Det danske Fredsakademi
Kronologi over fredssagen og international politik 22. Juli 2004 / Time Line July 22, 2004
Version 3.007/22/2004
The National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United
States
The official 9/11 Commission report: “The 9/11 Commission Report”, is released.
07/22/2004
Den Nationale Kommission om Terrorangreb på USA
Den officielle 9/11 Kommissionsrapport " 9/11 Kommissionens
rapport", frigives.
07/22/2004
Documents taken from archives
While vetting materials for September 11 Commission hearings,
former National Security Advisor Samuel "Sandy" Berger removed
highly classified documents and handwritten notes from a National
Archives reading room. Berger, who advised President Clinton during
his second term (and until his resignation earlier this week served
as an "informal" advisor on foreign policy to Democratic
presidential candidate designee John Kerry), admits that he
knowingly removed some handwritten notes, but claims he
"inadvertently" took copies of actual classified documents, and
"accidentally" threw away other documents. Of greatest concern to
investigators was the removal of all six drafts of a critique of
the government's response to the millennium terrorism threat which
was classified "codeword" -- the government's highest level of
document security. Federal law prohibits unauthorized release or
removal of classified documents.
Last summer and fall, Berger spent a total of three days in a
special room at a NARA facility (there are conflicting reports as
to which NARA facility actually served the papers to Berger) where
he reviewed thousands of documents. According to Lanny Breuer,
Berger's attorney, "[t]here was huge pressure to review the
documents quickly for claims of executive privilege and
responsiveness."
After being informed by employees of the National Archives that
they "thought they witnessed Mr. Berger putting documents into his
clothing" and in his briefcase, the FBI was notified and agents
searched his home. NARA normally has tight restrictions on the
viewing of classified materials and rules forbid allowing
researchers to bring portfolios or anything else with them into
research rooms; it is unclear why Berger was not held to those
rules. (At this writing NARA officials are not at liberty to
comment on any aspect of the investigation.)
Reportedly, Berger has returned all of the hand written notes he
removed from the archives as well as most of the classified
documents. He, however, could not locate two or three copies of a
highly classified millennium terror report. None of the
still-missing items are believed to be "one-of-a kind" and most
were widely circulated among Cabinet agencies. Berger has
characterized the incident as "an honest mistake" and "one that I
deeply regret."
Berger claims that he knew he was only looking at copies of
original documents but also knew that removing them from the
archives was a "technical violation of Archives procedure."
Berger's attorney, however, claims "it is not all clear to us
[that] this represents a violation of the law."
An FBI probe is continuing and the House Government Reform
Committee also may investigate, writes NCH Washington Update (Vol.
10, #31; 22 July 2004).
07/22/2004
War Funds Dwindling, GAO Warns : Pentagon Needs Billions
More This Year in Iraq, Afghanistan
By: Jonathan Weisman, Washington Post Staff Writer
The U.S. military has spent most of the $65 billion that Congress
approved for fighting the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and is
scrambling to find $12.3 billion more from within the Defense
Department to finance the wars through the end of the fiscal year,
federal investigators said yesterday.
The report from the Government Accountability Office, Congress's
independent investigative arm, warned that the budget crunch is
having an adverse impact on the military as it shifts resources to
Iraq and away from training and maintenance in other parts of the
world. The study -- the most detailed examination to date of the
military's funding problems -- appears to contradict White House
assurances that the services have enough money to get through the
calendar year.
Already, the GAO said, the services have deferred the repair of
equipment used in Iraq, grounded some Air Force and Navy pilots,
canceled training exercises, and delayed facility-restoration
projects. The Air Force is straining to cover the cost of body
armor for airmen in combat areas, night-vision gear and
surveillance equipment, according to the report.
The Army, which is overspending its budget by $10.2 billion for
operations and maintenance, is asking the Marines and the Air Force
to help cover the escalating costs of its logistics contract with
Halliburton Co. But the Air Force is also exceeding its budget by
$1.4 billion, while the Marines are coming up $500 million short.
The Army is even having trouble paying the contractors guarding its
garrisons outside the war zones, the report said.
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