Unanswered Questions About 9/11
Unanswered Questions About 9/11
To the Editor:
The Family Steering Committee for the Independent 9/11 Commission released the following statement and 23 questions on February 10 and 16. Included below are questions 1 through 6:
The Family Steering Committee (FSC) is outraged by the failure of the 9/11 Independent Commission to subpoena the White House for complete access to the Presidential Daily Briefings. The public needs to be aware that the Presidentâs statements on Meet the Press, on February 8, 2004, were misleading. He stated that he is âcooperatingâ with the 9/11 Independent Commission. Yet the Commission has been negotiating for access to these documents for over ten months with no success.
The Family Steering Committee believes that President Bush should provide sworn public testimony to the full ten-member panel of the National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States. Collectively, the commissioners are responsible for fulfilling the Congressional mandate. Therefore, each commissioner must have full access to the testimony of all individuals and the critical information that will enable informed decisions and recommendations. Before an audience of the American people, the commission must ask President Bush in sworn testimony, the following questions:
As Commander-in-Chief on the morning of 9/11, why didnât you return immediately to Washington, D.C., or the National Military Command Center once you became aware that America was under attack? At specifically what time did you become aware that America was under attack? Who informed you of this fact?
On the morning of 9/11, who was in charge of our country while you were away from the National Military Command Center? Were you informed or consulted about all decisions made in your absence?
What defensive action did you personally order to protect our nation during the crisis on September 11? What time were these orders given, and to whom? What orders were carried out? What was the result of such orders? Were any such orders not carried out?
In your opinion, why was our nation so utterly unprepared for an attack on our own soil?
US Navy Captain Deborah Loewer, the director of the White House Situation Room, informed you of the first airliner hitting Tower One of the World Trade Center before you entered the Emma E. Booker Elementary School in Sarasota, Fla. Please explain the reason why you decided to continue with the scheduled classroom visit, 15 minutes after learning the first hijacked airliner had hit the World Trade Center.
Is it normal procedure for the director of the White House Situation Room to travel with you? If so, please cite any prior examples of when this occurred. If not normal procedure, please explain the circumstances that led to the director of the White House Situation Room being asked to accompany you to Florida during the week of September 11.
For more information go to www.911independentcommission.org.
James Allen
Main Street, Newtown                                            February 24, 2004