"You can do an investigation, and if you don't really want to research an area, you just don't look at it. If you don't ask them all of the questions, or you don't let them tell you the whole story, ya know... then you can write a report based on half-truths." - 9/11 Family Member, September Eleventh Advocate, "Jersey Girl" Mindy Kleinberg

Source: www.cindysheehanssoapbox.com

Jon Gold
5/1/2013
Updated: 5/5/2013

Hopefully, you remember the time right after 9/11. A time when we were told repeatedly that there were absolutely no warnings, and that no one had any idea something like that could happen. If not, feel free to browse the "9/11 Denials" section available at www.historycommons.org.

http://rawstory.com/rs/2010/0821/grayson-slams-mosque-debate-talk-bush-l...

By Stephen C. Webster
Saturday, August 21st, 2010

The debate over a planned Islamic community center several blocks from New York City's World Trade Center site is a "distraction," according to Rep. Alan Grayson (D-FL).

Instead, the debate should shift in focus to an examination of the administration which "let it happen."

'It,' of course, being the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001.

The remark was made during a Friday appearance on MSNBC's The Ed Show with former liberal talk radio host Ed Schultz.

“If we are going to talk about 9/11, why don’t we talk about how not so much the people who died on 9/11 were disgraced by the possibility of an Islamic athletic center several blocks away; how about the fact that they were disgraced by a president who let it happen?" he asked. "Who went on vacation for the entire month of August after he was warned in writing that Osama bin Laden was actually finding targets in NYC and learning how to take these planes and do terrible things with them? The thing itself said ‘hijacking’ and they did nothing about it."

We have found the famous "What Do I Do Now?" memo drafted by 9/11 Commission Executive Director Philip Zelikow on March 2, 2003. The memo advised staffers newly hired by the commission what they should do after starting work.

The memo was found by Erik at the National Archives and uploaded to the 9/11 Document Archive at Scribd.

Philip Shenon's The Commission highlighted the memo and one controversial section in particular. The section says:

Interactions with commissioners can be helpful to you and them. If you are contacted by a commissioner with questions, please contact Chris [Kojm, Zelikow's deputy] or me. Consulting with the Chair and Vice-Chair, we will be sure that the appropriate members of the Commission staff are responsive.

Shenon called this provision, channelling contacts between the staff and the commissioners through Zelikow and his deputy, "unusual" and "worrying to the staff." He added:

Documents recently found in the National Archives cast doubt on the integrity of the 9/11 Commission’s Executive Director Philip Zelikow. In an e-mail exchange with author Philip Shenon, Zelikow claimed that he first learned of a dispute on the commission over the investigation of false statements made by NORAD and FAA officials after it had been “percolating for a while” and was not involved in the initial stages of the argument. However, an e-mail chain (scroll down) found in the Archives by History Commons contributor paxvector shows that Zelikow had been involved in the issue from very near the beginning.

Zelikow made the claim he was not involved in the initial stages of the dispute in response to an allegation made by commission staffer John Azzarello and relayed by Shenon. After the staff investigators drafted a memo for the commissioners in early April 2004 outlining why they thought NORAD and FAA officials had deliberately lied to them to overstate the military’s readiness during the attacks, Zelikow “just buried that memo,” according to Azzarello. In response, Zelikow claimed that he had not even known of the issue at the start. The implication was that, as he had not known of it, it could not be him that was orchestrating--or even involved in--a dispute between the staff investigators and the commission’s lawyers, Daniel Marcus and Steve Dunne.

However, the newly found e-mail chain shows Zelikow did know of the issue in April, raising the question as to why he falsely told Shenon he did not. Zelikow is not known to be linked to the FAA, but, if the commission had referred the matter to the Justice Department and it had started a perjury investigation against NORAD officials, this would certainly have had the potential to embarrass his friends at the Pentagon. Zelikow is alleged to have husbanded the issue to ensure a less potentially embarrassing referral to the inspectors general of the FAA and Defense Department, who in the end blamed the false statements on innocent mistakes and poor logkeeping.

A document recently discovered in the National Archives shows that, in a memo to the 9/11 Commission’s chairman and vice-chairman on false statements made by NORAD and FAA officials about the failure of US air defenses, the commission’s Executive Director Philip Zelikow failed to mention the possibility of a criminal referral. This supports allegations that Zelikow “buried” the option of a criminal referral by the commission to the Justice Department for a perjury investigation. The document was found at the National Archives by HistoryCommons contributor paxvector and posted to the History Commons site at Scribd.

Phil, you and I have corresponded on several occasions, and I have found you to be a relatively nice guy. For those who don't know, Phil Shenon covered the 9/11 Commission for the New York Times. He recently released a book entitled, "The Commission: The Uncensored History of the 9/11 Investigation" that cites many of the problems with the 9/11 Commission. He also runs a blog available here.

Recently, you wrote an article regarding the 9/11 Commission's reliance on testimony gotten through torture, and I commend you for that.

Several times in my correspondence with you, I have asked why hasn't the New York Times run a front page story on the problems with the official account and each time, I haven't gotten an answer.

On April 27, 2008, Philip Shenon, former investigative journalist at the New York Times and author of "The Commission: The Uncensored History of the 9-11 Commission" spoke on a panel at the LA Times Book Fair titled "Checks and Balances." Jeremy Rothe-Kushel of WeAreChangeLA asked him a question regarding how best to resolve the treasonous condition of the ongoing 9-11 cover-up. that video which has been posted here on 911blogger before is located here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TuTpV5gSMsI&feature=related
After the panel, instead of signing books, he came to speak with a group of us 9-11 truth folks. Here is some of what happened:

At what point does "criminal negligence" become so extreme that it can be considered "complicity" beyond a reasonable doubt? Shenon attempts to put the "incompetence", "ignorance", "failure to imagine", "system failure" and "covering up incompetence" spin on what he reports while essentially supporting the theory that Al Qaeda outwitted the dimwitted and incompetent US intelligence and defense establishments, but even what he does say seems like grounds for impeachment hearings to me.

http://www.smh.com.au/news/world/they-knew-but-did-nothing/2008/03/07/12...

visit the link above for the whole excerpt, choice cuts:

"The warnings were going straight to President Bush each morning in his briefings by the CIA director, George Tenet, and in the presidential daily briefings. It would later be revealed by the 9/11 commission into the September 11 attacks that more than 40 presidential briefings presented to Bush from January 2001 through to September 10, 2001, included references to bin Laden.

The Bush story about 9/11 takes a hit from their ally the Washington Times- exposure of Saudi involvement in 9/11 is exposure of Bush family/administration involvement in 9/11.

http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2008/jun/17/foes-not-friends/

Foes, Not Friends
By Frank J. Gaffney Jr.
The Washington Times | Tuesday, June 17, 2008

The United States is in mortal period from a false friend: the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. The peril emanates from the totalitarian legal-religious-military-political code the Saudis call Shariah and their assiduous efforts to impose it worldwide. The danger is enormously exacerbated by the almost-complete failure of American officials at every level of government to acknowledge, let alone act to prevent, the Saudis' true agenda.

Three examples are instructive:

Philip Shenon was on a panel at the LA Times Book Fair about a month ago titled "Checks and Balances." I decided to ask him about taking 9-11 truth into the courtroom. He dodged the question a bit, but definitely did not poo-poo the 9-11 truth movement or the millions of Americans who don't believe the official conspiracy theory.

This video has a little of the middle-section when I was interrupted edited out. A fuller, unedited version might be forthcoming.

After this, Shenon ended up coming out to the 9-11 truth information table to speak with us. He was a very gracious man, but appeared to dodge some questions. See what you think from these videos. Higher quality (audio/video) recordings are becoming available as we speak.

I've transcribed some of the pages having to do with Cheney from Phil Shenon's book, "The Commission". The back cover says, "How Vice President Cheney tried to pressure the Commission to change its assessment of his actions on 9/11, and how he may have tried to cover up his role."

Pages 29-31
Daschle would be out of his job as majority leader in January, when the new Republicans would be sworn in. The GOP already controlled the House. Daschle figured that with Republicans in full control on Capitol Hill, Congress would be out of the business of oversight, especially when it came to September 11 and the performance of the Bush White House in dealing with the threat of al-Qaeda before and after the attacks.

It had become clearer and clearer to Daschle and other Democrats--and to the Washington press corps and even some Republicans--that the White House was hiding something, perhaps many things, about what Bush knew about al-Qaeda threats before 9/11.

The New York Times review (2/4/08) of Philip Shenon's book, The Commission, referred to Philip Zelikow as the Black Hat of the story. This book contains a wealth of detail on behind-the-scenes relationships and processes within the 9/11 Commission. In my opinion, the writing will be best savored, evaluated, and utilized within the 9/11 truth community. To underestimate it or refuse to read it because of some basic faults would deprive one so deciding a generous experience in their search for truth.

Last Sunday, on "Live from the Left Coast" on KPFK in Los Angeles, Ian Masters had on James Moore the co-author of "Bush's Brain: How Karl Rove Made George W. Bush Presidential" and, more recently, "The Architect: Karl Rove and the Dream of Absolute Power."

I decided to call up and draw out the connections among the allegations made in Philip Shenon's book "The Commission," and the follow up by Philly 9-11 Truth (see: Karl Rove Is Questioned About His Involvement With the 9/11 Commission by Philly 9/11 Truth )

The show recording is here: http://www.ianmasters.org/left_coast.html -under March 30th, 2008- My question is at the 41:10 mark.

Me: "...I think that this is a very crucial sort-of connection for Karl Rove, because that Commission was highly manipulated and, if it was manipulated and it was a cover-up, then, under Article III Section 3 of the Constitution, I think we can consider it a treasonous cover-up."

New Expose Shreds Credibility of 9/11 Commission Report

Source: scoop.co.nz

Kyle Hence
Friday, 21 March 2008, 12:16 pm

"Senior investigators on the 9/11 Commission believed their work was being manipulated by the executive director to minimize criticism of the Bush Administration."

[...]

"Investigative staffers at the Commission believe [executive director] Philip Zelikow repeatedly sought to minimize the administration’s intelligence failures in the months leading up to 9/11, which had the effect of helping to ensure President Bush’s re-election in 2004." -- Excerpts from The Commission: The Uncensored History of the 9/11 Investigation by Philip Shenon

[...]

"There’s a lot of things they missed, and unfortunately there is going to be a lot of talk for rest of our lifetimes about whether or not these connections at the White House had some impact on the final report." -- Philip Shenon on "The Daily Show, with Jon Stewart, February 10, 2008I first met Philip Zelikow, the Executive Director of the 9/11 Commission, during the "independent" investigative body’s first hearing in New York City in 2003. As Executive Director, Zelikow was to set the course of the investigation and I was curious to hear what Zelikow had to say. After the hearing, gathered in a tight little circle of journalists, Zelikow mused on two monumental and historic investigations, the Warren Commission – created to investigate the assassination of President John F. Kennedy, and his Commission – created to investigate the mass murder of over three thousand people from over 80 countries. Before cutting himself off and expressing concern about going "on-the-record", Zelikow insisted he would avoid the fate of the Warren Commission, which many critics have questioned over the years, and announced that Lee Oswald acted alone.

David Ray Griffin has just reviewed Philip Shenon's recent book, "The Commission: The Uncensored History of the 9/11 Commission". DRG provides a detailed appraisal of its strengths and weaknesses.

http://www.amazon.com/review/R6QTAQWI4JFV3/ref=cm_cr_rdp_perm

Half Great, Half Terrible

by David Ray Griffin

"The Commission" by Philip Shenon has performed a great public service, letting the world know that there are good reasons to be suspicious of "The 9/11 Commission Report." The main problem is the fact that the Commission was almost entirely under the control of Philip Zelikow, who was closely connected to the Bush White House. Although my book "Christian Faith and the Truth behind 9/11" revealed some of the facts about Zelikow that showed him to be one of the worst possible choices for the Commission's executive director, Shenon has revealed even more facts.

Here's the comment I left for Elizabeth on huffingtonpost.com - Jon

So basically Elizabeth, you're saying that everybody's lying, but it's ok because they're only covering up incompetence. First of all, without a REAL investigation that follows every path wherever it may lead, and actually holds people accountable for either incompetence OR criminality, we'll never truly know which it was. Personally, after seeing everything this Administration, and their friends in Congress have been capable of, I wouldn't put criminality with regard to the 9/11 attacks past ANY of them. Secondly, lying under oath, and obstruction of justice are ALSO punishable offenses, and both were committed several times during the time of the 9/11 Commission. Shouldn't people be held accountable for that? Finally, Shenon's book reiterated already known information for the most part. Just elaborations. There is so much more like that mentioned on www.cooperativeresearch.org's 911 Timeline. You mention the fact that he mentions "the Jersey Girls But-For-Whom-the-Commission-Would-Never-Have-Been, to Henry Kissinger, who, in a meeting with them, spilled hot coffee and nearly fell off his seat when one of them asked if he had any clients whose last named is Bin Laden", but you fail to mention that those same individuals are STILL looking for truth, accountability, and justice for the 9/11 attacks. The bottom line is, we need a REAL investigation, and we need accountability. Without that, the 9/11 issue will never die.

Crimes of the State Blog

I'll cut to the chase: the cover up of 9/11 was all about hiding incompetence; that is the opinion of Philip Shenon (NY Times) and the gaggle of book reviewers who promote his tome over at Big Media.

Let's make the crucial distinction up front:

It's not "incompetence"
if done intentionally.

This unthinkable concept has never made it up to the editors and reporters of America's well-paid professional journalism class. There can only be unintentional incompetence, and never purposeful malfeasance: never agency of treason.

Such myths would be comforting if there weren't a long and despicable history of such government crimes to draw upon -- something professional journalists are supposed to be aware of, yet never seem to write about.

Playlist URL: http://www.youtube.com/view_play_list?p=605E68182CFB244A

Transcript of the entire briefing and submitted documents here:
http://www.911podcasts.com/files/documents/did-they-get-it-right.zip

Direct link to Congressional Record, 109th Congress:
http://frwebgate.access.gpo.gov/cgi-bin/getpage.cgi?dbname=2005_record&p...

In the wake of Philip Shenon's best-seller, "The Commission", comes another wave of Americans snapping out of a media-induced trance. On another front, to a different audience, Willie Nelson is waking up another sector of the sleepwalking masses with his skepticism. Whatever route you took that made you take a second look at 9/11, welcome... and, you've got some catching up to do.

If Shenon's book was your introduction to the simple fact that the 9/11 Commission failed in its mandate on several levels, then you are probably unaware that serious criticism of the 9/11 Commission was entered into the Congressional Record of the 109th Congress. This criticism was the result of a Congressional Briefing conducted by former Congressional Representative, Cynthia McKinney of Georgia. (McKinney is currently seeking the Presidential nomination for the Green Party of the United States.)

The briefing was held on July 22nd, 2005, subsequently broadcast by C-SPAN, and studiously ignored by the corporate press. A comprehensive collation of the briefing has not been made available online, but thanks to the magic of YouTube, I have chopped the most pertinent testimonies from that day into neat 10 minute segments that are easily digestible for the busy internet surfer. You may have seen some of the footage from the briefing in the documentary, "Press for Truth", where Lorie Van Auken talked about her husband's fate on 9/11. Beyond that, not much of this footage has been circulating on the net.

So, if you are new to 9/11 Truth, or 9/11 skepticism, or you just have some questions, this is a great start. This briefing does not present much speculation or theory, but does break down the Commission on its bureaucratic failings, and lists a host of anomalies that will send you researching for days if this is all new to you. (This briefing does not discuss controlled demolition theories at all, it wasn't until physicist Steven Jones came on the scene in 2006 that CD "exploded" into the massive topic for 9/11 skeptics that is currently is. There was a lot of research already published online, and some in books, but it took a PhD to kick it over the top.)

The YouTube series is in 25 parts, and begins with McKinney's opening statement;

From Secrecy News:
http://fas.org/blog/secrecy/2008/02/inside_the_911_commission.html

INSIDE THE 9/11 COMMISSION

"Senior investigators on the 9/11 Commission believed their work was
being manipulated by the executive director to minimize criticism of
the Bush Administration," according to a new book on the Commission.

"Investigative staffers at the Commission believe [executive director]
Philip Zelikow repeatedly sought to minimize the administration's
intelligence failures in the months leading up to 9/11, which had the
effect of helping to ensure President Bush's re-election in 2004," no
less.

That is the sensational thesis of "The Commission: The Uncensored
History of the 9/11 Investigation" by New York Times reporter Philip
Shenon:

http://www.thecommissionbook.com

The claim was immediately disputed by the former Commissioners and by
former staff.

"The author is mistaken in his criticism of the role of Executive
Director Philip Zelikow. The proper standard for judgment is the
quality of the report, and there is no basis for the allegations of
bias he asserts," according to a February 8 statement issued jointly by

How Karl Rove and Torture Influenced the 9/11 Report
By Amy Goodman, Democracy Now!
Posted on February 11, 2008, Printed on February 11, 2008
http://www.alternet.org/story/76572/

The following is a two-part transcript on the 9/11 Commission Report recently conducted by Democracy Now!. The first explores the role that Karl Rove may have played in influencing the report's findings, and the second looks at how information gained through torture form a major part of of the 9/11 Commission Report.

Former 9/11 Commission Chief Philip Zelikow on Allegations He Secretly Allowed Karl Rove & White House to Influence 9/11 Probe

Philip Shenon, author of The Commission: The Uncensored History of the 9/11 Investigation, recently suggested on Democracy Now! that Philip Zelikow, the executive director of the 9/11 Commission, sought to minimize the Bush administration's responsibility for failing to prevent the September 11th attacks. Shenon also revealed that Karl Rove repeatedly called Zelikow during the probe. In the following interview, Zelikow responds in his first broadcast interview since the publication of Shenon’s book.

Amy Goodman of Democracy Now! interviews Phillip Shenan for approximately 30 minutes during its tuesday broadcast. Although I have not read his book, "The Commission: The Uncensored History of the 9/11 Investigation", I have to applaud his mention of several important conflicts of interest to do with Phillip Zelikow, (well known to the 9/11 Truth Movement at large as revealed by David Ray Griffin in his criticisms of the commission), especially his extensive relationship with Condoleeza Rice-- National Security Council staff colleagues, coauthoring of a book, and comembers of the National Security Council transition team.

9/11 Commission: Fox in hen house

SEATTLE POST-INTELLIGENCER EDITORIAL BOARD

A new book by a New York Times reporter shines a light on the disturbing behind-the-scenes workings of the 9/11 Commission's report. If bulletproof, the book prompts us to add one more thing to our to-do list for the next administration: Pressure it to charge a panel of independent experts to write a real, nonpartisan report on the attacks.

Philip Shenon's "The Commission: The Uncensored History of the 9/11 Commission" focuses on the relationship between the commission's executive director, Philip Zelikow, and the White House. To start with, Shenon writes that Zelikow sought to limit the Bush administration's responsibility in failing to assess threats leading up to the attacks. In 2003, with George W. Bush seeking re-election, a commission investigator found materials confirming that the White House (specifically, Condoleezza Rice, with whom Zelikow had written a book) had ignored warnings of an impending al-Qaida strike. Belittling the investigator, Zelikow dismissed the evidence.

http://www.abcnews.go.com/print?id=4218157

Ex-9/11 Panel Chief Denies Secret White House Ties
Book Charges Zelikow May Have Interfered With the 9/11 Commission's Report
By JUSTIN ROOD

Jan. 30, 2008—

The former executive director of the 9/11 Commission denies explosive charges of undisclosed ties to the Bush White House or interference with the panel's report.

The charges are said to be contained in New York Times reporter Philip Shenon's unreleased book, "The Commission: The Uncensored History of the 9/11 Investigation," according to Max Holland, an author and blogger, and generally confirmed by the book's publisher. Although the book is not slated to hit stores until early next month, Holland says he bought a copy of the audio version at a bookstore. (Attempts to purchase the book, in any format, at the Barnes & Noble across the street from ABC News headquarters were unsuccessful.)

http://www.washingtondecoded.com/site/2008/01/commission-conf.html
30 January 2008

Commission Confidential

By Max Holland

In a revelation bound to cast a pall over the 9/11 Commission, Philip Shenon will report in a forthcoming book that the panel’s executive director, Philip Zelikow, engaged in “surreptitious” communications with presidential adviser Karl Rove and other Bush administration officials during the commission’s 20-month investigation into the 9/11 attacks.