Cohen confirms Able Danger on CNN?

CNN.com ^ | 8/14/05 | Late Edition with Wolf Blitzer

[GeorgeW23225]

BTTT

[krazyrep]

And yet, I've had some naysayers on FR tell me that President Bush did nothing to change the Wall. Well isn't this interesting.

Even if President Bush or John Ashcroft HAD demonstrably "changed the wall," liberals would have screamed and moaned how Bush was trying to create a police state, take away our civil rights, poison our children, kill old people by taking away their social security, and...

Oops, got a little carried away there, but you get the idea.

[CyberAnt]

On the weekend, Bob Graham was interviewed and said that they did not know about Able Danger. The FOX person said .. but you were head of the intel agency .. why wouldn't you have known about this group? [paraphrase]. The jacka$$ still claimed he didn't know.

If Curt Weldon knew .. BOB GRAHAM KNEW!! He's either senile or he's still protecting Bubba.

[maxter]

Hmmmm. Cohen is using the "I don't recall" line.

[sure_fine]

he's not saying too much

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) REP. CURT WELDON (R-PA): Lawyers within the administration told the special forces folks three times, you cannot share this information with the FBI. They even put stickies over top of the face of Mohammed Atta, saying they're here legally. They have green cards. You can't give anything to the FBI.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BLITZER: Do you know anything about this? You were the defense secretary.

COHEN: I'm not aware of any such identification of Mohammed Atta.

I would say that if they did have this special report that we have to consider that it was before 9/11. And before 9/11 we had a lot of restrictions imposed by law upon the Pentagon, the executive branch, in terms of sharing information on people who were in this country. So that changed after 9/11.

But prior to that time, we -- I'll give you one example. Back in 1997, 1998 the Joint Chiefs of Staff wanted to propose that we create a special command for the United States to deal with this emerging scourge of terrorism. And right away it was shot down saying this violates (inaudible) you're now going to get the military involved in domestic law enforcement.

And so there were a number of restrictions that may very well have been a comment or recommendation coming out of a lawyer to someone in the Pentagon. I was not aware of it, but it's altogether possible.

BLITZER: Did you know about this unit called Able Danger, these special operations forces that the chairman of the Joint Chiefs, General Hugh Shelton, had created?

COHEN: I'm not -- I don't have a recollection specifically of that.

I certainly know that there were a number of special forces that were set up to gather information. I don't recall receiving that particular report, though.

BLITZER: But you do recall that there were prohibitions on the U.S. military informing the FBI of potential threats out there? Because that sounds pretty outrageous to the average person out there.

COHEN: I'm not sure there was a prohibition against that. All I'm saying -- there were a number of prohibitions in terms of what information the CIA could share with the FBI and the FBI with the CIA, what the Pentagon could do, what our military could do in terms of enforcing or using military forces to protect the country domestically.

All that has been changed now by 9/11, but prior to that there were a number of restrictions. This may have been one of them. I'm not familiar with it.

BLITZER: All right, we'll have to leave it there. Secretary Cohen and Secretary Kissinger, always good to have both of you on "LATE EDITION." Thanks very much for joining us.

Up next, we'll get a quick check on what's in the news right now, including the latest on Iran's nuclear plans.

Then, all eyes on Gaza as Israel prepares to begin its historic pullout. We'll get perspective from the Palestinian foreign minister, Nasser al-Kidwa, and the Israeli vice premier, Shimon Peres.

"LATE EDITION" will be right back.

[txhurl]

Among other things, it will mean that the Dims will just say that Bush still had eight months to catch Atta and failed to do so.

You're probably right, the left is just trying to engineer the spin in that direction. Takes time. First they have to research FR to find out what to spin.

[Fruit of the Spirit]

Here's the Aug. 10th link:

http://www.cnn.com/2005/POLITICS/08/10/9.11.hijackers.ap/

---

and this (8/12) one about "Able-Danger-Gate?"

http://www.pardonmyenglish.com/archives/2005/08/able_danger.html

[jigsaw]

COHEN:

I'm not aware...

I would say that if they did have this special report...

I was not aware of it, but it's altogether possible.

I'm not -- I don't have a recollection specifically of that.

I don't recall receiving that particular report, though.

I'm not sure...

This may have been one of them. I'm not familiar with it.

From the brilliant mind of Clinton's Sec of Defense.   What a joke!

[funkywbr]

Is it a fact?

[God luvs America]

thanks

[petercooper]

[manny613]

Please see the following
and post 23 for alot of info on story
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1463480/posts

[Freedom is eternally right]

I would be surprised if Cohen did know about it. Organizations as big as the DOD are built on "Plausible Deniability". Able Danger sounds like a small group in a large organization. Cohen wouldn't have to know the specifics of it. And after the lawyers said they couldn't share the info, it probably wouldn't have gone any higher than Schoomaker unless the lawyer's decision had been appealed.

[Peach]

That's a good point. I did think it was interesting that Cohen admitted that President Bush changed the policy in January 2001.

[OldFriend]

Thanks for highlightint those comments by Weldon. I missed that completely.

Doubtful that this interview between Blitzed and Cohen revealed anything at all.

cohen would never have gone on the program to do anything other than 'I don't recall'.

[OldFriend]

If you were in the Pentagon and trying to protect this country, would you reveal any important information to the likes of Cohen?

[popdonnelly]

The only way for this to be investigated is for someone with a sincere interest in finding out the truth to go to Washington and research it themselves. Nobody else is going to spend the time. The MSM is too busy reading press hand-outs and going to lunch with officials. All the commentators rely on secondhand information. At least Edward J. Epstein took the time to go to Prague and talk to someone who had knowledge of the alleged Atta meeting with an Iraqi security agent. No one else in the media is going to do that, because they can't get their editor to spend the money on the trip.

[Peach]

LOL. The only good to come of that interview, imo, was that Cohen admitted that President Bush took care of the firewall problem in January 2001, right after taking office.

A troll on another thread several days ago was trying to convince us otherwise.

[gov_bean_ counter]

I have been under the impression this was an initiative of the CJCS. IIRC the JCS serves in primarily an advisory capacity to the president and has no downward command authority. I would imagine the chairman is given a lot of latitude in the area of information gathering. Given that there is some question as to how much information would necessarily filter down and to what level.

[Sacajaweau]

I'm not.....He should have finished his beginning statement.

I'm not a liberty to discuss that".....on the advice of my attorney.