Sen. Seeks to Declassify Key 9/11 Data

— -- Sen. Seeks to Declassify Vital 9/11 Information

W A S H I N G T O N, Oct 21 — U.S. Senate IntelligenceCommittee Chairman Bob Graham said he is seeking todeclassify "the most important information" obtained in acongressional probe of the Sept. 11 attacks.

The Florida Democrat described the material as a key towardbetter protecting the United States.

Graham's panel and the House Intelligence Committee haveconducted a joint investigation of the Sept. 11 attacks,holding a series of open and closed hearings.

The committees are to issue a draft report by the end ofthis year, with a final report due in February. In themeantime, they are seeking to declassify much of what theylearned.

"Frankly, there is a piece of information which is stillclassified which I consider to be the most importantinformation that's come to the attention of the jointcommittee," Graham said Sunday on CBS' Face the Nation.

"We hope that it will be declassified," Graham said. "Ithink it is an important part of our judgments as to where ourgreatest threats are and what steps we need to do to protectthe American people here at home."

Graham said: "There's been a pattern in which informationis provided on a classified basis, and then what isdeclassified are those sections of the report that are mostadvantageous to the administration."

— Reuters

Elder Bush: Son Faces Toughest Times

D E S M O I N E S, Iowa, Oct. 21 — President Bush is facing the toughestset of challenges of any president since Abraham Lincoln because ofthe shadowy nature of terrorism, his father said.

Former President George Bush said problems his son are dealingwith even exceed those of President Roosevelt and World War II.

"Roosevelt of course faced World War II," the elder Bush said Sunday. "There,we knew who the enemy was and we knew what we had to do to get ridof them. There was massive motivation."

The former president was the main speaker at a fund-raising dinner forU.S. Rep. Greg Ganske, who is seeking to oust Sen. Tom Harkin, butmuch of his speech focused on the problems his son has beenwrestling with since the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001.

"The enemies we face today are very, very different," saidBush. "They're shadowy. They are a terrible new problem."

Though the nation was forced to fight a four-year war on twofronts with hundreds of thousands of casualties during World WarII, Bush said the country had been energized by the attacks onPearl Harbor and acted as one in dealing with the threats.

Bush said he thinks little of issues when watching his son inthe White House.

"I really think more about family than I do about issues,"said Bush. "The president is facing enormous problems."

The elder Bush said there were pragmatic reasons for stumping for Ganske,because Democrats control the Senate by a single vote and haveeffectively blocked much of his son's agenda.