9/11 Citizens Watch

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Good scope?N Timeline?N wikified?N red links < 10?N all red links fixed?N referenced?N Illustrated?N Googled and added info? N Checked 9/11 records archives? N Checked Wikinews? N Checked Wikisource? N 9-11 Citizens Watch is a "citizen-led watchdog network established to support independent investigation, research and analysis into the attacks of September 11th and its political and economic aftermath."

The group was formed in March 2003 to monitor the work of the 9/11 Commission, and following the publication of the 9/11 Commission Report released a commentary entitled "The 9/11 Omission Report."

History

Kyle Hence, a professional yacht captain and semi-professional photographer, launched unansweredquestions.org in May 2002 in an attempt to increase media coverage of his "unanswered questions" relating to the September 11, 2001 attacks. This group hosted some of the first conferences of the 9/11 Truth Movement at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C. and, along with the Jersey Girls and other 9/11 victims family members, called for a full investigation of the attacks to be performed. In November 2002, a full investigation by the 9/11 Commission was announced.

Subsequently, the 9/11 Family Steering Committee and 9/11 Citizens Watch were created to monitor the work of the Commission. The groups played a role in forcing the resignation of Henry Kissinger , the original Chairman of the 9/11 Commission, and also called, unsuccessfully, for the resignation of the Commission's Executive Director, Philip Zelikow, based on concerns about conflict of interests.

The Christian Science Monitor reported that, in anticipation of the Commission hearings, 9/11 Citizens Watch launched ads in Washington newspapers calling for fuller disclosure. It reads: "We deserve full disclosure on 9/11: The families of 9/11 victims and Americans everywhere demand that George W. Bush, Dick Cheney, Condoleezza Rice, Bill Clinton, and Al Gore testify publicly under oath to the 9/11 commission." Of these, only Condoleezza Rice gave testimony to the Commission.

Following the release of the 9/11 Commission Report in July 2004, 9/11 Citizens Watch published their commentary of it: "The 9/11 Omission Report", in which they allege that many of their "unanswered questions" were not even addressed by the report.

On September 9 and 11, 2004, 9/11 Citizens Watch, along with 911Truth.org, cosponsored two large successive inquiries in New York: "The 9/11 Citizens Commission: The Omissions Hearings" and "Confronting the Evidence: 9/11 and the Search for Truth," a research-focused evidentiary forum.

9/11 Citizens Watch also co-sponsored the first Zogby International 9/11 opinion poll in August 2004. The poll claims that "Half of New Yorkers Believe US Leaders Had Foreknowledge of Impending 9-11 Attacks and “Consciously Failed” To Act; 66% Call For New Probe of Unanswered Questions by Congress or New York’s Attorney General".

Press Coverage

9/11 Citizens Watch has been mentioned in articles by the Washington Times, the New York Times, Scoop and The Christian Science Monitor. A letter from the group was published by From The Wilderness and a news conference by the group was reported on by C-Span. The group has also been listed as a resource for an episode of NOW, a PBS newsmagazine.

Timeline

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March 21, 2004: Victims’ Relatives Demand that 9/11 Commission Executive Director Zelikow Resign

Philip Zelikow. [Source: Miller Center] The 9/11 Family Steering Committee and 9/11 Citizens Watch demand the resignation of Philip Zelikow, executive director of the 9/11 Commission. The demand comes shortly after former counterterrorism “tsar” Richard Clarke told the New York Times that Zelikow was present when he gave briefings on the threat posed by al-Qaeda to National Security Adviser Condoleezza Rice from December 2000 to January 2001. The Family Steering Committee, a group of 9/11 victims’ relatives, writes: “It is clear that [Zelikow] should never have been permitted to be a member of the Commission, since it is the mandate of the Commission to identify the source of failures. It is now apparent why there has been so little effort to assign individual culpability. We now can see that trail would lead directly to the staff director himself.” Zelikow has been interviewed by his own Commission because of his role during the transition period. But a spokesman for the Commission claims that having Zelikow recluse himself from certain topics is enough to avoid any conflicts of interest. [NEW YORK TIMES, 3/20/2004; UNITED PRESS INTERNATIONAL, 3/23/2004] 9/11 Commission Chairman Thomas Kean defends Zelikow on NBC’s Meet the Press, calling him “one of the best experts on terrorism in the whole area of intelligence in the entire country” and “the best possible person we could have found for the job.” [NBC, 4/4/2004] Commission Vice Chairman Lee Hamilton adds, “I found no evidence of a conflict of interest of any kind.” Author Philip Shenon will comment: “If there had been any lingering doubt that Zelikow would survive as executive director until the end of the investigation, Kean and Hamilton had put it to rest with their statements of support… on national television. Zelikow would remain in charge.” [SHENON, 2008, PP. 263] However, Salon points out that the “long list” of Zelikow’s writings “includes only one article focused on terrorism,” and he appears to have written nothing about al-Qaeda. [SALON, 4/6/2004] Entity Tags: Philip Zelikow, Thomas Kean, Philip Shenon, Richard A. Clarke, Lee Hamilton, Al-Qaeda, 9/11 Commission, 9/11 Citizens Watch, Condoleezza Rice, 9/11 Family Steering Committee Timeline Tags: Complete 911 Timeline, 9/11 Timeline

External links

• Official website
• ommissions report