Free Republic
Browse · Search
News/Activism
Topics · Post Article

Skip to comments.

A Third Name Surfaces (Able Danger - Atta)
New York Times via Power Line | 08-22-05 | Unknown

Posted on 08/22/2005 9:33:38 PM PDT by mercy

Sticking to, but not penetrating, the wall

The New York Times reports that "an active-duty Navy captain has become the second military officer to come forward publicly to say that a secret defense intelligence program tagged the ringleader of the Sept. 11 attacks as a possible terrorist more than a year before the attacks." According to the officer, Captain Scott Phillpot, "Atta was identified by Able Danger by January-February of 2000." Lt. Col. Anthony Shaffer went public with this story last week, stating that analysts in the Able Danger project had been overruled by military lawyers, pursuant to the "wall" erected by the Clinton administration, when they tried to share the program's findings with the Federal Bureau of Investigation in 2000 in hope of tracking down terror suspects tied to Al Qaeda.

In addition, James Smith, a former employee of a defense contractor, says he helped create a chart in 2000 for the Able Danger program that included Mr. Atta's photograph and name. According to Smith, Atta's name and photograph were obtained through a private researcher in California who was paid to gather the information from contacts in the Middle East. Smith says he retained a copy of the chart for some time, posting it on his office wall at Andrews Air Force Base. Ironically, considering the apparent role of the Clinton administration's wall in this story, Smith recalls that the chart became stuck to his wall at the air base, and was impossible to remove when he switched jobs.

The Defense Department is still saying that it's been unable to validate the assertions made by Lt. Col. Shaffer, and now backed up by Captain Phillpott and Mr. Smith, about the early identification of Mr. Atta.


TOPICS: News/Current Events
KEYWORDS: abledanger; atta; jamessmith
Navigation: use the links below to view more comments.
first previous 1-2021-4041-6061-70 last
To: mware

Hannity hit it pretty hard today if not with all relevant facts.

Katherine Herridge's report just now on FOX was longer and more detailed then ever. Dirctly countering recent Omission Commission members CYA efforts.


61 posted on 08/23/2005 2:13:20 PM PDT by mercy (never again a patsy for Bill Gates - spyware and viri free for over TWO YEARS now)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 60 | View Replies]

To: bitt

Excellent ping. Thank you.


62 posted on 08/23/2005 3:10:12 PM PDT by ntnychik
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 19 | View Replies]

To: bitt

Excellent ping. Thank you.


63 posted on 08/23/2005 3:10:16 PM PDT by ntnychik
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 19 | View Replies]

To: mercy

Medved lives in Washington, as does Gorton. I've got a hunch that friendship has something to do with it. For my part, I have always thought Gorton was a simp.


64 posted on 08/23/2005 3:54:46 PM PDT by gaspar
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 6 | View Replies]

To: george76

If German intelligence had both Atta and Benalshib, the Hamburg roomates, on their terrorist watch list prior to 9/11, and the German intelligence warned their Spanish counterparts that Benalshib would be visiting Taragona in July 2001, where he met with Atta, what was the CIA and FBI doing? Both were allowed into the USA without a problem in the days after that meeting and prior to 9/11. It would seem that foreign intelligence services knew a lot about the 9/11 terrorists. Is Gorton satisfied that his staff did all it could to comprehend the missed opportunities and intelligence failures vis-a-vis the US relationship with European agencies?


65 posted on 08/23/2005 4:01:06 PM PDT by gaspar
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 13 | View Replies]

To: lugsoul
...[Y]ou can't blame a murder on the cop in the doughnut shop a block away.

You can if the cop - let's just call him "Slick Willie" - insists on ignoring the known assassin so that he can just keep munching his doughnuts. Slick Willie is not guilty of the same crime as Atta, but he's guilty of malfeasance, beyond a shadow of a doubt.

66 posted on 08/23/2005 4:15:13 PM PDT by Nevermore (Mad as Zell)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 50 | View Replies]

To: gaspar

He doesn't give a flyin frak! CYA is what matters.


67 posted on 08/23/2005 4:28:20 PM PDT by mercy (never again a patsy for Bill Gates - spyware and viri free for over TWO YEARS now)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 65 | View Replies]

To: Nevermore
Worse than malfeasance. Reckless disregard. Dereliction of duty. Treason under color of authority.

But I catch your drift as it applies to the poster and the context of his comments and agree wholeheartedly.
68 posted on 08/23/2005 4:31:59 PM PDT by mercy (never again a patsy for Bill Gates - spyware and viri free for over TWO YEARS now)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 66 | View Replies]

To: All
I wish to direct your attention to this thread:

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1469114/posts

which I think is a topic of paramount importance. Please see my post #64 which is a paste of Bryan Preston's comments from Michelle malkin's blog.

Chilling

69 posted on 08/23/2005 4:40:42 PM PDT by mercy (never again a patsy for Bill Gates - spyware and viri free for over TWO YEARS now)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 68 | View Replies]

To: Kenny Bunk

I agree, Bush has been far too protective of Clinton.


70 posted on 08/23/2005 8:12:12 PM PDT by potlatch (Does a clean house indicate that there is a broken computer in it?)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 25 | View Replies]


Navigation: use the links below to view more comments.
first previous 1-2021-4041-6061-70 last

Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.

Free Republic
Browse · Search
News/Activism
Topics · Post Article

FreeRepublic, LLC, PO BOX 9771, FRESNO, CA 93794
FreeRepublic.com is powered by software copyright 2000-2008 John Robinson