Bush to face full commission
30/03/2004 18:13  - (SA)  

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Washington - The White House on Tuesday has announced that President George W Bush and Vice-President Dick Cheney have agreed to appear before all 10 members of the independent commission looking into the September 11 attacks, instead of just the chairperson and vice-chairperson.

The White House has also reversed its opposition to Bush's national security advisor Condoleezza Rice giving sworn testimony to the commission.

The administration said Rice would now appear before the commission in public but that certain conditions would be set.

Rice and the White House had previously said the security advisor would not appear before the commission because administration staff members do not appear before Congress.

But the administration had come under intense pressure for Rice to testify publicly following criticism of Bush's counter-terrorism action before the devastating attacks in 2001.

Former White House anti-terror tsar Richard Clarke said Bush had ignored the al-Qaeda threat.

"The President is prepared, subject to the conditions set forth below, to agree to the request of the National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States for public testimony, under oath, by the assistant to the president for national security affairs, Dr Condoleezza Rice," White House counsel Alberto Gonzales said in a letter to the commission.

The letter also offered another "accommodation" to the panel, saying that Bush and Cheney "have agreed to one joint private session with all 10 commissioners, with one Commission staff member present to take notes of the session."

The White House had previously argued that Rice should not be required to testify, citing a constitutional separation of powers between Congress and the executive branch of government.

However, several members of the panel had openly called for Rice to appear publicly before the bipartisan commission.

On Sunday Rice said on US television that she would not testify publicly as she has already delivered private testimony to the group.

Gonzales did not set a date for Rice's appearance but said "we can schedule a time as soon as possible."

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