White House Officials to Address 9/11 Panel

President Bush originally opposed the formation of the bipartisan 9/11 commission. After its formation, he opposed its request for additional time to complete its final report. He originally opposed the public testimony of national security advisor Condoleezza Rice, then later gave approval with the condition that no other advisor be allowed to testify and that she not be called for any further testimony.

The president originally would agree to only one hour of his own testimony, and only before the chairman and co-chairman of the commission. He later agreed to answer all of their questions with no time limits. His final proposal is to appear before the full commission in private but with the vice president at his side to answer questions jointly. The testimony will not be under oath, there will be no recording of the testimony and no notes can be taken by the commission members, only by a designated note-taker. This is a sad commentary on providing full cooperation with a commission that is seeking the truth about what was known and done about terrorism leading up to 9/11.

Richard Angelos

Cambria, Calif.

*

Of course Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney are going to testify together before the 9/11 commission. Everyone knows the dummy isn’t capable of speaking without the ventriloquist!

J.G. Berinstein

Northridge

*

I was never worried that Rice would be caught in a lie if she appeared under oath before the commission. She is an intellectual match for anyone on the panel. Now that Cheney has gotten permission to sit with the president while he testifies, I don’t anticipate any problem there, either.

Clint Everett

San Diego

*

The separation of powers between the executive (president), legislative (Congress) and judicial (courts) branches has been part of the foundation of our freedom. Now that the president and his staff have agreed to testify before the 9/11 commission, the separation of powers is history. Congress may now have the power to require that the president and his staff testify under oath.

Whether we have a Democratic or Republican president next year, this is a bad precedent for our future freedom.

Larry Burks

San Pedro