RSS
Home
Proposed Truth Commission and 9/11
Print
Email
RSS
Subscribe
Sen. Pat Leahy with Att. Gen. Eric Holder. Photo AP
During a February 9 speech at Georgetown University, Senate Judiciary Chairman, Senator Patrick Leahy proposed the creation of a Truth Commission to explore wrongdoing during the recent Bush administration. The Truth Commission would focus on getting to the truth on a number of areas where Bush administration figures broke the law. A Truth Commission has the potential to reveal much about the secret workings of the Bush administration. Significantly, it will encourage many former officials, in exchange for amnesty, to testify about all they know and did. Many illegal activities can be revealed. This will very significant for those interested in learning more about the misuse of intelligence data to justify the Iraq war and what really happened on September 11, 2001.
Commenting on the goal of finding out what really happened during the Bush administration, Leahy said:
One path to that goal would be a reconciliation process and truth commission. We could develop and authorize a person or group of people universally recognized as fair minded, and without axes to grind. Their straightforward mission would be to find the truth. People would be invited to come forward and share their knowledge and experiences, not for purposes of constructing criminal indictments, but to assemble the facts.
Leahy’s proposal is a compromise between those wanting the new Attorney General, Eric Holder, to investigate and prosecute wrong doing during the Bush administration, and those not wanting Holder to investigate former administration personnel. If a Truth Commission goes ahead, then former Bush administration officials are given amnesty to testify about all they knew and did without fear of prosecution. While this will allow the truth to emerge, it also gives wrong doers an escape strategy from potential prosecution. This will upset some.
Historical experiences in South Africa and South America reveal that Truth Commissions emerged as a compromise between former political elites and new administrations. Truth Commissions helped smooth the way for the difficult political transition from oppressive political/military regimes to a new political era. The historical results of Truth Commissions have been mixed. Amnesty allowed many lower and middle ranking officials to come forward to reveal all they knew and did. This allowed society to learn much about what really happened behind the scenes. The Truth Commissions therefore helped promote national reconciliation and healing to a certain extent. In many cases, however, senior political/military figures remained defiant and did not participate in national Truth Commissions. The political will to prosecute former political leaders was not strong, due to the divisive effect this would have on a society still emerging from years of civil strife. This led some to conclude that the Truth Commissions were a failure.
Video: South African Truth Commission
For a Truth Commission to succeed, it must find the right mix between granting amnesty to those willing to telling all they know about crimes committed, and prosecuting those choosing not to cooperate. Therefore as Senator Leahy’s Truth Commission idea evolves, steps must be taken to ensure that political amnesty does not become a blanket response to all involved in wrong doing during the Bush administration. Those willing to fully cooperate should be given amnesty. Those choosing not to fully cooperate, or give false/misleading testimonies, should be prosecuted if they were involved in crimes. Finding the right mix of amnesty and prosecution will ensure that both middle ranking and senior officials reveal all they know, or are prosecuted for crimes committed.
A Truth Commission can succeed in exposing any crimes by former Bush administration officials concerning the preemptive war against Iraq and the 911 attacks. A number of former Bush administration figures have already come forward to reveal what they know about events on 911, and the cover up of evidence of what really happened. Their testimonies suggest that elements of the former Bush administration were complicit in what happened on the morning of 911. A Truth Commission will help the truth to emerge about 911. It will also stimulate Congressional and Justice Department investigations into what is revealed, and prosecution against those not willing to fully disclose all they knew or did on the morning of 911. A Truth Commission will also help witnesses emerge in other areas where they were involved in or saw crimes committed by personnel involved in highly classified projects. This can finally lead to disclosure of many secrets concerning alleged X-Files on UFOs and extraterrestrial life. So all in all, Senator Leahy’s Truth Commission proposal is a very positive step forward in learning the truth about what really happened during the Bush administration.
Related Articles:
Comments
