Tell Daschle to Appoint Kristen Breitweiser to 9/11 Commission NOW

[Aries]

(This is an alert forwarded from David Kubiak on behalf of http://911citizenswatch.org/. It is also posted in the 9/11 Military Affairs forum.)

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Date: Mon, 08 Dec 2003 22:53:28 -0500
Subject: 9/11 URGENT MOMENT: Tell Daschle to Appoint Kristen Breitweiser to 9/11 Commission NOW


Please rewrite as you wish and sign it for your purposes (otherwise you can sign it with 911citizenswatch.org), but please get it around as fast as you can. Speed is of the essence here, since Cleland's confirmation hearing (and disqualification from the 9/11 panel) is tomorrow (12/9).

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URGE DASCHLE TO RESCUE THE CREDIBILITY OF THE 9/11 COMMISSION
BY APPOINTING KRISTEN BREITWEISER TO REPLACE MAX CLELAND

The 9/11 Independent Commission's inquiry into the greatest national
defense disaster in American history is in trouble. A majority of members have been tarnished with conflict of interest allegations for their ties to airlines, oil companies, and the Bush Administration. The commission is also under fire for not requiring witnesses to testify under oath and for allowing administration "minders" to chaperone its private deposition interviews. The Administration is not cooperating, the media is missing in action, and the Commission's clock is running out. With two-thirds of its mandated life already passed, it is still awaiting access to critical documents from the FAA, NORAD and the White House.

To make matters much worse, it has also just lost Max Cleland, one of the few commissioners untainted by conflict of interest problems and certainly the most outspoken with regard to the facts. (e.g., "As each day goes by we learn that this government knew a whole lot more about these terrorists before September 11th than it has ever admitted." NY Times 10/26/03) He was also the sole member to speak out against the Commission leaders' deal allowing the White House to severely limit and censure access to requested Bush briefing documents. As he raged to Wolf Blitzer on CNN (11/13/03), ""This is a scam, it's disgusting. America is being cheated... We shouldn't be making deals. If somebody wants to deal, we issue subpoenas. That's the deal."

Nine days later Bush disqualified him from the Commission by appointing him to the board of the Export-Import Bank. (Ref: "New Job Takes Cleland Off 9/11 Panel" http://washingtontimes.com/upi-breaking/20031123-091108-4750r.htm)

Sen. Tom Daschle must now select Cleland's replacement, and victim
families and advocate groups are lining up to urge that he nominate
Kristen Breitweiser, co-chair of September 11th Advocates and founding
member of the 9/11 Commission's "Family Steering Committee." Breitweiser lost her husband Ronald in WTC Tower Two and was one of the driving forces behind the creation of the 9/11 Commission when the congressional 9/11 joint intelligence inquiry was restricted, redacted and stonewalled.

As a knowledgeable and trusted representative of the 9/11 victim family community, Breitweiser has been widely called "conscience of 9/11." It is difficult to imagine another commission candidate who would bring her degree of commitment and honesty to this most vital task. Her inclusion would help guarantee the Commission's integrity and greatly restore public trust in its proceedings and commitment to the truth.

Please contact Tom Daschle immediately and ask him to appoint Kristen
Breitweiser to the 9/11 Commission to repair the panel's credibility,
ensure full accountability, and restore the nation's peace of mind. No
more political operatives or party insiders, we need an honest citizen for
this mission.


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Daschle Contact Info
Fax: [phone] - Washington, DC Office
Email form: http://daschle.senate.gov/webform.html
Tel: Washington DC [phone];
Rapid City: [phone]; Sioux Falls: [phone]
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REFERENCE LINKS FOR KRISTEN BREITWEISER

FAMILY STEERING COMMITTEE OF
THE 9/11 INDEPENDENT COMMISSION
http://www.911independentcommission.org

STATEMENT OF KRISTEN BREITWEISER
TO JOINT COMMITTEES ON INTELLIGENCE
September 18, 2002
http://www.markriebling.com/0918breitweistertagged.html

Transcript of Breitweiser's 8/13/02 "Donahue" Interview
http://www.guerrillanews.com/war_on_terrorism/doc672.html

FOUR 9/11 MOMS BATTLE BUSH
-- Gail Sheehy's Breakthrough Mainstream Story
on the Abiding Questions, Grief and Fury among
9/11 Victim Family Members Two Years Later
New York Observer, 8/25/03
http://www.911citizenswatch.org/print.php?sid=21

SECRETS OF 9/11 : Soledad O'Brien's "American
Morning" Interview with Kristen Breitweiser
CNN, November 17, 2003
http://www.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0311/17/ltm.08.html

ON WATCHING DC 9/11
-- A "Mind-Numbingly Boring" Propaganda Film
by Kristen Breitweiser
A 9/11 widow reviews Showtime's film about President
Bush's "heroic" actions on and after that fateful morning.
http://911citizenswatch.org/print.php?sid=18

DC 9/11 Ref: "BUSH KNEW - A NATIONAL REQUIEM"
Riveting "Take Back the Media" Animation
on Bush's Actual Behavior on the Morning of 9/11
http://www.takebackthemedia.com/true911.html

NEWSDAY EDITORIAL (EXCERPT)
December 5, 2003

The latest setback to the independent commission studying the 9/11
terrorist attacks is the impending loss of Max Cleland, the former Georgia senator who has been a strong voice for full disclosure of government information. Once Cleland has left the commission, Senate Minority Leader Tom Daschle (D-S.D.) must replace him quickly with someone who can hit the ground running… The 9/11 families have closely followed the commission's work from day one. So Daschle should consider choosing Cleland's successor from among the leaders of the family groups, someone who could jump into the commission's work without first climbing a steep learning curve…

[Kurovski]

1. I haven't yet read all the info you have here

but wouldn't this be a conflict of interest?

I've written about Breitweiser and the "Jersey Girls", and will continue to do so. I spoke to Howard Dean at a benefit about getting behind the 9/11 widows and Ellen Mariani who is suing the Administration, but might they be too close to the issue to be on an investigative commitee?

[Aries]

2. The Commission is supposed to balance interests, not ignore them

That's why there is a balance of Republicans and Democrats. The Democrats would "theoretically" have an interest in finding information detrimental to Bush. Just "theoretically", of course. The lack of partisanship among the Democrats on the Commission, and with regard to the Bush administration's response to the 9/11 events in general, has been very disappointing.

A widow's interest would presumably be getting the truth. If there is blame to be assigned she would be more likely to assign it without caring whose ox is gored? But is that a bad thing?

[Kurovski]

3. I don't believe it is a bad thing

the only danger I see is that the press would dismiss the families views because they would spin them as being based on "emotion."

Self interests are protecting themselves on the commision, but I don't trust the press to make that as clear. The emotional part will be easier to sell and it will stick.

I wish Howard Dean would take on the outrage the families feel and force the press to confront it, and what that anger and sense of betrayel represents (lack of accountability). Most media outlets ignore them.

I worry that if victims were on the commision it would be spun into oblivion by the Administration and the lap dogs in the Media.

The commision needs to be extended, if not open-ended. Isn't that how Clinton's sex life was explored?