Leaders of the federal commission investigating the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks say they have had unprecedented access to classified documents and are planning to question suspected members of Al Qaeda being held by the U.S. government, reports the Christian Science Monitor. The location of these suspects, including Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, the alleged mastermind behind the plot, is one of the most closely held government secrets. “We have had access to documents that nobody has ever had access to before in the Congress or investigatory committees,” said chairman Thomas Kean.
Kean said the panel has asked the White House to release a Clinton-era “presidential daily brief” concerning Al Qaeda for its report. The public may be surprised, said vice chairman Lee Hamilton. “The product of intelligence, which I think many people expect to be very precise and very accurate and very unambiguous, is anything but. The product of intelligence raises as many questions as it answers.”
The delivery date for the commission’s report is July 26, the opening day of the Democratic National Convention in Boston. But commissioners plan to wind up well before then, to avoid any appearance of politicizing their conclusions.