WASHINGTON (AP) - President Bush on Friday appointed former Secretary of State Henry Kissinger to lead an investigation into why the government failed to foil the Sept. 11 attacks, telling the veteran diplomat to "follow all the facts wherever they lead."
Signing a bill he once
opposed , Bush told survivors and victims' family members, "We must uncover every detail and learn every lesson" from the terrorist strikes. The bill creates a 10-member independent panel for an 18-month inquiry into the attacks on Washington and New York that killed more than 3,000.
Debate about the commission has been marked by differences between the White House, Democrats and victims' relatives over how far the probe should go and whether
Bush himself should testify .
Kissinger's appointment gives the commission instant
respectability(who respects Kissinger????), and puts a White House ally in charge of an inquiry that has the potential to embarrass Bush.
Kissinger, 79, echoed the president in pledging to "go where the facts lead us." He said he would accept no restrictions.
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