nd Lee Hamilton, the former congressman, who are directing the inquiry. When these seasoned, mild- mannered men start complaining that the administration is trying to intimidate the commission, the country had better take notice.

In a status report on its work, the commission said various agencies - particularly the Pentagon and the Justice Department - were blocking requests for vital information and resources. Acting more like the Soviet Kremlin than the American government, the administration has insisted that monitors from various agencies attend debriefings of key officials by investigators. Mr. Kean is quite correct in objecting to this as a thinly veiled attempt at intimidation. Meanwhile, the clock is running for the commission to complete a full report to the nation by next May.

Too polite to use the word "stonewalling," the bipartisan commission nevertheless warned the nation that thus far the administration had "underestimated the scale of the commission's work and the full breadth of support required."

The White House has repeatedly pledged cooperation while stressing the delicacy of protecting classified secrets. There are techniques and precedents for the commission to be extended access to critical information with out compromising security. Two serious areas of dispute that should be quickly settled in the commission's favor are access to the minutes of National Security Council meetings and to the daily briefing memorandums prepar ed by the Central Intelligence Agency for President Bush.

Mr. Kean assumed the chairmanship after questions were raised about potential conflicts of interest for the White House's initial choice, Henry Kissinger. "The coming weeks will determine whether we will be able to do o ur job," the commission warned in prodding the administration to protect the nation's future security as passionately as it clings to its past secrets.

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Sept. 11 Panel Rips Lack of Cooperation By Laurence Arnold The Associated Press

Wednesday 09 July 2003

WASHINGTON (AP) - Short on time and patience, leaders of the independent commission studying the Sept. 11 attacks released a status report Tuesday that singled out government departments, including Defense and Justice, that they said were not cooperating fully.

Republican Thomas H. Kean and Democrat Lee Hamilton, chairman and vice chairman of the 10-member National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States, said they took the unusual step because the Bush administ ration's level of cooperation during the next few weeks will determine whether the panel can write a thorough report by its May 2004 deadline.

``The task in front of us is monumental, and time is slipping by,'' said Kean, a former governor of New Jersey. ``Every day lost complicates our work.''

Kean said Bush and his aides have tried to help, but ``it is also clear that the administration underestimated the scale of the commission's work.'' The commission has requested 26 briefings and made 44 requests for doc uments, which cover millions of pages, from 16 government agencies.

Kean and Hamilton, a former congressman from Indiana, said the degree of cooperation has varied by office and agency:

-The commission is receiving access to ``a wide range of sensitive documents'' from Bush's office and from the National Security Council, but ``conditions have been imposed, in some cases, with respect to our access to and usage of materials.''

-The CIA assembled a team of analysts to review events leading up to Sept. 11, 2001, and their work has been invaluable. But the CIA has not responded as quickly to the commission's requests for internal documents on ma nagement and resources.

-Records requested from the Justice Department are overdue, and the department has yet to resolve how to help the commission review the case of Sept. 11 conspiracy suspect Zacarias Moussaoui, who is awaiting trial.

-Problems with the Department of Defense ``are becoming particularly serious.'' The commission has received no responses to requests related to national air defenses among other topics.

-Within the Department of Homeland Security, elements of the former Immigration and Naturalization Service ``have been slow in providing briefings, although there are recent signs of improvement.''

The FBI, State Department and Department of Transportation received generally positive reviews.

Kean said he has been particularly troubled by the Bush administration's insistence on having a Justice Department official present when commission representatives interview federal officials.

``The commission feels unanimous that it's some intimidation to have somebody sitting behind you all the time who works for your agency,'' he said.

Mark Corallo, a Justice Department spokesman, said having a department representative present at interviews is standard procedure and designed to help, not intimidate, the person being questioned.

White House spokeswoman Claire Buchan said Bush is committed to helping the commission. ``We have already provided thousands of pages of documents, as well as numerous individuals for interviews, and we intend to contin ue to do so,'' she said.

Kean and Hamilton said they are determined to meet their deadline.

But some victims' advocates who pressed for the commission's creation said the commission started late, has been stonewalled by government agencies and seems destined to produce a document that lacks specific answers ab out how and why the events of Sept. 11 happened.

``Let's extend this investigation,'' said Kristen Breitweiser, whose husband Ronald died at the World Trade Center. ``Let's do it thoroughly. Let's get all the documents needed. Let's let no branch or agency of governme nt drag its feet and run out the clock.''

Breitweiser and two other Sept. 11 widows, Mindy Kleinberg and Lorie Van Auken, drove from New Jersey to attend the news conference.

The commission holds its third public hearing Wednesday, this one to focus on terrorism, al-Qaida and the Muslim world.

(In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, this material is distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposes.)

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