Able Danger: Mixed Wires And Chinese Fried Rice

As people often say, you just can't make this stuff up. A couple of revelations today on Able Danger not only give more background on the secret data-mining project and the failure to use its information to stop Mohammed Atta a year before 9/11, they also tend to confirm that it indeed qualified as a government-run program. First, AJ Strata points readers to the Norristown Times-Herald, where Shaffer vents a bit of frustration at the Senate Judiciary Committee:

Though the original chart has not been unearthed, several other facsimiles have been recreated showing the terrorist links. Shaffer said about 20 boxes full of documents existed on "Able Danger" when he was involved. The Pentagon's Office of General Counsel is ultimately responsible for legal decisions, he said, and he believes getting hold of the legal papers on "Able Danger" is paramount to resolving the controversy. "If I could have one (set of) documents, I would ask for the lawyers' notes," he said.

In Specter's letter to the FBI director, the chairman requested Mangum's correspondence with Shaffer, who attempted to arrange meetings at the FBI, according to the letter. The document request asks for "e-mail communication, notes, phone message slips, memos or any other supporting documentation" relevant to "Able Danger." The letter also requested an interview with Mangum.

In June, Shaffer said he tried to "broker" a working arrangement between Special Operations and the FBI for the operation, but the effort failed. After reading the letter Thursday, Shaffer said the text was at odds with what he told the committee.

Shaffer claimed he directed the committee to ask for information from an agency other than the FBI, which he refused to identify for The Times Herald."This (request) isn't going to get (the committee) the information they're looking for," he said.

Tom Maguire believes that this points to a credibility problem for Shaffer, arguing that this means a second government committee misunderstood Shaffer and that the pattern reveals more about Shaffer than government committees. He wonders if Shaffer made himself clear in either briefing, a good point when dealing with people who work in intel and have to speak carefully but precisely about their information.

However, I think Tom misses the point, and so did the committee; the problem in cancelling the meeting came from the General Counsel of the Pentagon, not the FBI. If Judiciary wants to talk to Xanthig Mangum at the FBI to confirm Shaffer's assertions that he tried to connect with them, as a means to test Shaffer's credibility, that sounds like a good idea. If they want to call Mangum to find out why the FBI failed to meet with the Able Danger team, then they're way off base. Shaffer has made it clear since the beginning that the Pentagon refused to allow him to meet with the FBI, not that the FBI refused to meet with him. My guess is that the "other agency" he suggested for legal papers is the Pentagon legal staff, and possibly the OIPR, which gives legal advice to the Pentagon on intel sharing.

The Times-Herald also reports that Able Danger worked at Fort Belvoir at the Land Information Warfare Asssistance Center, where half the staff remained unaware of Able Danger's mission. Only a dozen people knew of the Able Danger mission to identify potential terrorists through open-source datamining. So far, three of those twelve have stepped forward publicly to confirm that Able Danger ID'd Atta -- a pretty healthy percentage. The third source, however, has even more information about the Army's datamining in today's New York Post reagrding another effort to identify potential espionage agents from the same data sources -- and how it caused Able Danger to come to a screeching halt (via the excellent John Podhoretz):

Cyber-sleuths working for a Pentagon intelligence unit that reportedly identified some of the 9/11 hijackers before the attack were fired by military officials, after they mistakenly pinpointed Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and other prominent Americans as potential security risks, The Post has learned. ... Sources said the private contractors, using sophisticated computer software that sifts through massive amounts of raw data to establish patterns, came up with a chart of Chinese strategic and business connections in the U.S.

The program wrongly tagged Rice, who at the time was an adviser to then-candidate George W. Bush, and former Defense Secretary William Perry by linking their associations at Stanford, along with their contacts with Chinese leaders, sources said.

The program also spat out scores of names of other former government officials with legitimate ties to China, as well as prominent American businessmen. There was no suggestion that Rice or any of the others had done anything wrong.

And here we have the dark side of data mining, of course; it comes up with connections free of any context, which investigators must apply themselves in each case. When these names poppep up on a chart, the Clinton appointees must have choked on their beverages, especially given the generally hostile attitude towards intel work that pervaded the administration. Their experimental project had just produced documentation that, if leaked, strongly suggested that the administration had started spying on their political opponents using military resources to smear them.

With visions of Watergate dancing in their heads, they followed their first instincts -- fire everyone involved and pretend the program never existed. When J.D. Smith got the axe, the colonel who fired him let him know that Smith's charts had effectively ended the colonel's military career.

This would also explain why the data and documentation no longer exists at the Pentagon, and why the military has shown such reluctance to make definitive statements about the program. It might also explain why the lawyers at the Pentagon refused to allow any use of the material. The attorneys might have been afraid that if Able Danger material had to be used in court (that *$&%^# law-enforcement approach to terrorism!), the Pentagon might have had to disclose the rest of the connections made through these efforts -- which would not just embarrass the Clinton Administration, but would also certainly destroy Al Gore's presidential campaign if it came out before the election.

How would the Republicans have reacted to this news, after all? Would we have welcomed this as a positive development in identifying terrorists prior to 9/11 -- or a Big Brotheresque gross infringement on personal privacy despite its open sourcing? I can guarantee anyone that had the Rice/Perry points been disclosed, the howls of "Watergate!" ("Datagate"?) would have made the impeachment of Clinton look like a subcommittee hearing on agricultural subsidies. Only the context of 9/11 makes that understandable at all.

The more details that come out about Able Danger, the more solid it begins to look. Now we even have the normal government FUBARs and resultant CYAs to accompany it. All that's missing are the $8,000 mousepads.

UPDATE: Welcome, Instapundit readers, and happy birthday to Glenn! For those of you who haven't followed much of the Able Danger story to this point, select the '9/11 Commission' category or click here for all my posts on the subject.

ABLE DANGER'S technology worked well, maybe too well for the comfort of DOD lawyers appointed by Clinton. They wouldn't care about protecting Condi Rice, but they sure would care that she was so close to William Perry, who was Clinton's Sec. of Defense (1994-97) right in the period of maximum concern about Chinese espionage and our "technology transfers" to the PRC. Apparently it wasn't such a SNAFU for the data mining program to pick up the names of Condi Rice and William Perry in relation to Chinese espionage - below is an article that appeared in 2000!!!

We know the Clintonlites had an atrocious record on China, technology, illegal campaign donations, etc. etc. Now it may turn out to be a bi-partisan scandal. I'm not saying Rice received and personal benefit or necessarily knew the full extent of what was going on -- she may have been more of a mush-headed academic who believes in open borders, absolute free trade, and "sharing knowlege" without sensible limits. Looks like both Rice and Perry were far far too cozy with people involved in technology transfers to the PRC!

Condoleezza Rice and the Stanford spy ring

© 2000 WorldNetDaily.com

http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=20581

On the surface, Condoleezza Rice is the perfect pick for George W. Bush. Rice worked for George Bush Sr. in the White House, handling Russian issues. She is a distinguished fellow at the Hoover Institution at Stanford University. Bush insiders have mentioned Rice as being on the short list for Secretary of State.

Rice reportedly is also close with former Clinton Secretary of Defense Dr. William Perry. Rice worked with Perry and the Clinton administration during her term at Stanford. Clinton insiders have also mentioned her as being on the short list for Secretary of State.

On Aug. 1, Condoleezza Rice stated during her speech at the Republican National Convention that George W. Bush is up to speed on communist China.

"I know that he understands the complexities of our relationship with China," stated the former Stanford provost of the Texas governor.

"He believes that conflict between our nations is not inevitable. Yet he recognizes the challenge that the Chinese government poses to our interests and values and the irresistible demand for liberty that can be unleashed by freer trade with its people."

Rice has some experience concerning past free trade issues with China. In 1996, Rice was involved in the largest Chinese army penetration of the Clinton administration. To this day, Condoleezza Rice will not answer questions about her service at Stanford with Chinese Army spy Hua Di.

Hua Di came from a family of prominent Communist officials. Hua Di studied missiles in Russia, and worked in the Chinese ballistic missile program for 24 years. In 1984, Hua Di went to work for the China International Trust and Investment Company (CITIC) a firm part owned by the Chinese army.

In 1989, Hua Di fled China for America during the Tiananmen Square crackdown and joined Stanford University. While at Stanford, Hua Di worked with Condoleezza Rice, Dr. William Perry and Dr. John Lewis. Hua Di spent most of his time documenting Chinese missile systems for the University and the Clinton administration.

Hua Di also started a little home-based company at Stanford. By 1994, Dr. Lewis of Stanford and Hua Di were in business with the Chinese army. In 1994, Hua Di and Dr. Lewis joined with Chinese Gen. Nie Li -- wife of Chinese warlord Gen. Ding Henggao -- and entered into a joint venture called Galaxy New Technology.

As a result of that joint venture, a secure fiber-optic communication system was exported directly to the Chinese army.

The project, named "Hua Mei," also drew a General Accounting Office report that was sharply critical of the direct transfer to the Chinese army.

The key to the whole transaction was Chinese defector Hua Di. In an interview published by the Far Eastern Economic Review, Hua Di described himself as a "matchmaker." Hua Di also noted that he was a good friend of Gen. Huai Guomo, the Chinese army officer then working for Gen. Ding.

Hua's business partner, Dr. Lewis, was also a busy man with two extra jobs. In 1994, Dr. Lewis was officially listed on the U.S. Defense Department payroll as Defense Secretary William Perry's personal "consultant" at the same time he worked on the Hua Mei project. According to documents obtained using the Freedom of Information Act, Lewis was pulling three paychecks: one from Stanford, one from the U.S. Defense Department, and one from the Chinese army.

In 1994, Dr. Lewis traveled to Beijing with Secretary Perry. Lewis went to China in order to meet with Gen. Ding and his subordinate, Gen. Huai, as a paid consultant to the secretary of defense. At the same time, the Hua Mei deal was completed with the same Chinese generals. The sudden upgrade of Chinese military technology enriched Ding and Lewis.

Gen. Ding's incredible espionage success inside the Clinton administration brought a literal flood of advanced military equipment for the People's Liberation Army. The long list of advanced military equipment obtained by Gen. Ding does not stop with the Hua Mei secure fiber-optic communications system. Ding, reported to be a close and old friend of Dr. Perry, also obtained super computers for nuclear weapons research, missile nose cone design software, special missile manufacturing equipment and multiple nuclear warhead designs.

In 1996, then Stanford Provost Condoleezza Rice investigated Dr. John Lewis, Dr. Perry and Hua Di. According to the allegations, some of the documentation used to support the Hua Mei project with the Chinese army was prepared using Stanford resources.

"We'll follow what is a normal process under these circumstances. It's not all that unusual that issues arise concerning conflict of interest," said Rice in 1994.

Nothing ever became of the Stanford investigation. Rice made no comment.

In December 1997, I tried to contact Chinese missile expert Hua Di at Stanford University in California. Curiously, Hua Di would not grant an interview on missiles or the Hua Mei project.

In fact, immediately after my call, Hua Di suddenly decided to return to China.

On Dec. 31, 1997, Hua returned to China. Later in 1998, the official Chinese press announced that Hua had been arrested and charged with passing state secrets to U.S. officials. In response, the Clinton administration and Condoleezza Rice at Stanford University worked together to lobby the Chinese government. Stanford officials wrote to the Chinese government appealing for Hua's release.

Then Stanford Provost Condoleezza Rice said, "Professor John Lewis had provided evidence to the fact that the source materials for publications written by him and Mr. Hua were provided by approved Chinese authorities or already were available through the Stanford University library."

Dr. Lewis, Dr. Perry and Rice have all refused repeated requests for an interview. Hua Di is in China and unavailable for comment. However, an Aug. 28 article by top reporter Bill Gertz, titled "Chinese Military Gets Lesson In U.S. Thinking," contains an interesting point about Condoleezza Rice, the George W. Bush campaign adviser.

"Mr. Bush's key campaign national security adviser, Condoleezza Rice, has said she does not regard China as a threat," noted Gertz in his excellent article.

As provost it was Rice's job to investigate and document the work of Hua Di and Dr. Lewis. Rice did not make public that two top Stanford missile researchers were involved in a business deal to provide the Chinese army a secure communications system. Rice never noted that the Clinton administration's military evaluation of the Chinese missile force is based on the now-in-question Stanford works of Hua Di and Dr. Lewis.

Condoleezza Rice is reported to have traveled to China in recent years. Her views on China, her close work with the Clinton administration and her involvement in the Hua Mei project raise disturbing and unanswered questions. Today, Rice continues to maintain the Clinton administration fiction that Hua Di was not a spy and nothing happened.

Charles Smith is a national security and defense reporter for WorldNetDaily. Visit his site, Softwar.

Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.