destroyed) the tapes of Nashiri and Zubaday's interrogation sessions, those tapes would have included their statements against KSM, characterizing KSM as the mastermind of the 911 attacks.

What, pray tell, do you think the political fallout would have been if those tapes had not been destroyed, and they were played before a House or Senate intelligence committee, and the purported identification of Khalid Sheik Mohammed wasn't there at all, or KSM's purported role in the 911 plot, according to the detainees, fell far short of being its ring leader?

What if the tapes established (as has been credibly reported elsewhere) that detainee Zubaday was clinically mentally ill, or even actively psychotic? Would such a revelation impact the public assurances that have been given repeatedly by Homeland Security officials that using so-called harsh interrogation techniques have produced reliable, credible, valuable intelligence information that has saved hundreds or even thousands of lives?

I mean, just imagine for a moment that the tapes in fact showed -

(1) that the detainees' confessions and accusations WERE credible,

(2) the CIA interrogators had in fact pressured the suspects vigorously but not too far across the line into torture, and

(3) the information so gleaned could be shown to have, in fact, averted another terrorist attack or two, saving innocent lives as claimed.

Assuming these three things were captured live forever on Memorex, why on earth would anybody in the CIA even think for a single minute about destroying such wonderful, irrefutable evidence that would conclusively prove George Bush's GWOT detention policies were lawful, produced valuable information, and were serving the nation well?

Bill from Saginaw

Full text at NY Times:

Op-Ed Contributors
Stonewalled by the C.I.A.
By THOMAS H. KEAN and LEE H. HAMILTON
Published: January 2, 2008

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/01/02/opinion/02kean.html

Wise up folks (the pot, kettle, and administration are BLACK), the media attention to obstruction is just a bandaid to give the appearance of credibility to the initial report.

BRAVE NEW WORLD definitions:
O B S T R U C T E D _ = _ E L U C I D A T E D
E L U C I D A T E D _ = _ O B S T R U C T E D

For example, in proper bu$h!tonese:

Those who knew about those videotapes … obstructed our investigation, while we were busy elucidating the truth of 911

For example, in proper English:
We knew about and condoned the purposeful hiding of videotapes and much other evidence to obstruct a thorough investigation, as only a superflicial one would have obstructed the truth of 911

This is the case of the pot calling the kettle black.

"Those who knew about those videotapes — and did not tell us about them — obstructed our investigation."

Sounds like obstruction of justice to me coming from the 9/11 COMMISSION ...

What Coyotita said.

Here we have 2 factions of the Establishment engaged in a harmless bit of posturing. Ideologically & broadly speaking, the 2 are solid & devoted allies of one another.

However, in the matter of the tapes, it's convenient for one group of these dishonest hacks to posture as though they're "Shocked! Shocked!" at the tapes' destruction. Meanwhile the other faction -- the CIA -- is about as trustworthy (and has the same "code of honor" as) the Mafia.

I believe that it was providential that the CIA AND this administration, including some of the deadwood Demos, knew and didn't inform the 9/11 Commission about the tapes. Evidence -- hard evidence -- has been needed and now we have it to indict this administration and point out those Demos who are not with the American people.

I don't understand why congressional investigations should assume a spirit of cooperation from its witnesses, or how anyone would be so naive as to expect candor from an agency so totally committed to secrecy. The CIA can not be other than a hostile witness where sharing its information with the American people is concerned. The 911 Commission should have formulated pointed and specific questions. The interviewees should have been under oath.

If information pertaining to public security is simply none of our business, then the CIA should be legally exempted from any accountability and be designated an immune and alien body. Like Blackwater.

¿ How likely would the complete viewing of these tapes (by the "blue ribbon" 9/11 Commission) change any of their results ?

Some might consider the following probability optimistic:

Between 1/∞ and 0

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In view to UN Human Rights Civilization, US-Justice must take its own course from the starting point of George Bush landing as a President in all-vote not counts, Lied-War and invasions of Afghanistan, Iraq, killings of Palestine & Israeli dumping the M.E. peace process while 9/11 was used as political-fantasy in place of hunting those criminals by Interpol & FBI according to the UN International Law & Order just to regain the great-USA prestige's or to face growing hate by the global people for the USA people. Might is right is not right to fight Evil by Evil while UN Law is there which can not be irrelevant, it is funny to use UN now in blood-hand without bringing those suspected criminals to justice. Even Hitler was not above law!

RichM: "is about as trustworthy (and has the same "code of honor" as) the Mafia." I beg your pardon. The Mafia HAS A CODE OF HONOR. that which is more honorable than this US government.