Who is Philip Zelikow? The fix is in ...

[AirAmFan]

... at the 9-11 Commission, because the Executive Director was a major Bush Administration figure.

From Talking Points Memo: by Joshua Micah Marshall: March 20, 2004 Archive, at http://www.talkingpointsmemo.com/archives/week_2004_03_14.php

'"It was very explicit," Mr. Clarke said of the warning given to the Bush administration officials. "Rice was briefed, and Hadley was briefed, and Zelikow sat in." Mr. Clarke served as Mr. Bush's counterterrorism chief in the early months of the administration, but after Sept. 11 was given a more limited portfolio as the president's cyberterrorism adviser. Now we know about Rice and Hadley, her deputy. But how about Zelikow? He's a former NSC official from the first Bush administration and a close associate of Rice's. The two of them even wrote a book together. He was in the key meetings where the warnings -- seemingly ignored -- about al Qaida came up. He seems like someone you'd want to talk to to find out what they were warned about and why they didn't take the warnings more seriously.

Well, you don't have to look far to find him. He runs the 9/11 Commission. Zelikow is the Executive Director of the Commission, which means he has operational control of the investigation under the overall management of the two co-chairs Tom Kean and Lee Hamilton.

Now, Zelikow is no hack. He's an accomplished Republican foreign policy hand. But Condi Rice and what happened in the hand-off between the administrations is central to the whole 9/11 investigation enterprise.

Does it make sense to have the guy who's running the investigation be one of her close professional colleagues? The 9/11 families didn't think so either.

-- Josh Marshall'

[For PaisAn]

1. Wow

I thought the Commision was a farce all along but this absolutely confirms it.

[AirAmFan]

3. The 9-11 Families called for Zelikow to resign, but too late.

Kristin Breitweiser and other family members of victims have their own website devoted to the investigation of 9-11. Near the bottom of their homepage, at http://www.911independentcommission.org/ , this is what they say about Zelikow:

"Statement of the Family Steering Committee for The 9/11 Independent Commission
March 20, 2004

The Family Steering Committee is deeply disturbed to learn about Executive Staff Director Philip Zelikow's participation in urgent post election briefings, December 2000, and January 2001, with Sandy Berger and Condoleezza Rice. In this particular meeting the Senior Clinton Administration official clearly warned that Al Qaeda posed the worst Security threat facing the nation.

It is apparent that Dr. Zelikow should never have been permitted to be Executive Staff Director of the Commission. As Executive Staff Director his job has been to steer the direction of the Commission's investigation, an investigation whose mandate includes understanding why the Bush Administrations failed to prioritize the Al Qaeda threat. It is abundantly clear that Dr. Zelikow¡s conflicts go beyond just the transition period.

It is extremely distressing to learn this information at this late date. This new information clearly calls into question the integrity of this Commission ¡s investigation. The Family Steering Committee repeatedly expressed concerns over all members¡ conflicts requesting that the commission be forthcoming so as not to taint the validity of the report. The Family Steering Committee did not know about Dr. Zelikow's participation in this intelligence briefing until today.

As such, the Family Steering Committee is calling for:
1. Dr. Zelikow's immediate resignation.
2. Dr. Zelikow's testimony in public and under oath.
3. Subpoena of Dr. Zelikow's notes from the intelligence briefings he attended with Richard Clarke
4. The Commission to apologize to the 9/11 families and America for this massive appearance of impropriety."

[Taylor Mason Powell]

2. <shaking head in disgust>

Absolutely unbelievable. :argh: