Unveiling the remaining Bush administration secrets

An essay by Washington Monthly editor Charles Homans examines the remaining secrets of the Bush administration – the truth beneath the decisions to go to war in Iraq, to torture captives and to wiretap phone conversations in the name of catching terrorists.

According to Homans, the incoming Obama administration and the new Congress will have to wrestle with the political questions lingering from the secrecy of the past while still addressing the economic crisis and ongoing efforts in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Homans concludes that congressional inquiries into the Bush administration’s actions after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks so far have produced a voluminous record that needs filling in. He recommends a broad inquiry into what happened after the attacks – led by a 9/12 Commission, as he calls it.

“What’s missing now are the key details — who authorized what, and how and why they did it. These would provide a sense of how all the moving parts fit together, the necessary big picture,” Homans writes.