The Hindu : Bush supports extension for 9/11 probe panel

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Friday, Feb 06, 2004

International

International

Bush supports extension for 9/11 probe panel

By Sridhar Krishnaswami

WASHINGTON, FEB. 5. After initially giving the impression that it is against any extension for the bipartisan commission looking into the events of September 11, 2001, the White House has turned around and said the President, George W. Bush, supports the request for more time.

Congress had said that panel's report should be submitted on May 27; and the Commission asked for 60 more days for the same.

"The President is pleased to support the President's request and we urge Congress to act quickly to extend the timetable for an additional 60 days for the commission to complete its work", the White House spokesman, Scott McClellan, said.

"If the commission has information that can help prevent another catastrophic terrorist attack on America soil, we need to have that information as soon as possible", he said.

This is the second time within the week that Mr. Bush has `changed' his stance on issues pertaining to national security.

Initially, after objecting to any inquiry into the flawed or questionable intelligence on Iraq's weapons of mass destruction — the existence of which was the prime rationale for America going to war — Mr. Bush has now supported the idea of a bipartisan commission that will look into this and other aspects of intelligence in the context of terrorism and proliferation.

But the report of this commission is not expected to be out until the beginning of 2005.

Now, the White House has agreed for giving more time to the bipartisan panel looking into 9/11 after initially giving the impression that it was against any such extension.

The White House and Republicans in Congress are worried about the report and the findings coming right in the middle of the election campaign.

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