Does anyone have a transcript of his testimony before the commission. REWRITE. REWRITE.
Samuel L. Berger Statement To 911 Commission
Friday, 26 March 2004, 2:23 pm
Press Release: Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the US
TESTIMONY OF SAMUEL L. BERGER
BEFORE THE
NATIONAL COMMISSION ON TERRORIST ATTACKS UPON THE UNITED STATES
March 24, 2004
Mr. Chairman and Commissioners:
Chairman Kean, Vice-Chairman Hamilton, Members and Staff of the Commission, families and friends thank you for the opportunity to share with you my reflections on the formation and coordination of national policy to fight terrorism, as well as my recommendations for the future.
The pain of September 11 still is present in our hearts. Plans to rebuild on the World Trade Center site remind us on the one hand of our nation’s resilience, but also of the losses that can never be replaced and the voids that will never be filled. We have an obligation to explore the events that led up to that terrible morning. In order to look forward, we have to look back – to ask tough questions and demand honest answers. For all the efforts of successive administrations, September 11 was not prevented. We were hit. It was horrible. That’s a blunt and tragic fact. And all of us want to learn the right lessons to make sure it never happens again.
At the same time, as your intensive investigation surely has revealed, it is easier to see how puzzle pieces fit together when you have in hand the final picture. History is written through a rearview mirror but it unfolds through a foggy windshield. Our challenge now is to sharpen, to the greatest extent we can, our ability to look forward, because the dangers and opportunities our country must confront lie before us, not behind. . . .
The rest can be found here:http://www.scoop.co.nz/mason/stories/WO0403/S00364.htm