Joe Lieberman: “I said there had only been one analyst at the CIA committed to targeting al-Qaida even after al-Qaida had been…”

“I said there had only been one analyst at the CIA committed to targeting al-Qaida even after al-Qaida had been determined to be the source of terrorism against us in a very committed act. In fact, there were five--still not a significant enough number-- in the counterterrorism center of the CIA, and one analyst at the Federal Bureau of Investigation. For the record, the amendment we have offered today differs in a few respects from the bill reported out of committee. We are calling for an even division between Republicans and Democrats in choosing commission members. As Senator McCain said, I certainly hope this is a nonpartisan commission--not even bipartisan--with the majority parties of the Senate and House each receiving three picks and the minority parties in each House having two nominations. This is the configuration of an equivalent commission recently created by the House of Representatives. And it has another notable precedent in the form of a National Commission on Terrorism created by Congress in 1999 headed by former Ambassador Paul Bremer, which produced some work that had an effect on our foreign policy.”