Why are the public 9/11 hearings timed?

[wasteofo2]

Does anyone know why the public 9/11 hearings have a time limit, when the same people testified privately for much longer?

 

[Zero]

Because the less time they take, the less chance of being caught in a lie...especially since people like Dr. Rice can make a simple yes/no answer take 10 minutes, without actually answering the question.

 

[russ_watters]

Does anyone know why the public 9/11 hearings have a time limit, when the same people testified privately for much longer?

Since they are just a political exercise (like a debate), everything about their conduct gets negotiated in advance.

 

[wasteofo2]

Since they are just a political exercise (like a debate), everything about their conduct gets negotiated in advance.

The people answering the questions may be given them earlier (if that's what you meant), but it seems that a lot of the people on the pannel had to drop points that they didn't get answered satisfactorily.

 

[kat]

It seemed to me that very often those who were responsible for the questioning were in fact more concerned with giving their own little speaches.

 

[russ_watters]

The people answering the questions may be given them earlier (if that's what you meant), but it seems that a lot of the people on the pannel had to drop points that they didn't get answered satisfactorily.

I didn't mean they were exactly like debates, just that there are similarities - kat has a good point, they are also like most other things done on the floor of Congress: everything anyone says is a speach designed to generate soundbytes for their campaign. And yeah, its often funny when a question doesn't get answered the way the questioner wants it: the questioner often ends up with their foot in their mouth and tail between their legs.

 

[HAVOC451]

Does anyone know why the public 9/11 hearings have a time limit, when the same people testified privately for much longer?

The answer to your question is there in in the question itself. If you put a TV camera in front of a politician and give them as long as they want to talk you'll be waiting forever for them to shut up. Behind closed doors there's nobody to play to and they get to the point sooner.