Why Bush didn't want a 9/11 panel
The White House tried to prevent the formation of the 9/11
commission and slowed the panel's progress along the way by
stonewalling the release of documents and appearances of key
witnesses -- like Condi Rice, President Bush and Dick
Cheney. The New York Times reports that 19 months later, "in
17 preliminary staff reports, that panel has called into
question nearly every aspect of the administration's
response to terror, including the idea that Iraq and Al
Qaeda were somehow the same foe."

"Far from a bolt from the blue, the commission has
demonstrated over the last 19 months that the Sept. 11
attacks were foreseen, at least in general terms, and might
well have been prevented, had it not been for misjudgments,
mistakes and glitches, some within the White House."

" ... With its historic access to government secrets, the
panel was able to shed new light on old accountings,
demonstrating, for example, that Mr. Bush himself, in the
weeks before the attack, had received more detailed warnings
about Al Qaeda's intentions than the White House had
acknowledged."

" ... In the studies, Mr. Bush in particular has come off as
less certain and decisive than he has portrayed himself. The
final report, issued on Wednesday, reminded Americans that
Mr. Bush remained in a classroom in Florida for at least
five minutes after the second jet struck the World Trade
Center, in what he told the panel was an effort 'to project
calm' for a worried nation."