9/11 probe is a new terror

[jamiroguy1]

9/11 probe is a new terror

February 28, 2004, 3:47 PM EST

WASHINGTON — Who was most scared of the truth?

Was it House Speaker Dennis Hastert? He was the latest Republican standing in the way of the bipartisan commission investigating the Sept. 11 terror attacks. The commissioners had asked for two extra months to conduct some crucial interviews and track down some late-breaking leads. Until he relented Friday afternoon, Hastert was refusing to bring the short extension up for a vote.

Or is George W. Bush the one with the most to hide?

While voicing support for the 9/11 probe, he and those around him have been working diligently to undermine the commission's work, going all the way back to before the investigation began.

So was Hastert's latest roadblock really just a political favor to his good friend the president, who'd just as soon not have an explosive report dropped into the late-July heat of a re-election campaign? It sure is looking that way.

The mission of The National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States, despite the highfalutin name, is really quite straightforward: Explain what happened on Sept. 11, 2001 — and why.

Co-chaired by Republican Thomas Kean and Democrat Lee Hamilton, the bipartisan panel has approached its difficult mission with extraordinary balance and seriousness. This is, after all, the most nagging single question of our time. What's the real story behind 9/11?

New York lost nearly 3,000 people that day.

We — and especially their families — have a right to know the truth. The commission has been asking some uncomfortable questions about what Washington knew, including the single most pressing one: Could the attacks somehow have been avoided or stopped?

Full Editorial

http://www.newsday.com/news/columnists/nyc-henn0229,0,4159853.column