Posted on 08/11/2005 7:52:35 PM PDT by Anti-Bubba182
Staff members of the Sept. 11 commission are investigating allegations by a GOP congressman that lead hijacker Mohamed Atta had been identified as a potential threat by a highly classified Defense Department program a year or more before the attacks occurred.
Commission officials confirmed a report in yesterday's New York Times that two staff members interviewed a uniformed military officer, who alleged in July 2004 that a secret program called "Able Danger" had identified Atta as a potential terrorist threat in 1999 or early 2000....."
"....Panel investigators viewed the claim as unlikely..."
"..Weldon recently published a book...Many of the allegations are based on information from a source discounted by the CIA as a fabricator."
(Excerpt) Read more at washingtonpost.com ...
If it turns out to be true that we could have, and indeed should have, arrested four of the terrorists involved in 9/11 but didn't and that fact was covered up by the 9/11 commission, or staffers of the 9/11 commission, than this story is not nothing. I heard Congressman Weldon today say that he has two intelligence officers related to 'Able Danger' willing to testify under oath that this is the case. Yes we will have to see how this all unfolds but to blow it off as 'nothing' is certainly premature.
What was the date on the Safire piece?
"Staff members of the Sept. 11 commission are investigating ALLEGATIONS by a Republican congressman....interviewed a uniformed military officer, who ALLEGED in July 2004"
The MSM fix has begun, sometimes I can only say WTF is going on?
Why are 911 commission staffers still together ?
um....did anybody authorize additional funding for this ?
"the CIA fabricator"? Well my understanding is that the source was DIA, not the CIA and those super spooks usually don't share their work products, especially not during the Klinton Reign of Terror.
John Podhertz at NRO is speculating that the 9/11 Commission squashed this because it disrupted their timeline of Atta's whereabouts. They couldn't have that happen because they didn't want there to be any chance that Atta had met with Iraqi intelligence.
Fuzzy on why, but he feels that this info would leave room for such a meeting in the timeline. Pretty hugh story if all of the sudden there really was a meeting...
The screaming you hear is Howard Dean...again.
I'm really not interested in what "panel investigators" think. Their credibility is suspect at this time.
You mean Bill Clinton, Goelick and Clark, don't you?
Staff members of the Sept. 11 commission
Yes, and just how sharp and 'investigative' do you think these 'staff members' were during their free trip to Asia where they were told this information? Chances are very good that they were enjoying a pretty good night out on the town when the information was given to them. Hard to remember details like that after a taxpayer-paid-for dinner, lots of bubbly and maybe even a taxpayer-paid-for romp in the hay.
It didn't take long for the WaPo to come to the rescue, either. Some reporter must have gotten a call from a political staffer.
Congressman Weldon today say that he has two intelligence officers related to 'Able Danger' willing to testify under oath that this is the case
Man I sure hope these guys have body guards 24/7. Most likely they will just quietly disappear to a military assignment just east of Siberia....
No, it's not true. Atta went to Afghanistan in 2000 for training. One of his friends - Mossediq?- is on trial in Germany for convering for Atta and his associates while they went to Afghanistan for training. But they may already have been Al Qaeda or Al Qaeda sympathizers before taking that trip.
The WaPo just ripped it off their DNC Fax Machine and printed it verbatim.
Name them!
Early on, I think it was the CIA that tried to kill the story that Atta had met with an Iraqi security agent in Prague.
NATIONAL COMMISSION ON TERRORIST ATTACKS UPON THE UNITED STATES
Outline of the 9/11 Plot
between November and December of 1999, Atta, Jarrah, Shehhi, and Binalshibh went to Afghanistan, traveling separately
Binalshibh, Atta, and Jarrah met with Bin Ladin’s deputy, Mohamed Atef, who directed them to return to Germany and enroll in flight training. Atta was chosen as the emir, or leader, of the mission. He met with Bin Ladin to discuss the targets: the World Trade Center, which represented the U.S. economy; the Pentagon, a symbol of the U.S. military; and the U.S. Capitol, the perceived source of U.S. policy in support of Israel. The White House was also on the list, as Bin Ladin considered it a political symbol and wanted to attack it as well. KSM and Binalshibh have both stated that, in early 2000, Shehhi, Atta, and Binalshibh met with KSM in Karachi for training that included learning about life in the United States and how to read airline schedules.
By early March 2000, all four new al Qaeda recruits were back in Germany. They began researching flight schools in Europe, but quickly found that training in the United States would be cheaper and faster. Atta, Shehhi, and Jarrah obtained U.S. visas, but Binalshibh—the sole Yemeni in the group—was rejected repeatedly. In the spring of 2000, Atta, Shehhi, and Jarrah prepared to travel to the United States to begin flight training. Binalshibh would remain behind and help coordinate the operation, serving as a link between KSM and Atta.
While Jarrah took these personal trips, Atta traveled to Germany for an early January 2001 meeting with Ramzi Binalshibh. Atta reported that the pilots had completed their training and were awaiting further instruction from al Qaeda. After the meeting, Atta returned to Florida and Binalshibh headed to Afghanistan to brief the al Qaeda leadership. As soon as Atta returned to Florida, Shehhi took his foreign trip, an unexplained eight-day sojourn to Casablanca.
http://tinyurl.com/cn834
Not sure the last time the CIA was right about anything though: Slam dunk on WMD's...not so much. 9/11...not so much. Berlin Wall coming down, collapse of the evil empire, Soviet coup attempt...not so much.
With people like Valerie Plame working for them, I wonder how much of the CIA bureacracy is like the cesspool at the State Department. Certainly some incredibly capable folks there but you wonder what kind of a voice they have.
Thanks. September 13, 2001. Two days after 9/11.
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