*EPF401 07/22/2004
White House Report: 9-11 Commission, Iraq
(Bush praises 9-11 Commission report, phone call to Iraqi Prime Minister) (300)

BUSH PRAISES 9/11 COMMISSION'S FINAL REPORT

At a White House ceremony July 22, President Bush praised the bipartisan 9-11 Commission and thanked Chairman Thomas Kean and Vice Chairman Lee Hamilton for their work on a report about U.S. intelligence before the September 11 terrorist attacks on the United States.

"They've done a really good job of learning about our country, learning about what went wrong prior to September the 11th and making very solid, sound recommendations about how to move forward," he said.

The report contains recommendations for improving the U.S. handling of intelligence, among which is the suggestion to establish a Cabinet-level national intelligence director. Kean and Hamilton met with Bush to discuss the recommendations in the report and to deliver a copy of the final 567-page report.

Bush said he looked forward to studying the "constructive recommendations" outlined by the commission and would work with parties in both the White House and Congress to "move forward on those recommendations."

He assured that "where government needs to act, we will."

Before giving Bush the report, Kean thanked the president for "unprecedented access to documents" and cooperation from the administration.

BUSH DISCUSSES IRAQ WITH ALLAWI

Bush called Iraq's Prime Minister Ayad Allawi and praised him for his strong leadership, said White House Spokesman Scott McClellan.

The two leaders discussed the importance of working towards elections in January and the "vital role that the United Nations will play in preparing for the elections," he said.

Despite the ongoing insurgency in Iraq, McClellan said both Bush and Allawi agreed that the terrorists "will not shake the will of the civilized world.

(Distributed by the Bureau of International Information Programs, U.S. Department of State. Web site: http://usinfo.state.gov)

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