9/11 panel questions US president and vice for 3+ hours

By: Mohamed Ali

WASHINGTON: US President George W. Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney on Thursday passed three hour and 10 minute behind closed doors with the panel investigating the September 11 attacks.

Bush said in comments afterward in the White House Rose Garden that he and Cheney had answered every question from the commission and denied their joint appearance was aimed at keeping their story straight.

The President declared the extraordinary session a success that he hoped would lead to recommendations about how to guard against future attacks because “we are still vulnerable to attack.”

He declined to disclose details of the Oval Office discussion, saying the commissioners would incorporate his and Cheney's comments in their final report, set for release about three months before the November election.

The 10 commissioners, who arrived for the unprecedented meeting carrying briefcases, books and papers, gathered around Bush and Cheney, who were seated on chairs near the fireplace in the president's office. The meeting was off-limits to all but White House counsel Alberto Gonzales and two other White House lawyers, Tom Monheim and Bryan Cunningham.

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