Posted on 08/16/2005 10:28:31 AM PDT by spycatcher
Just heard from a guy I trust that the Pentagon will be releasing information regarding Able Danger in the not too distant future. The short version: Don't expect any bombshells.
Thank you, Congressman Weldon, for getting just enough of this story right (the existence of Able Danger and its mission) to get folks like myself and lot of others to take you seriously. Those others weren't just bloggers, by the way - I'm talking about the New York Times, the AP, the Bergen Record...
And thanks a [really bad word] heap for getting more than enough wrong that we look like idiots for trusting you.
You know, like that rather key element that Able Danger had picked out four of the 9/11 hijackers and recommended they be picked up by the FBI. I can see how you could mix up that pesky little detail.
Thank you for making all of these stunning allegations without any supporting evidence. Thank you for not having any documents, memos, or anything beyond allegations from an anonymous former defense intelligence guy who is unwilling to come forward and speak on the record.
Thanks for using us to goose your book sales this month.
Thank you for making the 9/11 Commission, a group that seemed to have done a sloppy, incomplete job, look absolutely on the ball and well-organized and coherent in comparison. (In retrospect, should the Commission have mentioned Able Danger? Sure. They were a small part of U.S. counterterrorism efforts before 9/11. But if they never found anything that tied into the attacks, then the Commission is right, they weren't all that signficant in the big picture. They warranted a paragraph or two.)
If Weldon generates some actual evidence, or if any of the 11 guys in Able Danger come forward and make a persuasive case that "yes, we did spot four hijackers in 2000", then I'll backtrack on all of this. But right now, I doubt that we will ever hear from any of them.
The only silver lining to this mess? I can gloat to Mary Mapes about how to burn a source that leads you astray.
UPDATE: I'm told that Tony Snow recently announced that one of the Able Danger team members will be doing an interview with Catherine Herridge today, and that he (Tony) has a radio interview with the gentleman scheduled for tomorrow. AJ Strata points to a article indicating that Weldon told ABC Radio host Sean Hannity, "I can guarantee you that you will be able to have one on your show. You might want to go with your TV show with this, because it will be a major story. And you can interview him directly."
We will see. As TKS reader Ted put it:
On something as huge as this, I found it hard it hard to believe that the Able Danger guys would have stayed quiet for four years. It just seems to me that the psychological and emotional pressure on them would have driven someone public a long time ago - "We knew we had those SOB's nailed, the dumb lawyers shut us down, and then we watched 9/11 on TV just like everyone else. Do you have any idea what it's like to think you might have that on your conscience? Now it's being swept under the rug by a bunch of butt-covering bureaucrats. This is a whitewash!" If eleven people supposedly were in the loop, odds are one of them would've surfaced a long time ago.But then, you could look at Colleen Rowley, the FBI agent in Minneapolis, and agree "Yeah, see what happens to whistleblowers."
So who knows.
Time will tell. That the 9-11 Commission had 4 stories in 4 days tells me that Weldon did not come out half-cocked. I'm surprised that Podhoretz and now Geraghty would jump to such conclusions so soon...
It won't be just NRO who will look like idiots.
I was just going to post a thought similar to yours...
I just cannot imagine letting this information (no matter where it leads), be swept under the rug...
There are a lot of reasons of course, I would love it see it play out that Clinton FINALLY gets the blame he deserves for his neglect as POTUS, but...
How could any of us be satisfied NOT KNOWING for sure, what went wrong..and how we could have stopped 9/11? If for no other reason, than for today, and the future...so that we don't overlook seemingly "insignificant" or "out of the box" thoughts regarding intelligence information.
I wouldn't worry too much about what comes out of NRO.
They have all been hanging around Manhattan & Washington too long. They crave to be accepted by corporate media types and they try their best to appear sensible...not like the unwashed right-wing kooks in the Red states.
I have heard these types referred to as "Whale-pants Republicans"
I understand that. But now we have a way for politicians who claim they act on principle and principle alone to get their message out in a faster, more effective, 21st century fashion. It's the Blogosphere. That's as much the public record as having a book signing at Borders. The only difference is, there's no payday, just the sharing of ideas and information with much less conflict of interest.
Lot of truth in your last post. Sadly.
His book on Iran just came out in June. How fast does he write?
We'll see how it turns out. I think it would serve everyone much better not to have to wade through the "well he's selling a book" angle in order to find the truth.
I don't expect my neighbor to demand money before telling me my roof's on fire. I don't think politicians should, either.
The DOD, meaning the Pentagon, the CIA, the FBI, Justice, and just about every single institution is full of America haters planted there by the likes of Carter and Clinton.
Mr. Clinton (you could well be if you demand a fall to the kees, but sorry, I'm not Monica)
Weldon's book will be DOA very quickly if this is a phony story, and he's got a lot more to lose if it fails than YOUR book, "My LIE"
If Weldon used a blog the info would be dismissed even quicker.
You nailed it. And I have to say it's pretty pathetic how quickly some Republicans are willing to eat their own. What was in those documents that Sandy Berger stuffed in his disgusting drawers and cut up into little pieces again? Oh yeah, that's another coverup we're never going to get the details on either. And if Able Danger is so meaningless, why did some members of the "Commission" feel the need to lie about its very existence in the first place?
Sometimes I truly detest the way our unaccountable government operates.
I'm very close to an "off with (all) their heads" attitude myself.
No it wouldn't - he would have nothing to gain and everything to lose by testifying to what he knows publicly without any other considerations attached. I would say there's a lot more credibility in that scenario than coming forward on the heels of a book that says "$19.95" inside the front cover.
If politicians act on principle, they can cleanse themselves of most doubt by acting without an ulterior motive. A blogging Congressman spilling beans like this would not be dismissed as you theorize.
Well, size isn't everything. :)
The book isn't about Able Danger. That's just a red herring for people to avoid asking serious questions. I don't care if he has a movie and TV show coming out. I want to know who knew what and when, and who buried what and when.
With a name like, "Able Danger?"
I don't think so.
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