Posted on 08/17/2005 8:51:04 AM PDT by spycatcher
Interesting e-mail from reader B.G.: "I believe your skepticism regarding Lt. Col. Shaffer’s memory – 'whether the otherwise obscure name of "Mohammed Atta" might have become part of their recollections after the fact because it became so famous' – deserves your reevaluation.
"I would contend that whatever Shaffer knew about Mohammed Atta and the Brooklyn cell would have been reinforced in, and not 'become part of,' Shaffer’s memory on and in the days immediately after 9/11. Other elements of the story, such as having three meetings to transfer this information cancelled at the last minute, and the resulting feelings of frustration, would suggest that these inter-related memories were more strongly ingrained in his memory—at the time they occurred—than other things of which he was also aware. There’s also the issue of associative memory—Able Danger was engaged in linking information and as a liaison Shaffer undoubtedly understood the nature of its work—in that (if Shaffer indeed has a strongly associative memory) his conciously recallable memories would have expanded as he probed his memory for relevant information, after the stimulus of hearing Atta’s name and seeing his face immediately after 9/11.
"It would be worthwhile to ask Lt. Col. Shaffer if he has a visual memory. It has been my experience that many of those who do not have a visual memory (and they vary in the way the function) do not appreciate or understand the associative power that a person’s memory may possess. If Shaffer’s memory (and thinking) is visually based, it’s likely that he had a flood of associated memories triggered by seeing Atta’s face on TV after the 9/11 attack."
If any of the radio talk-show hosts who will be interviewing Lt. Col. Shaffer today is reading this, it might make for an interesting question -- does he have an associative memory? How can he be sure about Atta's name when it was among a list of 60 others? Not to mention the other three hijackers he mentions?
'Able Danger' source goes public
NORRISTOWN - A Pentagon review of a defunct defense operation said to have linked a Sept. 11 hijacker to a terrorist cell in New York City, could shed new light on why Defense Department officials shut down the secret program, "Able Danger," more than a year before the Sept. 11 attacks.
A defense intelligence analyst, Tony Shaffer, who worked on the high-tech counterterrorism operation, said Tuesday that battle lines are being drawn in the Pentagon as the old program comes under renewed scrutiny.
"Right now, the (Department of Defense) has a great deal of interest in this matter," he said. "Some elements in the Defense Department are attempting to go dirty."
In June, Shaffer revealed to The Times Herald that Pentagon officials rejected a plan to have the FBI and Special Operations Command collaborate to track Mohamed Atta and the other individuals who were suspected terrorists.
At that time, the Defense Intelligence Agency analyst asked not to be identified.
Even after the 9/11 Commission's recommended changes in intelligence community practices, Shaffer said, little has changed. He charges that some defense officials responsible for counterterrorism before the Sept. 11 attacks have returned to their old intelligence-gathering habits and don't want to revisit past failings that an "Able Danger" probe might highlight.
"Guys that had a role in the (Sept. 11 intelligence) failure got promoted," he said. "They have not changed the way they do business."
The objective of "Able Danger" was to identify and target al-Qaeda and other terrorists. The DIA team used data mining, parallel processing and other cutting-edge computer technology from 1999 through early 2001, Shaffer said. By charting the movements and transactions of suspected terrorists, a link was established between Atta and al-Qaida, and the defense intelligence team concluded that the Sept. 11 hijacker, and two others individuals, were part of a New York-based terror cell.
But when the "Able Danger" team wanted to tap the FBI to track the suspected terrorists, Defense Department attorneys put up roadblocks and eventually shut down the effort. Last week, the 9/11 Commission was criticized by Rep. Curt Weldon for overlooking information on "Able Danger" and failing to return calls from Shaffer who had information on the program to offer.
The congressman fired off a letter to former 9/11 commissioners claiming his chief of staff actually hand delivered information to a commission member. The operation was not mentioned in the commission report published on July 22, 2004. In response to questions on the operation, commission staff combed through its massive archives last week.
In a prepared statement Friday, the 9/11 Discourse project, formerly the 9/11 Commission, said it first heard Atta's name mentioned by a Navy officer just 10 days before publication of its report, but found the officer's story lacked sufficient credibility and decided not to pursue it further.
Shaffer, however, claims he mentioned Atta by name to the 9/11 Commission's executive director, Philip Zelikow, when the two met in Afghanistan in October 2003. "I kept my talking points (from the meeting)," Shaffer said. "And I'm confident about what I said."
After the meeting in Afghanistan, commission staff members said they would contact Shaffer again once they returned to the United States. In November, the commission staff requested and received documents on the operation from the Pentagon; however, it did not call Shaffer as promised. "They didn't follow up jack," he said. "That's when the investigative rigor wasn't followed."
The defense analyst said he believes the commission didn't comprehend the high-tech operation, and therefore, didn't desire pursuing detail of the program. "They just didn't want to go down some of these paths," he said. "The 9/11 Commission was not qualified to investigate this matter."
Shaffer said intelligence agencies should be performing the sophisticated data analysis used by his "Able Danger" team, but claimed that the National Counterterrorism Center is not utilizing this technology. "They are not doing this data mining and parallel processing," he said.
According to Shaffer, Stephen A. Cambone, the Pentagon's Undersecretary of Defense for Intelligence, is heading up the "Able Danger" review, and said Cambone "wants to get to the bottom of this."
A Defense Department spokesman, Maj. Paul Swiergosz, confirmed that the Pentagon was investigating the closed program. During the 9/11 Commission investigation, he said, the Pentagon turned over more than 175,000 total document to the body.
"Able Danger was a very short-lived program and sifting through all that takes time," Swiergosz said. Currently, Shaffer is working to resuscitate the technological capability use in the "Able Danger" program.
The One Plane, One Terrorist Theory maybe?
I've always respected Podhoretz, so I don't understand what's cooking here. Is his brain fried, is he "bought and paid-for," or is he hinting what he won't/can't say?
Also, is it "pod-HOR-its" or "puh-DOR-its" or something else? Anyone know?
Exactly right!!
How very clever to put Gorelick ON the commission, where she couldn't testify.
It seems to me that the woman who BUILT the wall, should be the one who answers lots and LOTS of questions...........
And NOW, we find out that Slick Willie knew about Bin Laden 6 years BEFORE September 11th, 2001.
What a wonderful legacy Clinton and Gore left for us........
When he's been a call-in guest on WABC which happens from time to time, the on-air persons pronounce it "Potter-its"
Of course if it's Curtis Sliwa, he's probably pronouncing it incorrectly - He's Norm Crosby in a red beret.
and I wonder who his "friend" is?????? :-)
(we ALL know, don't we???)
This pr*ck is dead to me. Podhertz.
Are the initials WK .. as I suspect???
No...who is his friend?
I was thinking more along the line of "WC"
Slick Willie Clinton
John Pod's friend is Slick Willy??? NO. since when?
I put NRO into my spam filter long ago. I'll read their stuff here on FR and thus avoid the crap by heeding barf alerts.
Touche. Steyn has a way about him that leaves victims blinking in his dust.
Well......politics make for some VERY strange bedfellows.
Connect the dots, and they ALL lead back to the Clinton/Gore Whitehouse.
Why else would Podhoretz be so defensive??
No Mr Podhoretz, it is you who have Cranial Rectal disease
"Paging Neuro-Proctologist, Dr. Dover. Dr. Ben Dover, please report to the emergency room, stat!"
They left more than a legacy. Remember their lackey Podesta boasting of the "time bombs" they were leaving for the new administration.
I think three of those time bombs were delivered by commercial airliners.
"Paging Neuro-Proctologist, Dr. Dover. Dr. Ben Dover, please report to the emergency room, stat!"
LOL
Perhaps someone should ask Mr. Podesta what he knew, and when he knew it??
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