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CIA Says It Cooperated With 9/11 Panel

CNN
Posted: 2007-12-22 14:38:37
WASHINGTON (Dec. 22) - The CIA on Saturday rebutted suggestions the spy agency was uncooperative and hid from the Sept. 11 commission the videotaped interrogations of two suspected terrorists, saying it waited until the panel went out of business before destroying the material now in question.

The destruction in late 2005 of the videotapes of two al-Qaida suspects has upset a federal judge and riled the Democratic-controlled Congress, which has promised an investigation. The Justice Department also is trying to find out what happened and whether any laws were broken.

A recent memo by Philip Zelikow, the former executive director of the Sept. 11 commission, suggests the CIA was less than forthcoming when asked for documents and other information from the panel, which investigated the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001.

The CIA disputed that characterization and suggested the panel should have requested interrogation videotapes specifically if it wanted them.

"The notion that the CIA wasn't cooperative or forthcoming with the 9/11 commission is just plain wrong. It is utterly without foundation," spokesman Mark Mansfield said Saturday. "The CIA's cooperation and assistance is what enabled the 9/11 commission to reconstruct the plot in their very comprehensive report."

In a statement e-mailed separately Saturday, Mansfield suggested the commission should have been specific about wanting videotapes.

"Because it was thought the commission could ask about tapes at some point, they were not destroyed while the commission was active," he said. Mansfield, citing similar comments this month by CIA Director Michael Hayden, added that "the tapes were destroyed only when it was determined they were no longer of intelligence value and not relevant to any internal, legislative, or judicial inquiries."

Zelikow's seven-page memo, dated Dec. 13, reviews the commission's requests for information from the CIA.

It cites a Jan. 26, 2004, meeting of commission members and administration officials, including then-CIA Director George Tenet, at which the government offered to present written questions to the detainees and relay their answers back to the commission.

"None of the government officials in any of these 2004 meetings alluded to the existence of recordings of interrogations or any further information in the government's possession that was relevant to the commission's requests," Zelikow wrote.

Near the end of the commission's work, and in response to a request by the commission to all agencies, John McLaughlin, then the deputy CIA director, confirmed on June 29, 2004, that the CIA had "taken and completed all reasonable steps necessary to find the documents in its possession, custody or control responsive" to the commission's formal requests and "has produced or made available for review" all such documents, the memo said.

The existence of Zelikow's memo was first reported by The New York Times.

2007-12-21 20:31:22
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2605 comments

wa0cal 12:03:00 PM Dec 25 2007

THIS ADMINISTRION HAS HAD MORE COVER UPS AND LIES THAN THE NIXON ADMINISTRATION. IT IS SAD WHEN THE PEOPLE CAN'T BELIEVE THE PUBLIC OFFICIALS WHOM THEY PUT IN OFFICE

rykittycat 02:17:00 AM Dec 25 2007

CIA......YEAH RIGHT. SOUNDS LIKE BULLSH*T TO ME.
APPARENTLY THE CIA THINKS EVERYONE IN THIS COUNTRY
IS A NEO-CON WITH AS A BUSH IQ.

peloquinbrimf 11:23:07 PM Dec 24 2007

Maybe because they are interested in helping poorer people and not the richest few?

donedaytona 10:18:00 PM Dec 24 2007

Here we go again. The dems are "all a-titter" with mis-information and a "hate Bush" agenda. Harry, Nancy, and their "blame America first " crowd, are at it again. This kind of crap is what they are all going to be remembered for. The important issues facing us as a nation today are simply ignored. The dems are only interested in making our country look bad at every step. How do they continue to get elected ?

farmmer28 02:11:41 PM Dec 23 2007

What lies Saddom threaten us for the last tin R.i.p Bin bombs us crush al-quada and all of iraq is yelling death to america there lucky there on the map nobody wants musliuns in the west england and france are gonna sweep them out.

steffensewl 08:33:39 AM Dec 23 2007

Dutch, you say taxes will go up under a democratic administration. Well HELLO, taxes may go up under democrats but how in the world will things improve if taxes aren't raised a bit. I mean the tax cut that bush gave was a biggy for the rich, but for people like me (and there are millions) my big take home amounted to 50 cents a month. WHOOPI just about made my day. Our country is falling apart. From the roadways to byways. The water situation is in great need of doing something about. The water situation could be helped if we sent all the illegals back home and slowed down the legal amount of people coming into the United States. And stop so much building. The ground water storage areas are being covered with blacktop. The envirment would be helped as well, wouldn't need to cut so many trees to do all that building.
But yes, There may be a need to raise taxes. You pay a little as you go or a whole big, big bunch in the end. And it's going to take years to recover from

mnmholly 08:27:00 AM Dec 23 2007

Iraq is Bush's Heartless Cold Blooded Mistake and he should be Impeached for the Lies he told. Blame Bush and Cheney but Pity these men if they serve in Iraq for being blind to the truth because they cannot believe so many friends have died for NOTHING but stick to the reality you know that Bush is just as wrong as Nixon to keep a useless war going for nothing!

mnmholly 08:26:00 AM Dec 23 2007

Bush Tortures people in Prisons with CIA help just like the Nazis. Have we become so like them, are we so scared we have no Laws? There were fools in Vietnam, men who fought in Vietnam that were and still are too dense to sense the Lies it represented and the worthlessness of the Vietnam War, a War FOR NOTHING. They cannot admit Vietnam's Lies because it is just too painful for them to think they lost friends and brothers for Nothing and killed so many innocent people for Nothing,it is too painful to realize their Presidents and Generals Lied to make the Useless War and would not just withdraw from the Mistake. Iraq in another Useless War for Nothing, a Mistake, a Pointless War with no end and it is Unwinnable just like Vietnam. Both Wars were Mistakes, Iraq is Bush's Heartless Cold Blooded Mistake and he should be Impeached for the Lies he told. Blame Bush and Cheney but Pity these men if they serve in Iraq for being blind to the truth because they cannot believe so many friends have

steffensewl 08:12:58 AM Dec 23 2007

The oval office and the people who work in it and for it will NOT TAKE THE BLAME for the tape destruction. I mean after all the president can't ""recall any mistakes"" he ever made. So don't expect any changes now.

I think the reason things have kinda improved in Iraq is because the Iraqis finally realized they were doing more harm to their country and each other than they thought. Since they keep saying Iraq is a big country how could 30,000 more troops make that much difference. I keep thinking you put 30,000 more people in California would that be noticeable???. They said Iraq is the size of California. So how can 30,000 more troops make that much difference. Something fishy about all of this. Is this why bush needs all this money for Iraq, to buy them off so it will look like he's winning. If things are so much better in Iraq why the need for all that additional money, the billions, trillions of dollars. If it's that much better bring the troops home. It just plain do

mnmholly 08:08:00 AM Dec 23 2007

The "Surge" is a Crock and Bush is a professional Liar ... his Generals can only keep their Jobs by Lying for Bush. If you were old enough or smart enough to read you would know they Lied about Vietnam just like they Lie about the "Surge" ... there is nobody reporting on the violence in Iraq... no US reporters can go into the countryside because it's too dangerous. Every "Guy" Bush points out as an Ally of the US is dead in 48 hours! Sure some great success, you let nobody see what is going on, you bomb twice as much as last year and last year was "BAD" and then you get your trained dog General Betrayus to Lie to Congress and the US public just like they did about Vietnam, while the secret Pentagon Papers, internal reports said they knew Vietnam was a total loss! They LIED and Bush and his minions LIE today because Bush doesn't think you have the brains to see through his LIES.

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