Commission to quiz Rice on anti-terrorism policy
"We want to understand the nature of the decision-making in the highest levels of government," commission chairman Thomas Kean said after the White House reversed course on Tuesday and agreed to let Ms Rice, President George W Bush's national security adviser, testify publicly.
"We want to hear about the transition," he said yesterday. "What did she learn from the Clinton people about terrorism? What they knew. Then what kind of policy did the Bush people have that was different from the Clinton administration? What did they know about al-Qaida and (Osama) bin-Laden?"
Presented with differing accounts of how the government approached terrorism pre-September 11, the commission will be exploring in the midst of a presidential campaign who is more believable, the Bush administration or its critics.
Administration officials said it was likely Ms Rice's appearance would come at the end of next week.
Mr Bush's former counter-terrorism chief, Richard Clarke, claims the president was slow to act against al-Qaida before the attacks.
Mr Kean said he found Mr Clarke "a good witness and a very important witness because he went over both administrations".
"On the other hand, we know now that the head of the CIA briefed the president every single morning ... so the president was certainly well informed on it.
"Now whether or not Mr Clarke was in the loop the way he should have been, my suspicion is and this is in two administrations that looking in hindsight there is some blame to go around."
Ms Rice fired back in a series of interviews and declared: "I don't know what a sense of urgency any greater than the one that we had would have caused us to do differently."
The commission said Ms Rice's assertions in the media will be probed.
"We're going to try and clear up the discrepancies as best we can," Mr Kean said.
The commission also plans to schedule a joint private interview with Mr Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney. There are no plans for public release of the notes.
Mr Kean said is not concerned that Mr Bush will not be testifying under oath. "It's very unusual for presidents to testify or meet with any kind of commission," he said. "Most presidents have refused in the past."
Kristen Breitweiser, whose husband was killed in the 9-11 attacks, said she is satisfied with the plans for the private testimony of Bush and Cheney. "As long as the commission has enough time to ask them the questions that they need to ask and as long as there is honesty in their questions, the families will be pleased," she said.
