WASHINGTON, June 4 (UPI) -- A joint committee of Congress Tuesday approved the format and rules for an extraordinary investigation into the performance of the nation's intelligence services in regard to the Sept. 11 terror attacks.
The combined House and Senate intelligence committees plan to hold closed meetings until the end of June, when public hearings are scheduled.
In its first business meeting, the joint committee approved a format that alternates the committee chair weekly between House and Senate members of the probe, starting with House Intelligence Committee Chairman Rep. Porter Goss, R-Fla., for the first week.
In a resolution approved unanimously by the 37-member committee, the scope of the investigation is intended to "reduce the risk of future terrorist attacks; to honor the memories of the victims of the Sept. 11 attacks by conducting a thorough search for facts to answer the many questions that their families and many Americans have raised; and to lay a basis for assessing the accountability of institutions and officials of government," according to the preamble of the document approved Tuesday.
"It was an extremely constructive meeting that laid the foundation for a responsible investigation," said Sen. Bob Graham, D-Fla., who will chair the committee following Goss.
The investigation will be broad in nature and cover the overall evolution of the terrorist threat to the United States, what the intelligence community knew about this threat as it evolved, and what the community specifically knew about the hijackers and their plans prior to the Sept. 11 attacks.
It will also examine what the intelligence community has learned since that time about the plots and whether this information has revealed a systematic problem that kept the community from preventing the attacks. Additionally, they plan to conduct a broad investigation into how members of the intelligence community cooperate with each other.
Although President Bush has expressed concern that counter-terrorism officials and intelligence agents should not be encumbered during a war by requests for testimony, a key Republican senator dismissed that concern.
"We can (call them to testify) while the war on terrorism is still going on," said Sen. Richard Shelby, R-Ala. He also added that no less than nine committees investigated the 1941 attack on Pearl Harbor during a war without a noticeable drop-off in performance by the combatants.
Goss said that he was pleased with the ability of the lawmakers to put aside their differences on the issues and agree on a format and investigation so quickly.
"I think that it is rare that 37 lawmakers from both houses got into a room and managed to agree on the first day," he said. "This investigation is off and running with good momentum."
"The American people need a sense that their government operates in a competent way that takes into account their interests," added Graham.
