Why A '9/11 Commission' Is Popular But May Not Happen For The Jan. 6 Capitol Attack
The president's national security adviser sat at a witness table, grimacing slightly as she consulted her memory.
She had just been asked about the title of an intelligence briefing provided to the president more than a month before the 9/11 attacks. "I believe the title was 'Bin Laden Determined to Attack Inside the United States,' " she responded.
It was April 8, 2004, and the witness was Condoleezza Rice, the national security advisor for President George W. Bush and the first woman to serve in that role.
She was testifying on national TV before what was called the 9/11 Commission — officially the National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States. The moment was fraught with peril for her party as the Bush administration stood accused of being underprepared for the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001.
Those who wonder why Republicans today are resisting the creation of a new independent commission to investigate the Jan. 6 invasion of the U.S. Capitol might review the tape of that moment in 2004 for a potential insight. That's because the new commission plan has been advertised as being modeled on the 9/11 Commission, and Republicans have long memories.
The atmosphere for
