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16-Month Study of 9/11 Attacks Begins

January 31, 2003



CBN.com WASHINGTON (AP) -- Thomas H. Kean says his independent commission on terrorist attacks will meet its responsibilities to the public, and to posterity, whether or not elected officials act on its findings.

"Historians train to get the facts, to do it without favor, and to do it as a document that can be read for the next 50 years or more. That's what we're about," Kean said.

With Kean at the helm, the National Commission on Terrorist Attacks this week began 16 months of work studying the causes and lessons of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks. The 10-member panel, with a projected staff of 30 to 35, will create task forces on topics such as intelligence, law enforcement, diplomacy, immigration, commercial aviation and the flow of assets to terrorist organizations.

The commission meets again Feb. 12. For now, it is seeking office space and hiring staff. The federal government has budgeted $3 million, but Kean said the panel may need more.

The former two-term governor of New Jersey has made a point of meeting with victims' relatives. "He wants to see that this commission ends with the reforms we need to make this country safe," said Lorie Van Auken, whose husband Kenneth died at the World Trade Center.

Kean's determination to produce a report that stands through time reflects his love of history, as well as his own experience with advisory commissions.

As the lone Republican on President Clinton's racial advisory board, Kean helped produce the report that Clinton said would guide domestic initiatives during his administration's final two years.

That promise went largely unfulfilled.

"Much of our work went unrecognized and unappreciated," said another board member, former Mississippi Gov. William F. Winter, adding that Kean shared his disappointment.

Bush initially opposed an independent Sept. 11 commission, saying investigations should be done by lawmakers who "understand the obligations of upholding our secrets." But Congress and the White House struck a deal late last year to set up the panel.

Bush's first pick to lead the commission, Henry Kissinger, resigned after 17 days in response to questions about his ties to corporations and foreign governments that could come under the panel's scrutiny.

Bush then turned to Kean, who was New Jersey's governor from 1982 to 1990. Since then he been president of Drew University, a liberal arts college 20 miles from his Bedminster, N.J., home.

One immediate challenge is the lingering question of potential conflicts of interest. Kean says they are inevitable, given the varied backgrounds of the commissioners and the breadth of what they will be reviewing.

For instance, former Illinois Gov. James R. Thompson, one of the Republican members of the commission, is the head of a law firm that lobbies for American Airlines, which operated two of the four planes hijacked on Sept. 11.

Kean said commissioners who might have a conflict on a given topic will not serve on task forces or prepare recommendations on that issue.

Thompson said Thursday he is prepared to recuse himself from commission matters relating to American.

Kean said the commission has little choice but to base its operations in Washington, and he plans to become a regular Amtrak passenger. But if the budget allows, Kean said, he wants to open an office in or near New York City for many of the commission's public meetings.

While not relinquishing any of his official duties, Kean has made clear that vice presidents at Drew will have to shoulder more work.

Tom Harris, a university spokesman, said Kean will teach his annual fall semester course on governing a state, although he may rely more than usual on guest lecturers.

Kean also will maintain his weekly "open hour," during which students may come into his office to discuss anything on their minds.

And only pressing business will keep Kean from partaking in Drew's annual Medieval Fair, held in April. Indulging his love of history, Kean dons a costume to play an emissary from the Holy Roman Empire.




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