Press Release (7/19/05)
Contact: John Judge, staff assistant 202-225-1605
Congressional Briefing:
The 9/11 Commission Report One Year Later: Did They Get It Right?
9/11 Families, Government Workers and Scholars Respond
On July 22, 2005, Rep. Cynthia McKinney (D-GA) and Rep. Raúl Grijalva (D-AZ) will host a full-day briefing for Members of Congress and their staff in the Caucus Room, Cannon House Office Building, Room 345, Independence Ave. & First Street SE, from 9:00 am to 5:00 pm.
One year after the release of the 9/11 Commission Final Report, family members of the victims of 9/11, Mindy Kleinberg and Laurie Van Auken (the “Jersey Girls”) will present a “Report Card” to address their still unanswered questions about the events of 9/11 and the lack of accountability for the security and intelligence failures that may have allowed these events to happen. Other experts will speak to the flaws in the 9/11 Commission’s process, including conflicts of interest, lack of transparency, investigative rigor and public input, and the many whistleblowers ignored by the Commission.
Well known researchers and authors will put the events of that day into historical perspective, and have suggested possible alternatives to the recommendations of the 9/11 Commission regarding intelligence reform, domestic and foreign policy. The hard evidence has yet to be properly evaluated, and points to the need for full transparency, release of information, and continued probative investigations to have an effective, democratic response to the crisis that confronts all of us. Rep. McKinney will also address the need for further investigation and opening the evidence for public scrutiny.
Agenda
Congressional Briefing
The 9/11 Commission Report One Year Later: Did They Get It Right?
Part One: A Critical Examination of the 9/11 Commission
9:00 am: Welcome and Introductions, Opening Statements
Rep. Cynthia McKinney (D-GA)
9:15 am: 9/11 Families Report Card
10:00 am: Behind the 9/11 Commission: Flaws in the Process
10:30 am: Omissions and Errors in the Commission’s Final Report
12:00 am: 9/11 in Historical Perspective: Flawed Assumptions
1:00 pm: Break for Lunch
Part Two: A Critical Examination of the Commission’s
Recommendations
2:00 pm: Foreign Policy: Immediate Response and Recommendations
2:30 pm: Domestic Policy: Immediate Response and Recommendations
3:45 pm: Intelligence Reform: Immediate Response and Recommendations
4:45 pm: Conclusions and the Need for New Investigation, Release of Files
Rep. Cynthia McKinney
5:00 pm: Close
A list of confirmed speakers so for includes:
Mindy Kleinberg, wife of Alan Kleinberg who died in the Twin Tower attack, organizer of the 9/11 Family Steering Committee.
Lorie Van Auken. Wife of Ken Van Auken, who died in the Twin Tower attack, organizer of the 9/11 Family Steering Committee,
Robert McIlvaine, father of 9/11 victim, member of September 11th Families for Peaceful Tomorrows
Marilyn Rosenthal, mother of 9/11 victim, professor at U. of Michigan, expert on forewarnings to 9/11
Robert Baer, author of Sleeping with the Devil and See No Evil, former CIA
Nafeez Ahmed, author of The War on Truth, Director, Institute for Policy Research & Development
Jumana Musa, Amnesty International
Melvin Goodman, Fellow, Center for International Policy, former CIA
John Newman, Ph.D., professor University of West Virginia, former NSA analyst
Paul Thompson, author of The Terror Timeline
Elaine Cassel, author of The War on Civil Liberties, legal expert
William Michaels, author of No Greater Threat
Lauretta Napoleoni, author of Terror Incorporated: Tracing the Dollars Behind the Terror Networks
David MacMichaels, former CIA employee, whistleblower.
Anne Norton, author of Leo Strauss and the Politics of American Empire
Dr. William Pepper, Esq., English barrister and American lawyer, professor on human rights at Oxford University
Mary Rose Oakar, President, American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee, legal expert
Peter Dale Scott, Ph.D., professor UC Berkeley, author of Drugs, Oil and War, former Canadian diplomat
Kit Gage, National Committee to Protect Political Freedoms
John Nutter, author of The CIA’s Black Ops, professor at U. of Toledo
Rebecca Daugherty, Reporters Committee on Freedom of the Press
Wayne Smith, former diplomat, Center on International Policy