Could 9/11 Have Been Prevented? The Gorelick Memo and What We Knew

On April 16, 2004, a Washington Times’ editorial questioned the presence of Jamie Gorelick on the Sept. 11 Commission investigating the worst terrorist attack against the United States in history. It was Gorelick who was “personally responsible for instituting a key obstacle [the so-called “wall of separation memo”] to cooperation between law enforcement and intelligence operations before the terrorist attacks” and the Times editorial held that her presence on the Commission “raises disturbing questions about the integrity of the commission itself. Ms. Gorelick should not be cross-examining witnesses; instead, she should be required to testify about her own behavior under oath.”

Now comes news that the U.S. military knew of the presence of an al-Queda cell in Brooklyn, New York, at least a year prior to the 9/11 attacks. Worse, this cell included Mohammed Atta, the so-called “mastermind” behind the attacks, as well as three other of the hi-jackers.

The information was gathered, according to a Reuters’ news article (go here) by “a small classified military operation engaged in data-mining analysis of ‘open source’ information.” Called “Able Danger,” its members sought to pass this information along to the FBI (including photographs and dossiers detailing links to al-Queda) with a recommendation that the FBI shut the cell down. They were turned down—either by attorneys in the Department of Defense or at the White House—on the grounds that the members of the suspected cell were in the United States under valid visas and because Mohammed Atta himself possessed a “green card.” Given that “Able Danger” was in possession of this information a year prior to the 9/11 attacks, it should be noted that said attorneys would have been under the auspices of the Clinton, not the Bush, White House, and very likely heavily influenced by the atmosphere that produced the Gorelick directive.

Representative Curt Weldon (R-PA), who vice-chairs both the Homeland Security and the House Armed Services committees, and who has been looking into this story for some time, has said the information was provided to staff members of the Sept. 11 Commission but that for some reason commissioners were not informed. Lee Hamilton, former vice chairman of the Sept. 11 Commission, is quoted by Reuters as saying “Neither in the documents nor in the conversations [with “Able Danger” members in Afghanistan in October 2003] was there any mention of Mohammed Atta or his cell.” But a former member of “Able Danger” said he “personally told Sept. 11 commission staff members about Atta in Afghanistan, and offered to supply them with documents upon his return to the United States, only to be rebuffed.”

So, a year before the 9/11 attacks, a special unit in the U.S. military was aware of the presence of an al-Queda cell in Brooklyn, New York, and sought to share its information with the FBI but was stopped cold. Why? Because (as described in the April 16, 2004 Washington Times piece) “on March 4, 1995, [Jamie Gorelick, the then number 2 official in the Clinton Justice Department, sent a 4-page directive] to FBI Director Louis Freeh and Mary Jo White, the New York-based U.S. attorney investigating the 1993 World Trade Center bombing. In the memo, Ms. Gorelick ordered Mr. Freeh and Ms. White to follow information-sharing procedures that ‘go beyond what is legally required,’ in order to avoid ‘any risk of creating an unwarranted appearance’ that the Justice Department was using Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) warrants, instead of ordinary criminal investigative procedures, in an effort to undermine the civil liberties of terrorism suspects.”

The information that “Able Danger” knew of the presence of an al-Queda cell in New York a year prior to the 9/11 attacks was given to the Sept. 11 Commission staff in October 2003, and now we find that Commission members themselves were not informed prior to their issuing their report. And, Jamie Gorelick, the former Clinton Justice Department official responsible for the very directive that prevented “Able Danger” from passing its information to the FBI, is a member of the Commission charged with finding out what we knew and when we knew it before the 9/11 attacks.

Here is what Richard A. Clark, former counter-terrorism advisor for both the Clinton and Bush Administrations, testified to in prepared remarks before the Sept. 11 Commission on March 24, 2004: “In retrospect, we know that there was information available to some in the FBI and CIA that al Qida [sic] operatives had entered the United States. That information was not shared with the senior FBI counter-terrorism official (Dale Watson) or with me, despite the heightened state of concern in the Counter-terrorism Security Group.”

As the Washington Times noted in April 2004: “Ms. Gorelick has been among the most partisan and aggressive Democratic panel members in questioning the anti-terror efforts of the Bush administration. The nation deserves a full accounting from Ms. Gorelick of why the Clinton administration felt it necessary to go the extra mile in order to hamper the capability of law enforcement and intelligence agents to talk to one another. If Ms. Gorelick fails to provide this, her actions would bring into serious doubt the credibility of the commission.”

Mr. Clarke’s own testimony in March of 2004 corroborates that information regarding the al-Queda presence in the United States prior to 9/11 was known and not acted upon. Whether the information to which Mr. Clark referred is the same as that possessed by “Able Danger” is open to question. In his concluding remarks, Clarke attempts to pin government non-action on the Bush Administration’s less than “urgent” regard for al-Queda, rather than upon the “wall of separation memo” penned by Ms. Gorelick.

But it is clearly Ms. Gorelick’s memo, and the Clinton Administration’s scrupulosity regarding information sharing and the “civil rights” of terror-suspects, that played the key role in preventing information from being passed to the appropriate agencies prior to the 9/11 attacks. Had “Able Danger” been allowed to pass along its information to the FBI—within the limits of the laws restricting communication between counter-terrorism agents and federal prosecutors—9/11 may well have been prevented.

Given that it has now come to light that “Able Danger” was prevented from passing its information to the FBI and that this information was provided to Sept. 11 Commission members who then did not inform the Commission prior to its publishing its final report, one wonders just who those staffers were and to whom they reported. Indeed, if Representative Weldon is serious about calling for a formal inquiry in Congress after the August recess, I would suggest that the top of the witness list include Ms. Gorelick and her Sept. 11 Commission staff members.

Specifically, one would like to know what Ms. Gorelick knew and when she knew it.

About the Writer: Gregory Borse holds a Ph.D. from Louisiana State University, and an MA and BA from the University of Dallas. Dr. Borse, a family man with "a beautiful wife and four beautiful children," enjoys writing, current events, media, politics, and disc golf. Gregory receives e-mail at gregorbo@sbcglobal.net.

There must have been a "gentleman's agreement" on the 9/11 Commission, to the effect that the Republicans wouldn't trash the Clinton Administration and the Democrat's wouldn't trash the Bush Administration. Of course the Democrats, not being gentlemen and women, broke the agreement.

There must have been. It would have been so easy for Pres. Bush, when the report was delivered, to have said "but I think the Commission was flawed by its inclusion of Ms Gorelick on the panel..." or some such thing. The story could have had some traction if Bush had kept bringing it up.

Our own MiaT made the Chinese connection to Gorelick's wall months ago. Freepers truly are amazing.

Snip:

Once the clintons' own U.S. attorneys were in place, once the opposition was disemboweled by the knowledge that their raw FBI files had been in the possession of the clintons, once domestic law enforcement was effectively blinded to foreign data by Gorelick's Wall, the clintons were free to methodically and seditiously and with impunity auction off America's security, sovereignty and economy to the highest foreign bidder.

Totally agree, soxfan. This is not tinfoil hat stuff at all. Sandy Berger did not plead guilty to a wild-eyed conspiracy theory. In fact, logic and reason suggests that what we think we know about Berger's motivation and guilty plea does not adequately explain Berger's behavior. He was many things, but stupid and rash are not among them. Whatever Berger was attempting to do, it was much, much bigger than trying to cull out embarrassing stuff about Clinton's weakness and the failed LA Millenium plot. All that was already known, and the administration had survived it handily.

I have always thought this was misdirection. Classic clinton stuff. Admit to something sufficiently scandalous to satisfy the hounds, but inspecific enough to be survivable. Protect the crown jewels.

So what would be so vital, so compelling, that a former NSA director would risk everything to see it doesn't come to light? He had to know he'd be caught--yet whatever it was he was after was worth it. What could possibly be that valuable? Mohammed Atta's name on a 1999 WH document routed thru NSA or DoD sure qualifies, imho.

Interesting tidbit: Welson says that the first time Able Danger was brought to the attention of the 9-11 Commission was in Oct. 2003. Wonder what specific date that was? Sandy Berger purloined four documents from the archives on October 2, 2003.

As this information shows, the whole commission was a waste of taxpayer money. Jamie G. is an inept and traitorous person who needs to be brought to account for her actions (appearances, give me a break!). At the time the information was developed the Clinton administration was asleep at the wheel. The USS Cole had just been bombed and they still practiced this subversive policy. I am convinced that our country was and is inundated with traitorous left wing liberal war criminals who must be routed out and eliminated. Thank God GW has brought integrity and common sense back to our Country. And as a brief aside to my rant, does anyone know the total cost of the 911 commission work?

I've been looking into media reports of what Sandy was alleged to have Burgled.

The Washington Post and New York Times reported in March and April that the five classified documents were different versions of Richard Clarke's classified millennium "after action review" from EARLY 2000. He also took the handwritten notes he made in the national archive about the after action review. Berger shred three of the five versions because they were allegedly identical. Berger returned the two remaining stolen copies of the report and his handwritten notes after he was called out for stealing the documents by archives staff.

The NYT obtained this information from a Berger "associate" when his plea bargain was announced; the Washington Post's source is less clear, although they also spoke to a "Berger associate who declined to be identified by name but was speaking with Berger's permission."

The Able Danger team put together the al-Qaeda org chart and was prohibited by the Clintonista lawyers from divulging Mohammad Atta's cell to the FBI in SUMMER 2000. So if (and it's a big if) you believe the MSM reports, Sandy wasn't burgling the chart or Atta information.

He could have been burgling other information about Able Danger, though. The project began in 1999 and ended in February 2001. They likely delivered their final report on which al-Qaeda cells to take out in January 2001, while Clinton was still in office.

And when it is proven they and their fellow travelers should be hung, not jailed, hung.

When these revelation come to be known, the democratic party as we know it will cease to exist, the very word "Democrat" will become synonymous with traitor, they are the end of along line of Communists that began with FDR

What a Clinton Master Stroke to place Gorelick on the 9/11 commission and thereby not only preclude her from testifying but also stay totally informed of any commission proceedings, including a possibility to report back and immediately report back to her former masters.
Whose influence or pull placed Gorelick on this commission?
To call her in now and testify under oath before a Federal Jury is a minimum to uncover grand negligence or purposeful cover up to obfuscate.
Such is owed to 3000 victims and their families as well as history.
Am worm is out of the can. Endless speculations from here on in will saddle history if known intelligence was surpressed by the commission and/or staffers if left unanswered.

Hey, that was good research and all very interesting. I find it hard to believe that the Clintonistas wanted Clarke's after action review. Clarke is an idiot and his comments are worthless. However, the big push was on to not have Clinton blamed for 9/11. The Able Danger team had the proof that it was during the Clinton term when first told about a possible attack. And the AD team just happened not to be called? Please! More Clinton/Gore-lick dirty tricks in my opinion.

"Could 9/11 Have Been Prevented? The Gorelick Memo and What We Knew"

Keep in mind that our intel agencies also knew that: 9/11/01 hi-jackers' rented car with ID of Saudi pilot who crashed his plane into another in mid-air one year earlier on 9/11/2000

So the Clinton Administration was warned of Atta and his cell by Able Danger in 1999, again in 2000, and then watched one of the 9/11 cell commit a mid-air crash on 9/11/2000.

Where were the arrests?! Where was the investigation?!

Of course we could have stopped 9/11 if we could read the future and could arrest people based on what our foresight predicted they would do in the future.

No, perhaps we could have prevented 911 by allowing the FBI to investigate these people and their activities given that they were known to be part of a terror group that had been killing Americans (and others) around the globe FOR YEARS.

Government is not infallible. I do not demand that government protect me from all disasters. But we knew Al Queda was responsible for many terror acts. That they were here certainly signified something! Perhaps, had they been deported (I doubt they could have been arrested) they would have been spooked enough to stay away. Perhaps they would have come back. But today we could say that at least our government wasn't asleep at the wheel.

[As the Washington Times noted in April 2004: “Ms. Gorelick has been among the most partisan and aggressive Democratic panel members in questioning the anti-terror efforts of the Bush administration. The nation deserves a full accounting from Ms. Gorelick of why the Clinton administration felt it necessary to go the extra mile in order to hamper the capability of law enforcement and intelligence agents to talk to one another. If Ms. Gorelick fails to provide this, her actions would bring into serious doubt the credibility of the commission.”]

Well that was April/2004. . .

Where is Ms. Gorelick today. . .Sandy Burger? The rest of the liars and traitors of the Demrat Party?

Oh. . .and Hillary. . .she is. . .calculating the innumumerables to 'her' White House.

SICK! . . .sick. . . These people MUST BE OUTED!

"And why was he given a mere slap on the wrist and his security clearance allowed to be reinstated after only three years?"

Why. . .why. . .why?

That he has been protected is both curious. . .and depressing. (Hillary still holding some aces in the FBI files she holds or. . .is there just a 'something else' going on here.)

The first press conference after TWA800 was conducted by James Kalstrom, from the NY FBI office. The next day, an admiral was flown in from Washington to hold the press briefings.

If the TWA was a commercial airline accident, then why was an admiral brought in to hold the press briefings? In all other air accidents, the press briefings are conducted by the NTSB!

Let's see there were many eye witnesses (some of them experienced military) who saw something go up and strike the plane (90% of whom were never interviewed by the FBI!)

But .. according to Weldon - the staff of the 9/11 commission was informed twice about this information - and the fact that the FBI would not accept it.

So .. I suspect Sandy Burgler was destroying the memos regarding Atta - which would have been dynamite. I still think this has now become public because of the Berger conviction. And .. I suspect it's what Sandy told the prosecutors about the stuff he destroyed. The clue to me is that if Atta's name appeared on any of those documents, it was going to be an obvious arrow pointing directly at the Clinton admin. - Berger had to take the risk of trying to steal the information.

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