U.S. panel probing 9/11 issues progress report

By Tabassum Zakaria
09 Jul 2003 00:52:35 GMT

WASHINGTON, July 8 (Reuters) - A commission investigating the Sept. 11 attacks on the United States said on Tuesday it is having difficulty obtaining information from the Defense Department and the Justice Department and timing was critical if the panel is to meet its deadline.

The commission said in a six-month progress report that problems of gaining access to information from the Defense Department "are becoming particularly serious."

There was no response to requests relating to NORAD, the air defense network shared by the United States and Canada, the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and other Defense Department components, the commission said. Pentagon leaders have pledged to address the concerns, the report said.

The FBI "got off to a slow start" but was trying to remedy that by assigning more staff. Records requested from the Justice Department were "overdue," the report said.

The commission is also seeking information related to accused Sept. 11 conspirator Zacarias Moussaoui, which the Justice Department says cannot be released while court proceedings continue.

"We have cooperated with the commission's investigation and have already produced thousands of pages of requested documents that are relevant to the inquiry," said Justice Department spokesman Mark Corallo.

The commission said the White House had not denied any of its requests for access. The CIA was praised for arranging briefings and providing reports, but was slower in producing some internal documents. The Secret Service and Transportation Security Administration were helpful, the report said.

The commission, created by legislation after families of victims of the Sept. 11 attacks demanded a broad probe, is scheduled to complete its work by the end of May 2004.

The next few weeks "are going to be absolutely crucial" for receiving documents to determine if the work can be completed by deadline, said Thomas Kean, the commission's chairman.

Some 3,000 people were killed in the attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon.

Kristen Breitweiser, who lost her husband in the World Trade Center, said the government was too slow in helping with the investigation. "If my husband died in a car accident I would know more than I know now," she said.