Posted on 08/16/2005 6:25:13 PM PDT by Wheens
If he's telling the truth, then the entire history of the last five years needs to be rewritten. His name is Lt. Col. Anthony Shaffer, and he's one of the two military intelligence officers alleging that the Defense Department had located Mohammed Atta and other hijackers in America in 2000.
He's now gone public on cable television and in this interview with the New York Times.
What's perfectly credible about what Shaffer says is that his unit, Able Danger, developed information about an Al Qaeda cell in Brooklyn and that Pentagon lawyers thrice blocked meetings between his unit and the FBI because they feared being accused of spying illicitly inside the United States. (He was not an intelligence analyst, but rather Able Danger's liaison with the Defense Intelligence Agency.)
But Shaffer does not have proof that Atta and three others were among those named. To be fair, he should NOT have proof because any such documentation would be classified material that should not be in his possession.
So now we have some manifest contradictions:
He says he told 9/11 commission staffers about this in Afghanistan in 2003. They dispute it. So somebody isn't telling the truth.
The Able Danger papers shown to the 9/11 Commission at the Pentagon after the Afghanistan meeting did not feature anything mentioning Atta. So the 9/11 Commission says. So either the Commission staff is lying. Or no paper mentioned Atta and Shaffer is just wrong. Or the Defense Department misplaced the paperwork mentioning Atta. Or somebody at the Defense Department deliberately didn't give the Commission the material.
In the first case, if the 9/11 commission staff is lying, the hell to be paid is going to be colossal. Among other things, it could shake the current State Department to its foundations, since the 9/11 commission staff director, Philip Zelicow, is one of Condi Rice's most trusted aides.
In the second case, if the Defense Department withheld critical information on this matter, it's almost impossible to imagine the intensity of the bloodletting that will follow.
With nothing more to go on than Shaffer's name and his statement, I think it's appropriate to remain skeptical. Since we have heard that the list Shaffer tried to forward to the FBI contained 60 names, it is legitimate to question whether his memory and the memory perhaps of other Able Danger folks has been enhanced by knowledge learned later on -- whether the otherwise obscure name of "Mohammed Atta" might have become part of their recollections after the fact because it became so famous.
Which is to say, Shaffer isn't lying, and he isn't a scoundrel. He's someone who ran afoul of the hyperlegal mindset that kept the intelligence "wall" growing ever higher until it became a hiding place for Al Qaeda.
It won't be long before Begella, Carville and other Clinton hacks are out smearing these guys reputations. Hillary is probably calling the attack Dogs up for appearances on all the Liberal Networks. The Clintons will not tolerate anything this big too have legs. They may even still have FBI files to scare everyone who will dare to speak out and tell the truth.
To expound on your excellent points, the very fact that media whores Gorelick, BenVeniste, heck, even Kean..who hace never before NOT availed themselves of any microphone or camera, anywhere, anytime; have virtually disappeared the last two weeks..that alone tells me they are afraid to say anything..
Jpod is such a clown.
First he jumps on it, then overcompensates jumping off it, and now is just punting.
How useless.
Why not just re-consult his source from Saturday that said it was all bunk?
Great summary of the Conflicts of Interests on the 9/11 Commission, Enchante, thanks!
Pinz
It seems to me that the "Commission" is PART of the treason plot. The RATS were playing for something to happen which would insure their hold on power. The timing went off, and the event (9/11) occured while a PUB was Prez. It wasn't supposed (hopefully) to be that way. The commission's job is/was to cover tracks and cover up.
Excellent post!
Yep. The 9/11 Commission covered up for the Clinton administration who paved the way for Atta and his minions.
We need to know who the moles are within the Administration. Hopefully this is starting to surface some of them.
It needs to be shouted Wilson was an ASSistant to the President Blowjob Bill.
Nice try but there is no reason to believe Zeilkow saw the supressed information since Gorelick and her factotem were the gatekeepers as to what the other Commissioners saw.
You know, I've been wondering about this. Let me throw this out. Does anyone know the relationship between Podhoretz and this Phillip Zelicow who was(is) a close aide of Condi Rice? Could this guy be the Pod's 'source' who told him there was nothing to the story?
Certainly, this Zelicow, given his position on the 911 Commission, has a reason to derail this story? And maybe he and the Pod are friends?
If this is ever confirmed in any way, it will many years down the road, and only a footnote of history. BUT, don't put anything beneath them.
I was just trying to explain why both parties and the "Washington Insiders"
don't seem to want to open an investigation.
Yes. Me, too.
Thanks for posting. You've been around a long time. First time I recall seeing your screen name. Outstanding thread.
Andrew McCarthy did direct some irritated comments at Podhoretz who now feels that he may have overreacted since Shaffer has been identified. Now it seems that he (Podhoretz) is trying to cover his tracks. Somehow Podhoretz was deluded into thinking that Weldon cooked the thing up out of whole cloth. I can't believe an elected gov official like Weldon would go out on a limb that long with no convincing facts behind him. I like Podhoretz, but he was ready to ditch Weldon before any facts came out. If Shaffer had turned out to be a loon, Podhoretz might have had an argument. Now he is the one that is looking like an ass.
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