Commentary; Witnesses and Public Deserve More Than Finger Pointing On 9/11 Issues

Summary

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The National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States - commonly called the 9/11 Commission - just held its ninth public hearing regarding the events that led up to the worst single terror attack ever on America. The second worst attack in relation to that event could arguably have been the commission's eighth session that started as calm and routine as that fateful Tuesday nearly 31 months ago but quickly deteriorated into a disastrous presentation of human behavior.

The 10-member board began examining both the global and domestic factors that led to the attacks on America in a calm and cordial manner, with cabinet members from the current and previous administrations presenting testimony in a direct and respectful fashion. But the tone of this hearing, like an outside force ambush, quickly turned from a dignified discussion among professionals into a parley of political positioning and finger pointing, facilitated by a year and a half of hindsight.

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Extract

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Commentary; Witnesses and Public Deserve More Than Finger Pointing On 9/11 Issues

Questions from commission members were presented more as position statements, leaving those called upon to testify with little choice but to respond defensively to accusations that were frequently made with the luxury of speculation. Just as the days immediately following Sept. 11, 2001, unified Americans, regardless of political prefere...

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