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Politics : PRESIDENT GEORGE W. BUSH -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: miraje who wrote (426112)	7/12/2003 6:21:56 PM
From: Skywatcher	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 769670

I hate to clue ya....BUSH has INCREASED the size of the government....BY HUGE NUMBERS.... but you all won't see that Clinton DECREASED the size of the government....BY HUGE NUMBERS..... and ya wonder where the DEFICIT comes from.....? That and W's BIG war CC

To: miraje who wrote (426112)	7/12/2003 6:25:13 PM
From: Skywatcher	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 769670

I guess you can't read........ CC

To: miraje who wrote (426112)	7/12/2003 6:26:08 PM
From: Skywatcher	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 769670

Administration cooperation can help fix security gaps Fri Jul 11, 5:57 AM ET Add Op/Ed - USA TODAY to My Yahoo! As the second anniversary of the Sept. 11, 2001 disaster approaches, victims' families still don't know what caused the worst intelligence failure in U.S. history. They hope to get answers from a special 9/11 commission that is trying to piece together the events leading up to the terrorist attacks. Yet some relatives -- along with panel members and lawmakers in Congress -- worry that they won't get the whole story because the Bush administration is impeding the investigation. This week, the commission's chairman accused major agencies of failing to turn over critical documents and setting intimidating rules for interviews with federal employees. While the administration says it is trying to protect sensitive information that could aid terrorists, its pattern of secrecy and delay suggests it is invoking national security to block legitimate inquiries. That behavior risks depriving victims' families of the full accounting they deserve, and the U.S. public of a better intelligence system. Efforts to undermine the probe could prevent an honest assessment of what went wrong so the U.S. government doesn't make the same mistakes again. Among the ways the administration has obstructed the investigation: * Opposition to a probe. For months last year, the administration opposed a congressional bill creating the independent, bipartisan commission. It relented in the face of protests by victims' families, including a vigil on Capitol Hill. Then it demanded a shorter investigation. Now the panel may not be able to meet its May 2004 deadline because it is being ''slow-walked'' by the administration, says Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz. * Poor cooperation. The panel says the Defense Department has failed to respond to requests for information about national air defense, and documents sought from the Justice Department (news - web sites) are overdue. Former New Jersey governor Thomas Kean, the panel's chairman, says the administration's insistence that ''minders'' accompany government workers to interviews has a chilling effect on witnesses. * Shrouded data. For seven months, intelligence agencies have been haggling with Congress over what can be released from a separate 9/11 report completed last December by a congressional committee. Former Rep. Tim Roemer, D-Ind., who served on that committee and now is a 9/11 panel member, told USA TODAY that the administration is claiming national security concerns to ''classify things that might be politically uncomfortable or embarrassing.'' Panel leaders say some agencies are cooperating with the inquiry. The administration says all departments have been told to do so, though some need time to provide thorough answers. It also says it has an obligation to protect sensitive intelligence. No one would challenge that responsibility, so long as it is wielded properly rather than to suppress damaging revelations. ''As a matter of equity, it's important the families know how and why their loved ones died,'' says 9/11 victims spokesman Stephen Push, who lost his wife when the jetliner she was on struck the Pentagon (news - web sites). The how and why is just as important for the public's safety. The government can't create a stronger intelligence system until it unravels -- and owns up to -- past errors. That's ample reason for the administration to get on with the task. CC