A few strategic declassifications and the 9/11 Commission appears to be down for the count. First, the Ben-Veniste document, the August 6 PDB, was declassified. It is now obvious that commission member was using the title of the document to attack Dr. Rice and the administration while trying to suppress the fact that the document was void of any substance.

Today, another declassification has further damaged the credibility of the commission:

9-11 Commission member Jamie Gorelick wrote a 1995 memo that established a "wall" between the criminal and intelligence divisions, hindering the ability of the U.S. government to detect the Sept. 11, 2001, plot, according to testimony today by Attorney General John Ashcroft.

Ashcroft has been reviled ever since his appointment as Attorney General. I have never seen him speak out or address his detractors. Until today:

"Government erected this wall," Ashcroft said. "Government buttressed this wall. And before September 11, government was blinded by this wall."

The attorney general, who declassified the document for the commission, said he believed panel members were not aware of it, even though it was written by one of their own.

"Although you understand the debilitating impact of the wall, I cannot imagine that the commission knew about this memorandum, so I have declassified it for you and the public to review," he said. "Full disclosure compels me to inform you that its author is a member of this commission."

It seems that the Administration initially granted the Commission the opportunity to perform its assigned task. As the Commission has instead chosen to to play partisan games and point fingers, it would seem that the gloves are now off.

[Final paragraph edited - 04/14/2004]