US National Security Adviser Condoleezza Rice will testify before the independent commission investigating the Sept. 11 attacks next Thursday, the commission and the White House said Thursday.  

Rice will testify, in public and under oath, for about two and half hours, officials said. She is expected to answer questions over the anti-terror strategy of the Bush administration before the Sept. 11 attacks.

In a major reversal after weeks of public pressure, President George W. Bush on Tuesday agreed to allow Rice to testify publicly to the independent commission under oath.

The change of heart came in light of the furor created by the White House refusal to allow Rice to testify in public and by sworn testimony to the same panel last week by Richard A. Clarke, the president's former counterterrorism chief.

In his testimony and in a new memoir, Clarke charged the Bush administration of ignoring terrorism threats before Sept. 11, 2001. The White House strenuously disputes the charges.

(Xinhua News Agency April 2, 2004)