NEWLY POSTED 9/11 ARTICLE 1B.2

The Kean Commission

The Official Commission Avoids the Core Issues

In the fall of 2002, the "National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States" was established, partly in response to pressure from families of victims of the 9/11/01 attack. Originally, President Bush appointed Henry Kissinger, famous for his role in cover-ups and widely considered a war criminal, as chairman of the Commission. However, Kissinger soon stepped down in order to avoid answering questions about potential conflicts of interest, which would have required him to disclose secret clients. Kissinger was replaced by former New Jersey governor Thomas Kean, and Lee H. Hamilton was selected as the vice chair. Thereafter the body became commonly known as the "Kean Commission" or the "9/11 Commission". ^{1 2}

Senator Max Cleland, who initially served on the Commission, was the only outspoken member. He compared the Kean Commission to the Warren Commission:

The Warren Commission blew it. I'm not going to be part of that. I'm not going to be part of looking at information only partially. I'm not going to be part of just coming to quick conclusions. I'm not going to be part of political pressure to do this or not do that. ³

In November of 2003, President Bush appointed Cleland to a position on the board of the Export-Import Bank, prompting him to step down from the Commission. ⁴He was replaced by probable war criminal Bob Kerrey. As of May, 2004, the Commission consisted of the following members:

Thomas Kean (chair)	director of oil giant Amerada Hess. business ties to Saudis Khalid bin Mahfouz. co-chairman of Homeland Security Project. CFR member.
Lee H. Hamilton (vice chair)	member of Homeland Security Advisory Council. former chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee and House Select Intelligence Committee. chair of committee investigating Iran/Contra. CFR member.
Richard Ben-Veniste	partner in the Mayer, Brown, Rowe & Maw law firm which represented Westfield Corporation and Westfield America -- insurance beneficiaries of the court-ordered multi-billion dollar payout for the World Trade Center destruction. ⁵
Bob Kerrey	vice-chair of the Senate Committee on Intelligence. Kerrey said in a 1999 Washington Post column that the Vietnam war (which killed over 2 million civilians) was a "just war."
Fred F. Fielding	worked for John Dean as White House counsel to Nixon -- "Deep Throat" of Watergate fame, avoided prison time.
Jamie S. Gorelick	current and former partner, along with Commission General Counsel Daniel Marcus, of Wilmer, Cutler and Pickering, a law firm representing Prince Mohammed al Faisal against the August 2002 lawsuit by victims' families against several Saudi princes and banks, and the Sudanese government. vice-chair of mortgage giant Fannie Mae. Former deputy to Janet Reno. CFR member.
Slade Gorton	served two years on the Senate Intelligence Committee.
John F. Lehman	former Secretary of the Navy under Reagan. disgraced in a number of scandals, including Tailhook.
Timothy J. Roemer	member of the House Intelligence Committee.
James R. Thompson	chairman of the large Chicago-based law firm Winston and Strawn.
Philip Zelikow	member of George W. Bush's Foreign Intelligence Advisory Board; member of Bush-Cheney transition team.