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ヵﾄWP：911独立調査連邦委員会は大統領選挙の来年まで続く（ダラダラ）
藪猿ブッシュのゴネドク引き延ばしへの抗議はあれど。日本では似非紳士朝日新聞の事実上の援護射撃に守られて、ああ、堂々の堂々巡り。
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A16614-2003Nov26.html
9/11 Panel May Seek Extension
Pressure Mounts as Investigation of Attacks Bogs Down
By Dan Eggen
Washington Post Staff Writer
Thursday, November 27, 2003; Page A02
Amid fears that it can no longer meet a spring deadline, the independent commission investigating the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks is coming under increasing pressure to seek an extension of its work into the 2004 election season.
Although the panel's leadership says it can still complete its investigation on schedule, a growing number of commissioners believe that is unlikely and are pushing the group to consider asking Congress for more time, several officials said. An influential group of relatives of Sept. 11 victims, the Family Steering Committee, also issued a statement yesterday recommending that the commission seriously discuss an extension.
"Unfortunately, the production of a timely report no longer seems to be possible, in large part because of the delays caused by the administration and the agencies that report to it," the group's statement said.
Any attempt to move the May 27 deadline, however, would require the approval of Congress and President Bush and could make the commission -- which has tried to remain above the political fray -- an issue in the presidential campaign. The White House, which opposed the commission's formation for more than a year, successfully fought to impose a deadline that is five months before the November elections. Commission officials and members of Congress expect the administration to oppose a request for an extension.
Calls to the White House for comment yesterday were not returned.
The 10-member panel, created a year ago today, has been bogged down for months in battles over access to government material related to the attacks, which culminated in a subpoena earlier this month to New York City that is likely to end up in a court battle. The conflicts have already forced the commission to postpone one of its key hearings and to schedule more time for staff to conduct investigations on weekends and holidays.
In addition, officials announced this week that one of the commission's most outspoken members, former Georgia senator Max Cleland (D), is leaving to join the Export-Import Bank's board. Cleland has accused the Bush administration of trying to undermine the commission's work and sharply condemned a deal that restricts the panel's access to presidential briefings. Cleland's replacement has not been named.
Any extension in the commission's deadline would require more funding and staff for the commission, because many of those detailed to the effort are required to return to their jobs after May, officials said.
Presidential candidate Joseph I. Lieberman (D-Conn.), a Senate sponsor of the legislation that created the commission, said he would support a request for more time. "It is unfortunate that, because of White House intransigence, we may have to wait even longer for a full accounting," Lieberman said in a statement. "But it will be worth the delay to learn why the terrorist attacks were not prevented and how we can improve our defenses against future attacks."
The commission first raised the issue of an extension in an October statement, when it warned that continued delays might "prevent the commission from completing its work and issuing its report within the time frame set by statute." Several commissioners said in recent interviews that their concerns have only heightened since then and that they expect the issue to be central to internal discussions in coming weeks.
Commissioner Timothy J. Roemer, a former Democratic congressman from Indiana, said he is leaning toward the view that the investigation may be running out of time.
"I think it's going to be extremely difficult, given the obstacles we've had on access issues with the White House, to make the deadline," Roemer said. "We're having to compress the schedule to the back end. It might be in the interest of the commission to be on the record requesting an extension."
Another Democratic member, former Watergate prosecutor Richard Ben-Veniste, said, "I think we're at a point that we need to take stock of where we are and make a determination."
The Family Steering Committee and other relatives who have been monitoring the commission's progress said they fear that the tight timeline would compromise the panel's findings and will sow doubts in the minds of those who lost family members in the attacks.
"We want a thorough report," said Kristen Breitweiser, whose husband, Ronald, was killed at the World Trade Center. "If the report is going to be lacking in information because they run out of time, that's ridiculous."
But the commission's leadership has said in recent weeks that the deadline can still be met, in part because of increased cooperation from government agencies. In response to subpoenas, both the Pentagon and the Federal Aviation Administration agreed to turn over air defense materials, and the panel has reached an agreement with the White House that gives four commission members restricted access to intelligence documents known as the President's Daily Brief.
"Our view at the moment is that we can get the job done on time," Vice Chairman Lee H. Hamilton, a former Democratic congressman from Indiana, said yesterday. "That assumes we're not going to be taking many more delays in getting the information we need."
One Republican appointee, former Navy secretary John F. Lehman, said that meeting the May deadline would benefit the commission, because it would allow the findings to be debated by political parties and presidential candidates.
"We can use the momentum of an election year to get real endorsement of reforms," Lehman said. "It would be likely to have less momentum after an election."
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