Senators Demand Release Of CIA’S 9/11 Report

The CIA is the only counterterrorism agency which refuses to release any version of its internal 9/11 review.Senators Demand Release Of CIA’s 9/11 ReportBy Cliff Montgomery – May 18th, 2007A bipartisan cadre of senators is spearheading legislation which would demand a public release of the CIA inspector general’s (IG) report on the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11th, 2001.The agency has spent over a year and a half denying requests for its release under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), and has yet to release a single portion of the IG report.The CIA is the only federal agency involved in counterterrorism operations which has not made public at least a redacted version of its internal 9/11 investigation.Senator Ron Wyden (D-OR), along two other intelligence committee leaders–chairman Jay Rockefeller (D-WV), and the senior Republican, Missouri’s Kit Bond–are backing legislation which would force the CIA to declassify the executive summary of the IG report within one month, and would also compel the agency to submit an explanation to Congress stating why any material was redacted.The Senate twice approved the provision, but the bill never made it all the way through the legislative process into law.Wyden said in an interview with Associated Press (AP) that he is also mulling whether to link the release of the executive summary to his acceptance of George W. Bush’s nominations for national security positions.”It’s amazing the efforts the administration is going [though] to stonewall this,” Wyden told AP.”The American people have a right to know what the Central Intelligence Agency was doing in those critical months before 9/11…. I am going to bulldog this until the public gets it,” he added.It’s good to see some Democrats and Republicans who aren’t crazy show political guts for a change…One reason this report is important: The CIA’s IG report was completed in June 2005, and discussed the personal responsibility of individuals at the agency before and after the attacks. And while we don’t yet know what’s in this report, reviews at other agencies dealt with structural problems within their organizations.Another reason for recognizing a great importance here: being a member of the Senate intelligence committee, Wyden has read the classified review several times. And though he naturally refuses to discuss its findings at the moment, he should know if there is a thing or two in the review that every American needs to know. That other senators have joined this call–creating a bipartisan call in fact–only adds certainty to this realization.The excuses the Bush Administration gives for not informing Americans about their own democratic government are the usual puffs of false rhetoric, and only seem to validate that the CIA report must really be something.Senator Bond told AP that some intelligence officials have tried to dismiss the inspector general’s report as “ancient history”, which he rightly doesn’t accept. For if it’s “ancient history”, that is all the more reason to believe it can be released without fear of inadvertently revealing any damaging facts.Bond added that the report in fact possesses information which would indeed be useful to the public.”We have no desire to embarrass or throw cold water on the enthusiasm of the great men and women of the CIA, but let’s just take a clear and open look at what the IG found and see if we have all of those problems corrected,” said Bond.Wyden told AP that a wish to protect individuals from embarrassment is not a valid reason for keeping thestudy’s contents from public review. He also said the decision to classify the report has more to do with political spin than with national security.CIA Director Michael Hayden declined a requested AP interview on the report. In a statement released Thursday, his spokesman Mark Mansfield said:”Given the formidable national security challenges our nation faces, now and down the road, General Hayden believes it is essential for the Agency to move forward,” claimed Mansfield. “That’s where our emphasis needs to be.”No, Mr. Mansfield, a democratic nation can’t move forward until the people who actually run this country know where they’ve been–or where they need to be. Demanding our blind submission and equally blind trust is no answer at all.Former CIA Director Porter Goss rejected a request from CIA Inspector General John Helgerson for the agency to create accountability review boards to discover any personal culpability. Bond replied that Goss’ refusal was regrettable.Republicans love to say that government should be run like a business. So let’s ask ourselves a simple question: could a business be properly run if its managers never hold anyone responsible for big-time screw-ups?Using strict Republican logic, if you couldn’t competently run such an operation with mere dollars on the line, then you can’t claim to competently run a government organization this way with American lives on the line, Mr. Goss. The stakes are just too high.