Terry Gross to interview NYT Journalist Philip Shenon today (Politics & 911 Commission)

[mod mom]

It's on here at 3pm but check your local NPR stations for a time in your area.

Philip Shenon, Investigating the 9/11 Investigation


Audio for this story will be available at approx. 3:00 p.m. ET

Fresh Air from WHYY, February 4, 2008 · Missed evidence, ignored clues, political considerations—did the 9/11 Commissionreally issue the definitive report on the September 2001 terror attacks?

In his new book, The Commission: The Uncensored History of the 9/11 Investigation, New York Times investigative journalist Philip Shenon scrutinizes those charged with analyzing the terror attacks and uncovers new information about the commission's complicated relationship with the Bush White House

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http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=18660248

Excerpt: 'The Commission: The Uncensored History of the 9/11 Investigation'

by Philip Shenon



Chapter 1: National Archives

Washington, DC, May 30, 2002

Sandy Berger walked down Pennsylvania Avenue toward the row of massive Corinthian columns that were the most notable architectural feature of the National Archives. The public entrance to the archives was around the corner on Constitution Avenue, and it would normally be jammed with throngs of boisterous tourists on such a bright spring morning, eager to gaze upon the great documents of -American democracy. But on the day of Berger's first visit, the few out-of-town visitors who did not have special permission to enter the archives were turned away. The building had been closed to the public for months, undergoing a $125 million renovation. The pair of 6.5-ton bronze doors at the public entrance were locked tight. The archives' most precious documents—the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution, and the Bill of Rights—had been removed from their display cases in July 2001 and placed in storage at a secret location as part of the renovation. After the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001, the archives was in no hurry to return them to public view, since the building was considered a potential target if al-Qaeda carried out a second wave of attacks. The new goldplated titanium display cases being built for the documents would seal the Declaration, the Constitution, and the Bill of Rights in argon gas beneath layers of bulletproof, bombproof glass, protecting them from anything that Osama bin Laden's terrorist followers might have in mind.

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http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=18660248

[mod mom]

1. I'm kicking this because this sounds like a very interesting interview!