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“The 9/11 9/11 Commission” (Not a Misprint)
Special to FreeRepublic ^ | 20 August 2005 | John Armor (Congressman Billybob)

Posted on 08/12/2005 4:40:56 PM PDT by Congressman Billybob

Enough has come out about the failure of the 9/11 Commission to include critical information about Mohammed Atta and other 9/11 attackers, to suggest a new Commission to investigate the original Commission. The cure may not be that drastic, but it is that important.

In short, a special Army intelligence operation known as “Able Danger” identified Atta and four of his accomplices, and identified Al-Qaeda cells in Hamburg and Brooklyn and elsewhere, a year before the 9/11 attacks. They offered then to share that information with law enforcement agencies including the FBI.

Those offers were cut off by Clinton Administration attorneys and based that refusal on the “wall of separation” memo written by Jamie Gorelick, then a deputy under Attorney General Janet Reno. By the time 9/11 staffers received multiple briefings on Able Danger’s findings and efforts, Ms. Gorelick had become a member of that Commission.

All details now known, and some reasonable speculation on why Ms. Gorelick wrote that memo, and why the Administration wanted to prevent prosecutors from receiving information from intelligence agencies, is well covered in an article by my colleague, Gregory Borse. His title is, “Gorelick 'MemoGate': It Just Got Worse,” and is here: http://www.chronwatch.com/content/contentDisplay.asp?aid=16201

I deal here with two aspects not addressed by Greg -- the fascinating nature of the research done by Able Danger, and the solution Congress can apply to this festering problem.

“Open Source” means using sources that are out in public. It seems like a contradiction in terms that highly secret information can be derived from documents, articles, speeches, radio and TV broadcasts made in public, in front of God and everybody, as they say hereabouts.

Imagine a jigsaw puzzle with no picture on the box, you don’t know how many pieces there are, the pieces are each hidden in a pile of other pieces that aren’t part of the puzzle, and the pieces are anywhere in the world and written in languages from English to German to Farsi. For a fictional (but accurate) depiction of this process, rent and review an excellent movie, “Three Days of the Condor,” starring Robert Redford and Faye Dunaway.

Or use this real example. Three decades ago, I attended a speech by Isaac Asimov at Johns Hopkins University. I still remember one particular aspect of Dr. Asimov’s talk. He said, “Japanese or German spies during WW II could have discovered America’s most secret scientific project, using information the federal government required to be published.”

Here is Dr. Asimov’s thinking: 1. Analog Science Fiction & Fact has gone through several changes of name and control, but has always carried articles based on sound science. (Think the accurate science of Arthur Clarke’s “2001" series, rather than the bad science of George Lucas’ “Star Wars.” There is no air in space for Ti fighters to bank against, nor to transmit any sound of exploding Death Stars or planets. But I digress.)

2. As a result, many of America’s “hard” scientists subscribe to Analog. 3. The Post Office required every magazine with a second-class mailing permit to recount, once a year, the circulation of its paid subscriptions. 4. Therefore, Analog published information showong a statistical bulge, a “rat in the snake,” a group of scientists appearing first in Oak Ridge, Tennessee, and then in Los Alamos, New Mexico. 5. Since there was no new university or other private employer who hired these scientists, this had to indicate some type of government-sponsored scientific research.

So it was. This “open source” investigation, with some common sense employed, would have led a spy to the location of the Manhattan Project, which developed the first atomic bomb.

Now, we turn to the solution to this 9/11 Commission problem. It is a normal duty of Congress to exercise oversight concerning all federal agencies. The Commission is/was a federal agency. Its failures concerning the Able Danger research is a very focused inquiry. Therefore, an appropriate Committee of Congress should and can convene an inquiry to get to the bottom of this problem.

How fast can Congress act? Well, it ginned up a hearing on steroid use in baseball on 30-days’ notice. It seems to me that the 9/11 failure is slightly more important than that. So start your steroid clocks now. Let’s see if Congress can get Jamie Gorelick on camera and under oath within 30 days. Let the “9/11 9/11" hearings begin.

About the Author: John Armor is a First Amendment attorney and author who lives in the Blue Ridge Mountains of North Carolina. John_Armor@aya.yale.edu


TOPICS: Crime/Corruption; Culture/Society; Extended News; Foreign Affairs; Free Republic; Front Page News; Government; News/Current Events; US: New Mexico; US: North Carolina; US: Tennessee; War on Terror
KEYWORDS: 911commission; abledanger; alqaeda; analog; atta; congressmanbillybob; gorelickwall; gregoryborse; isaacasimov; jamiegorelick; johnarmor; mohammedatta; opensource
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To: Paul Ross

Indeed. Thanks for the ping!


101 posted on 08/16/2005 8:53:45 PM PDT by Alamo-Girl
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To: Thud

ping


102 posted on 08/16/2005 10:52:18 PM PDT by Dark Wing
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To: ErnBatavia
Since when is Isaac Asimov's Sci-Fi authorship in any manner make his substantive point here "tin-foilish"???? It turns out in his particular insight here he was dead-on. A lot of REAL scientists both read...and write Sci-Fi. Jerry Pournelle is another example of such, and an illustrious pantheon could be adduced if you take a look.

So what the heck ARE you smoking? And what is the big deal about four days, are you only into real-time? An "existential" ErnBatavia?

103 posted on 08/17/2005 9:54:43 AM PDT by Paul Ross (Definition of strict constructionist: someone who DOESN'T hallucinate when reading the Constitution)
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To: Paul Ross

I give up...you haven't got the slightest clue as to what I've been talking about. Bye.


104 posted on 08/17/2005 10:35:20 AM PDT by ErnBatavia
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To: Congressman Billybob

While they're at it, I'd suggest a thorough investigation of the events leading up to WTC1 in '93......if reports are true the FBI already HAD prior knowledge of the planned episode, HAD contact with an informant and still the event happened. A lot less people died by but if certain actions had been taken perhaps 9-11 would've never occurred. Check out an old FR thread called "Batting a Thousand".


105 posted on 08/17/2005 12:27:13 PM PDT by american spirit
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To: Congressman Billybob

Gorelick's job for the Clintons

http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=39605

"As we have also documented beyond doubt, it was the 9-11 Commission's Jamie Gorelick who, as deputy attorney general, summoned the FBI to Washington on Aug. 22, 1996, a few days before the Democratic Convention, and warned them off the pursuit of a terrorist explanation."

You can also find the same kind of comment about OKC, Gorelick turned the investigators away from the guilty to something more acceptable. In OKC, it was changing from Middle Eastern terrorists killing Americans which would have required a response to a couple of white patsys. TWA800 was from Middle Eastern Terrorists shooting down an airplane with a missile to a center fuel tank explosion, something which absolutely DID NOT HAPPEN.

Gorelick, Clark, Berger's job was to keep the truth from coming out.

Please realize that if 9/11 would not have happened you'd never have known that Clinton covered up the terrorist acts for polictical reasons- HIS RE-ELECTION.

People would NOT have liked Americans dying because of terrorism. Clinton made sure that you didn't know, it never happened.


106 posted on 08/18/2005 9:58:40 PM PDT by BILL_C (Those who don't understand the lessons of History are bound to repeat them.)
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To: Congressman Billybob; Lando Lincoln; quidnunc; .cnI redruM; Valin; King Prout; SJackson; dennisw; ..

Very Interesting!

This ping list is not author-specific for articles I'd like to share. Some for the perfect moral clarity, some for provocative thoughts; or simply interesting articles I'd hate to miss myself. (I don't have to agree with the author all 100% to feel the need to share an article.) I will try not to abuse the ping list and not to annoy you too much, but on some days there is more of the good stuff that is worthy of attention. You can see the list of articles I pinged to lately  on  my page.
You are welcome in or out, just freepmail me (and note which PING list you are talking about).
Besides this one, I keep 2 separate PING lists for my favorite authors Victor Davis Hanson and Orson Scott Card.  (I stopped keeping separate ping lists for David Warren and Lee Harris. I'll ping to their articles when warranted through this list. )

107 posted on 08/19/2005 5:13:44 AM PDT by Tolik
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To: crazyhorse691
Where is Walker when you really need him:) Walker or properly Chuck Norris, who is, at least currently, a Texan is only a reserve officer in some small east of Dallas jurisdiction. He's also 65 years old!

Down here we've got for real Texas Rangers. In fact the barracks for Ranger Company "F", along with the Ranger Museum, is in Waco, about 25 road miles from downtown Crawford.

There was a famous Ranger by the name of Samuel H. Walker, though. One of the first, while Texas was the Lone Star Republic. He was the impetus behind the famous Walker Colt revolver. One of the first really practical revolvers, earlier designs being somewhat fragile for the use the Rangers would make of them.

108 posted on 08/25/2005 7:40:24 PM PDT by El Gato
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To: El Gato

The Ranger Museum was great even though the kids and the Mrs. liked the Dr. Pepper museum better. Sigh.


109 posted on 08/25/2005 7:45:19 PM PDT by crazyhorse691 ( Heaven on Earth is where the nearest Starbucks is 60 miles away.)
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To: ErnBatavia
Large faux pas...Asimov is known by most as a Science Fiction writer.

Maybe to you, but to me he's more well known as a popularizer of science. His 3 volume series "Understanding Physics " taught me more physics than my high school physics course (and I had good teacher in a good school). They also made the concepts from my college physics courses familiar, I only had to learn the math.

110 posted on 08/25/2005 7:53:17 PM PDT by El Gato
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To: Congressman Billybob
I have heard that we know the exact location of the one cow out of millions of cows that carries the Mad Cow Virus, & yet can't find a handful of terrorists or illegal immigrants.

Put the damn Department of Agriculture in charge..

111 posted on 08/25/2005 8:10:34 PM PDT by concretebob (Some people are like Slinkys, not very useful, but fun to watch when they fall down the stairs)
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To: Congressman Billybob

Major mega whumping BUMB!


112 posted on 08/25/2005 9:12:37 PM PDT by mercy (never again a patsy for Bill Gates - spyware and viri free for over TWO YEARS now)
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To: Congressman Billybob
Well, here's an interesting article regarding "open source" material.

OPEN SOURCE INTELLIGENCE SERVICES

Suggested Reading:
First In: An Insider's Account of How the CIA Spearheaded the War on Terror in Afghanistan
The Cell: Inside the 9/11 Plot, and Why the FBI and CIA Failed to Stop It

by H. Thomas Hayden

The “transformation in military affairs” has spawned many off shoots like information transformation, cognitive transformation and intelligence transformation. Nothing has been more surprising than the expansion of open source intelligence and information. A global industry in military and counter-terrorism intelligence published in open sources must rival the daily intelligence briefings provided by the Central Intelligence Agency, Defense Intelligence Agency and the National Security Agency. Much has been made about the chronic under funding of US Human Intelligence (HUMINT) which has contributed to the many intelligence failures. Yet, the rapidly growing commercial intelligence and security industry has become a multi-billion dollar business according to Roman Kupchinsky, in an article he wrote for WORLD, “Information Revolution Feeds Alternative Intelligence Market,” May 2005. Kupchinsky says that the business can be dived into two sectors: “- those that deal with security threats and provide intelligence and security in combat-related operations; and - those that provide companies with vital intelligence needed to expand business and avoid unnecessary pitfalls in an emerging market place.” I would add that there is a much larger market filled by companies who sell publications and provide websites that cater to military, businesses, academics and current affairs writers like me. My favorite open source intelligence publications come from “The Economist,” a weekly magazine that publishes economic and political analysis around the world and the Jane’s Information Group that publishes a variety of magazines and news letters. Each has its own website filled with their numerous open source intelligence reports. Both are produced in the United Kingdom but cover the world. “The Economist” has the Economic Intelligence Unit which is must reading for all who want to know the latest economic intelligence around the world. The Jane’s Information Group publishes the premier Jane’s Defense Weekly, Jane’s Intelligence Digest, and the Jane’s Terrorism & Insurgency Center reports. There are five separate “centres’ for Jane’s intelligence products: Defense Intelligence Centres, Transport Intelligence Centres, Aerospace Intelligence Centres, Security Intelligence Centres, and Business Intelligence Centres. The internet website for www.economist.com and www.janes.com will provide extensive information on both. Not surprisingly there is a number of expanding websites dedicated to strategic analysis and general information. My two favorite web sites with open source intelligence and analysis are Access Intelligence (ai) – not to be confused with a private web site called accessintelligence.com - and Stratfor. Go to google.com and type in “intelligence reports” and see just how many commercial open source “intelligence reports” one may find. Weekly newsletters like “Inside the Pentagon” at www.InsideDefense.com – there are too many to list here - is a great source of open source intelligence and defense and homeland security information. However, a real growth industry can be found in the private security and intelligence services that are even being hired by government agencies for a myriad of tasks. It is reported that some members of the U.S. Congress are worried that the unregulated spread of private intelligence agencies could constitute a threat to privacy rights enjoyed by U.S. citizens. Rubbish as they say in Great Britain. Prominent former special operations forces military personnel or former spy agency members run many privately owned security and intelligence firms that present themselves as an alternative source of information and intelligence and offer other services. The U.S. Department of State has been reported to lists 29 private companies doing business in Iraq. According to the Corporate Watch website in an article published on 7 March 2005, over 50% of the $40 billion given annually to the 15 intelligence agencies is now spent on private contractors. Recent news headlines captured the public interest in these private security companies when the U.S. Marine Corps arrested a number of former Marines in Iraq who worked for a private security firm and threw them out of Iraq with orders not to return. There are too many to mention, but private companies working in Iraq have contracts to provide intelligence analysis, man security positions for critical facilities, serve as translators, and even provide security escorts for VIPs. Unfortunately, many of these private sector personnel have lost their lives. Some Marines and soldiers often resent the exorbitant salaries being paid to the civilian contractors while the troops make far lesser pay. Nevertheless, the private contractors have no “med-evacs” to Europe and the finest military hospital care available in the U.S. and no VA benefits after they leave military service. As far as I’m concerned, they earn the pay. With more and more London-type terrorist attacks on the general public there will be more private companies making their service available to those who want it. While there are over 4 million subscribers to one military and homeland security website, www.uscav.com and “U.S. Cavalry On Point” is the fastest growing website for those interested in the latest thinking on military matters around the world or homeland security and police matters here at home.

113 posted on 08/26/2005 6:19:48 PM PDT by concretebob (Some people are like Slinkys, not very useful, but fun to watch when they fall down the stairs)
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