BTTT
Wrapping up from Brit's Show, is Chris Wallace:
Thees military officials have told me they will testify under oath as to the content of their meetings, what they said, the mentioning of ties to al-qaeda, and mohamed atta.
>> Staff working for the 9/11 commissioners received two briefings by military intelligence officials, the first in october of 2003 and the second on july 12, 2004rks10 days before the final report was published. In both instances, commission staff were told about a military intelligence unit called able danger and its efforts to track bin laden's network which including the identification of atta and three other hijackers living in the U.S. Weldon wants to know why this information didn't go any higher.
>> I don't blame the commissioners right now, because they were never briefed to the best of my knowledge. I'm asking these questions of the 9/11 staff. Was there a deliberate attempt by one or more staffers to keep this information away from the commissioners. >> One day after denying that atta was brought up during the briefings, a commission staffer said no information came to life it did deal with the lead hijacker but didn't appear in the final report because the informations not consistent with what the commission knew about atta's travels before the attacks.
>> It has nothing to do when when he arrived in the u.S. It was more about the relationships they were able to identify, the ties between cells.
>> In an interview this week with fox, the former vice chairman of the 9/11 commission said they would make every efforts to clarify the issue.
>> We don't think we missed something at this point, but we owe the american people a very clear, clean statement of accountability as to what happened.
>> And late today, I met with a former intelligence official who worked on an el dangerer, the official said he personally briefed commission staffers in afghanistan in october 2003, and while she showed interest in able dangerer, by early 2004, he was told they required no further information. Chris. Chris: Catherine, any idea at all if they were briefed back in october of 2004, why this didn't set off alarm bells on the commission? Any explanation of that at all?
>> Really now the way the story is going there, are two central questions. If, indeed, the sources are correct, the staffers are briefed, why was it they made a decision not to kick it higher up to the commissioner level and include it in the report? I think the second element is if they were able to identify atta and the others in june of 2000, why was it that the information was never transferred to the f.B.I. And who ultimately made that decision to block it? Chris. Chris: Two big questions. We'll await the answers. Thank you very much.
From the start of Shep's News at 6PM 08/11/05
nd why wasn't the intelligence mentioned in the final report? Catherine herridge, live in D.C.
>> I met with an intelligence firbled (sic, AGENT) who worked on able danger. They identified five key al qaeda cells in the summer 26000. They were based in U.S., Kenyan, tanzania, yemen and hamburg, germany, which we know now is the central hub for the 9/11 operation. The former intelligence commission confirmed it can youed atta and three other future hijackers. What's significant he said they also identified ramsey binal shib. He was refused a visa to the united states before the attacks. He also provided money and assistance to zacarias moussaoui. He personally briefed staffers in afghanistan in october 2003 and while they showed interest in able danger and atta information, by early 2004 he was told they required no further intelligence. The republican congressman at the heart of this controversy told fox today these military contacts -- intelligence, are willing to go on the record.
>> They told me they would testify under oath as to the content of their meetings, what they said, the mentioning of ties to al qaeda and mohammed atta.
>> A big reversal as spokesman for the 9/11 commission acknowledged that staffers were briefed about atta and able danger in july of 2004. But they says the information was not included in their final report because it just did not matchup with what they knew about atta's travel before the attacks. Shep? Shepard: Catherine herridge live on the hill.