Sd B4 State Dept Fdr- Letters Re State Dept Document Requests And Production 093

S/S 200329667

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United States Department of State

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Washington, D.C. 20520 December 2, 2003

MEMORANDUM FOR MR. DANIEL MARCUS GENERAL COUNSEL NATIONAL COMMISSION ON TERRORIST ATTACKS UPON THE UNITED STATES

SUBJECT:

National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States (Request for Documents No. 8, Installment 1)

This is in response to the National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States' eighth request for Department of State documents. Attached is the first installment of documents responsive to the Commission's Department of State Document Request No. 8. This installment consists of ^unclassified documents. We hope this information is useful to you. As always, please do not hesitate to contact us if you have further questions.

Karl HofmaTin Executive Secretary

Attachments: Tab 1 - Incoming Request Tab 2 - Documents Responsive to Document Request No. 8

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UNCLASSIFIED

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XR 200317214

United States Department of State Washington, D.C. 20520 November 18, 2003 SECRET/NOFORN (UNCLASSIFIED when separated from attachments)

MEMORANDUM FOR MR. DANIEL MARCUS GENERAL COUNSEL NATIONAL COMMISSION ON TERRORIST ATTACKS UPON THE UNITED STATES

SUBJECT:

National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States Request for Documents (Request for Documents Request No. 1, Installment 12)

This is in response to the National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States' request for Department of State documents . Attached is the twelfth installment of documents in response to the Commission's "DOS Document Request No. 1." and responds to all of the questions in the request. This installment consists of 389 documents. Additional installments will be provided as we complete our search and review of materials . Under Executive Order 12958, the Department of State may not disseminate classified information outside the Executive Branch except under conditions that ensure that afforded to such information within the Executive Branch. We ask that only appropriate cleared members of staff be granted access to the material and that it be protected by applying standards at least as stringent as E.G. 12958 on the handling of classified information. Although some material is not classified, the designation as "Sensitive But Unclassified" requires special handling. Therefore we request that all of these documents be protected from unauthorized disclosure.

SECRET/NOFORN (UNCLASSIFIED when separated from attachments)

SECRET/NOFORN (UNCLASSIFIED when separated from attachments) We hope this information is useful to you. As always, please do not hesitate to contact us if you have further questions.

^Af^VVX--Karl Hofma Executive Secretary Attachments: Tab 1 - Incoming Request Tab 2 - Index and Documents Responsive to Document Request No. 1

SECRET/NOFORN (UNCLASSIFIED when separated from attachments)

10^08/2003 04:50 FAX 202 647 5620

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United States Department of State Washington, D.C. 20520

October 8, 2003

MEMORANDUM FOR MR. DANIEL MARCUS GENERAL COUNSEL NATIONAL COMMISSION ON TERRORIST ATTACKS UPON THE UNITED STATES Subject:

Document Requests

Further to my memo on this topic of September 5, 2003, the Department is in the final stages of processing for release all responsive documents to the Commission's six document requests to date. We had anticipated this process being complete no later than September 30, but additional responsive materials were identified. In all, the Department will have reviewed over 402,000 pages and produced more than 63,000 responsive pages, once final processing is complete. The Department expects to conclude its response to the Commission's six document requests during the week of October 13, 2003. Thank you.

dJI /Y^/VAA^ Hofmanic

Karl Executive Secretary

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United States Department of State Washington, D.C. 20520 www.state.gov September 9, 2003 SECRET/NOFORN/ORCON (UNCLASSIFIED when separated from attachments)

MEMORANDUM FOR DANIEL MARCUS GENERAL COUNSEL NATIONAL COMMISSION ON TERRORIST ATTACKS UPON THE UNITED STATES SUBJECT:

National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States Request for Documents (Request for Documents Request No. 4)

This is in response to the National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States' request for Department of State documents. Attached is the fourth installment of documents in response to the Commission's fourth request, specifically documents in response to items 2, 4-6, 10, 11, 13-16, 19 and 23. This installment consists of 617 classified and unclassified documents, primarily cables and memoranda. Additional installments will be provided as we complete our search and review of materials. Under Executive Order 12958, the Department of State may not disseminate classified information outside the Executive Branch except under conditions that ensure that afforded to such information within the Executive Branch. We ask that only appropriate cleared members of staff be granted access to the material and that it be protected by applying standards at least as stringent as E.O. 12958 on the handling of classified information. Although some material is not classified, its designation as "Sensitive But Unclassified" requires special handling. Therefore we request that all of these documents be protected from unauthorized disclosure.

SECRET/NOFORN/ORCON (UNCLASSIFIED when separated from attachments)

SECRET/NOFORN/ORCON

(UNCLASSIFIED when separated from attachments) -2-

We hope this information is useful to you. As always, please do not hesitate to contact us if you have further questions.

Karl Hofmann Executive Secretary

Attachment: Documents responsive to Document Request No. 4, item numbers 2, 4-6, 10, 11, 13, 14, 15, 16, 19 and 23

SECRET/NOFORN/ORCON (UNCLASSIFIED when separated from attachments)

THE SECRETARY OF STATE WASHINGTON August 25, 2003

Dear Mr. Chairman:

....

Thank you for your recent letter co-signed by Vice Chairman Hamilton. The Commission's investigation into the facts and circumstances surrounding the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks is of crucial importance to our nation. I take the Commission's requests for information from the State Department very seriously. We are working to meet these requests in the most thorough and expeditious manner possible. I have instructed my staff to give the highest priority to responding to your requests, so that the Commission can effectively complete its important task. As our country approaches the second anniversary of September 11, I look forward to our continued collaboration to assist you in your mandate. The Commission's evaluations and recommendations will provide valuable information to the American public and our government. Please be assured of my continued support for the Commission's important work. Sincerely,

The Honorable Thomas Kean, Chair, National Commission on Terrorist Attacks upon the United States, 301 7 ch Street, SW, Room 5125, Washington, DC 20407.

August 26, 2003 Thomas H. Kean CHAIR

Lee H. Hamilton VICE CHAIR

Richard Ben-Veniste

MEMORANDUM To:

Karl Hofinann, Department of State

From: Daniel Marcus, General Counsel

MaxQeland Fred F. Fielding

Subj: Most Important Overdue Documents

Jamie S. Gorelick Slade Gorton John Lehman

As a follow-up to the letter to Secretary Powell dated August 19, 2003, here are the most important categories of documents requested by the Commission that are overdue:

Timothy J. Roemer James R Thompson

DOS Document Request No. 1 - Items 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, and 9 DOS Document Request No. 2 - Item 11

Philip D. Zelikrw EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

DOS Document Request No. 3 - Items 1, 2, 3, and 4 DOS Document Request No. 4 - Items 2, 4, 6, 11 and 13 We look forward to the Department's prompt production of these overdue items, as well as positions on access to all of the documents responsive to all of our outstanding requests, as set forth in the August 19 letter. If you have any questions, please give me a call. cc: Dan Levin, DOJ

TEL (202) 331-4060 FAX (202) 296-5545 www.9-1 lcommission.gov

Thomas H. Kean CHAIR Lee H. Hamilton VICE CHAIR Richard Ben-Veniste Max Cleland

August 19, 2003

The Honorable Colin L. Powell Secretary of State 2201 C Street, NW Washington, DC 20520-0001

Frederick F. Fielding Jamie S. Oorelick Slade Gorton John F. Lehman Timothy J. Roemer James R. Thompson

Philip D. Zelikow EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

Dear Secretary Powell: Public Law 107-306 directs the Commission to investigate the facts and circumstances surrounding the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, including the nation's preparedness for and immediate response to those attacks. We are also mandated to identify and evaluate lessons learned and make recommendations for the future. The statute authorizes the Commission to secure needed information directly from any agency. The Commission has thus made numerous requests for documents and discussions with officials from your department. Given the extraordinary character of the 9/11 events and our mandate, the scope and sensitivity of our requests have few, if any, precedents. We are therefore all the more grateful for the efforts you and your colleagues have made so far to deal with our many, necessary requests. With so many other issues confronting you and your staff, we do understand how hard this can be. We try to make appropriate allowances when we know people are doing their best. In July the Commission issued an interim report on our progress so far. In that report we said the coming weeks would be critical. We promised another report in September that would appraise whether the level of voluntary cooperation is sufficient so that we will be able ttJtlo the job we are charged to do under the statute. That time is now approaching. You are entitled to some advance notice of what we need. To make such a decisive appraisal and properly evaluate your department's cooperation, we will assess: 1. Your policy choices—one way or another—on every access issue posed by our pending requests. 2. Whether we actually receive the most important categories of documents that are already overdue. We will follow up to be sure our points of contact know which overdue documents we regard as litmus tests for effective cooperation.

301 71'1 Street SW, Room 5125

Washington, DC 20407 T 202.331.4060 F 202.296.5545 www.9-llcommission.gov

The Honorable Colin L. Powell August 19, 2003 Page 2

We understand that you and your staff may need a few more weeks to finalize policy choices and push through delivery of key documents. Therefore we think it is reasonable to wait and assess the situation based on positions communicated with us and documents that have actually been delivered or otherwise made available to us by COB on Friday, September 5, 2003. As the second anniversary of the devastating attacks on our country approaches, we thank you for working with us to meet the challenge of understanding how and why America suffered such a devastating attack, and how to prevent another. Sincerely,

Thomas H. Kean Chair cc:

Karl W. Hofinann

Lee H. Hamilton Vice Chair

Thomas H. Kean CHAIR Lee H. Hamilton VICE CHAIR Richard Ben-Veniste Max Cleland Frederick F. Fielding

August 15, 2003 Mr. Karl Hofinann Executive Secretary Office of the Executive Secretariat U.S. Department of State Washington, D.C. 20520

Jamie S. Gorelick

Dear Karl:

Slade Gorton

Consistent with your conversation with Betty Swope of our staff, the Commission is making the following request for information by letter rather than through a more formal document request. The Commission requests that the Department of State produce a list containing the following information: (1) the names of all Department personnel (current and former) who issued visas to any of the nineteen September 11, 2001 hijackers; (2) for each official, the name of the hijacker, classification of the visa, and date of issuance; (3) the post where each such visa was issued; and (4) the current post and assignment for each official. The Commission requests this information in connection with its statutory mandate to investigate all the facts and circumstances surrounding the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks.

John F. Lehman Timothy J. Roemer James R. Thompson

Philip D. Zelikow EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

Given the concerns that have been raised about further dissemination of this information by the Commission, the Commission has agreed that it will not publicly disclose the names of these officers, in its report or otherwise, without prior agreement by the Department. If you have any questions about this request, please give Betty or ma^a call. We look forward to receiving this information as soon as possible. Thank you for your continuing cooperation with the Commission's requests. Yours sincerely,

Daniel Marcus General Counsel cc: Brian H. Hook (U.S. Department of Justice)

301 7 th Street SW, Room 5125 Washington, DC 20407 T 202.331.4060 F 202.296.5545 www.9-11 commission.gov

Thomas H. Kean CHAIR Lee H. Hamilton VICE CHAIR Richard Ben-Veniste Max Cleland Frederick F. Fielding Jamie S. Gorelick Slade Gorton John F. Lehman Timothy J. Roetner James R. Thompson

Philip D. Zelikow EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

August 14, 2003 Mr. Karl Hofmann Executive Secretary Office of the Executive Secretariat U.S. Department of State Washington, D.C. 20520 Dear Karl: As you know, the statute that created the National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States (Public Law 107-306) directs the Commission to investigate the facts and circumstances surrounding the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, including the nation's preparedness for, and immediate response to, those attacks, as well as to evaluate the lessons learned from those attacks and to make recommendations for preventing future attacks. The statute authorizes the Commission to secure information directly from any executive department, bureau or agency for purposes of its investigation. hi connection with its investigation, the Commission has asked the Department of State to produce documents pursuant to several document requests, and we have further asked that the Department refrain from its standard practice in other circumstances of redacting certain information, such as drafting and clearing information, from the documents it produces. We understand that the Department has now decided not to make such redactions in the documents it produces to the Commission, and we welcome that decision. In connection with that decision, the Commission has agreed that it will not make drafting and clearing information available to the public, disclose such information in its report, or otherwise further disseminate such information, including to Congress, without prior agreement by the Department. Thank you for your continuing efforts, and the efforts of many others at the Department, to cooperate with the Commission and to respond to our requests. Yours sincerely, Daniel Marcus General Counsel cc: Brian H. Hook (U.S. Department of Justice)

301 7'h Street SW, Room 5125 Washington, DC 20407 T 202.331.4060 F 202.296.5545 www.9-1 lcommission.gov