Rumsfeld says that 9/11 Commission briefed about Able Danger

FNC | August 23, 2005 | FNC

[Peach]

Rumsfeld is having a press conference. Under the Fox News Alert the big banner read:

Rumsfeld says that Able Danger briefed the 9/11 Commission.

Did anyone hear his remarks on this matter; all I've seen is the banner.

[shield]

I was wondering when Rummy would weigh in. This is a good sign...

What's up with all this? Why is this coming out now? The timing and all...

[PGalt]

BTTT

[shield]

Explain to me why this is coming out NOW....what's up with all this? I'm not getting it?

[justshutupandtakeit]

Buddy Young.

[Enchante]

"the so called "9/11 Commission" was nothing more than a shameless Democrap hack job to discredit Bush"

One thing that jumped out at me from Slade Gorton's pitiful appearance on O'Reilly last night (aside from his all-around contemptible weasel-ness) is that when he was talking about the 'Wall' he gave the usual b.s about how it went back to the '70s (THANKS TO THE DEMOCRATS) and then in saying that it continued up to 9/11 he just absolutely SNEERED the name 'Ashcroft' -- he sounded exactly like the 'Rats (he's supposed to be a Republican, but he's a total spineless RINO). I swear, just from the way he sneered as he said Ashcroft's name, I could tell he is doing this whitewash for the 9/11 O-mission because he hates the Bush-Ashcroft axis of the Republican party with at least as much passion as any Democrat does......

[concerned about politics]

What's up with all this? Why is this coming out now? The timing and all...

It took awhile for the Swift Boat Vets to be heard, too. It's not that Able Danger was hidden by the members. It was buried by the 9/11 commission. The country is lucky it finally made it out to the people!

[bray]

The clinton cover-up is starting to unravel. Best guess is that the Special Ops guys got sick of the lies and have decided to put Country in front of Career. Only men of Honor do those types of things. This will be eye opening if the Space Age Press can get the word out.

Pray for W and Our Freedom Fighters

[justshutupandtakeit]

If you believe John Marshall or Alexander Hamilton or any of the great lawyers during our Founding did not consult and were not totally familiar with all aspects of law including laws of other nations I suggest you are mistaken just as you are in blowing out of proportion the comments of O'Connor and Kennedy. It is ordinary legal scholarship necessary for comprehensiveness.

You also seem to have an implied understanding that these laws are somehow universal or similiar when they are as different as can be with each other. Some may resemble US laws in some cases and be totally foreign in others and they differ so wildly with each other that they lead to no single
conclusion to a question. There is no such thing as International Law other than that accepted by all nations.

[Dat Mon]

YOU SAID...."the difficulties that the current Pentagon seems to have in locating info suggests that the records were really well-scrubbed....now I really smell COVER UP!"

There are multiple pertinent events in the Able Danger timeline which are of interest. For each event...there is a corresponding time, chain of command, and individuals who were briefed or participated in the event.

* The generation of the reports listing Atta and other 9-11 terrorists.

* The decision by officials or lawyers in DOD to withold Able Danger reports from the FBI and possibly congressional committees and other gov agencies.

* The generation of summary reports....15 boxes we know of...plus two boxes attempted to be given to the 9-11 commission...there may be other documents generated and stored elsewhere.

* The official disbanding or deactivation of the Able Danger team.

* The systematic erasure of the program source code and its documentation...IF it was done.

* The systematic erasure of the supporting info stored in secure encrypted computer files...IF it was done. You just don't hit (DEL) to erase this kind of data.

* The temporary suspension of Shaffer security privileges on essentially a minor telephone charge.

* The promotion and reassignment of Shaffer to Afghanistan.

* The scrubbing of security logs and personnel documentation...ie internal logs and memos of activities and briefing materials....IF it was done.

* The systematic destruction or relocation of voluminous secure reports generated and stored in multiple locations. Shaffer mentioned one location in Virgina where he had stored documents...they are now gone.

* The briefings given by Able Danger operatives to members of the 9-11 commission staff. Include Shaffers briefings in Afghanistan to staff members of the commission.

Im sure there are other significant events...these off the top of my head.

[texasbluebell]

This will be eye opening if the Space Age Press can get the word out.

I like that! Space Age Press!

We went from Pony Express, to Lame Stream Press, to Space Age Press.

Only the Lame Streamers were worthless.

[processing please hold]

bttt

[Reactionary]

"HIGH AMERICAN GOVT. OFFICIALS LINKED TO FOREIGN ISSUES"

We know what that means, I think. It means the communist Chinese bought Bubba, the traitor, raided our nuclear laboratories, and got away with it.

And wouldn't you know? At the same time this is going on a worldwide terrorist outfit is being protected by the traitor and his darling wife.

[concerned about politics]

We know what that means, I think. It means the communist Chinese bought Bubba, the traitor, raided our nuclear laboratories, and got away with it.

And wouldn't you know? At the same time this is going on a worldwide terrorist outfit is being protected by the traitor and his darling wife.

Bump to that! I believe that's the whole story.

[Cosmo]

I rather feel like we're going around in circles here. I can "consult" someone without "invoking" them. Bush Consulted Powell all the time, but did he always invoke him? Did a consultation imply a tacit invocation? I think not. This might sound like little more than a semantic argument to you, but I don't think it is. O'Connor did not merely consult International Law, she invoked it.

Austin wrote that international law was not law because it failed his definitional test: that being, that law is an order backed by threats from a sovereign who is habitually obeyed. Few international laws satisfy this demand, and when they do it's because it makes too much sense for all parties to whom the law pertains to follow the law (e.g. as you've noted, maritime law ). From what I've gleaned thus far, I think we would probably have no problem agreeing on this point and this general theory of what law is.

But even if you subscribe to this Austinian theory, that doesn't mean that the world doesn't have a shared notion of "international law." It simply means that the notion is flawed because it fails to meet the definition of "law". And thus, we have to conclude "International Law" is a misnomer and should be labelled as" International real politik" or "international morality" or.... But this doesn't mean that, however benign a misnomer "international law" might be, to invoke its name doesn't have a political effect and a potentially deliterious effect on our judiciary and our polis given the great penchant for globalism and the dissolution of State sovereignty that many politicians have. This invocation of I law, in short, gives credence to and supplies legal precident for furthering the UN endeavour by virtue of the fact that it calls into question the notion of absolute sovereignty. I would hope that you agree that questions of sovereignty should be left to the people and our consitution -- not to members of a court who are, oh, noticing a trend around the world that leads them to believe that it would be best if things were a little more like that around here and..... etc. etc.

Now, when you close with "there's no such thing as international law other than law accepted by all nations" I wonder if you're you're saying that O'Connor's invocation of international law is meaningless and nothing to concern ourselves with because there is no real international law to consult If so, that's fine. It makes for an absurd argument, but it's fine nonetheless. What isn't fine is that a judge is referencing international law -- law that by your definition doesn't exist-- in rendering her opinions. That leaves me concerned that you might find it none too disturbing should judge Breyer decide to invoke the words of little green men because , afterall, we all know those little green men don't exist.

[Peach]

I was pretty disappointed in Kerik lsat night; didn't know he was so naive that he'd believe Ben Venista.

[mware]

I suspect that the Pentagon set up Able Danger without getting Congressional and DOJ approval. Data mining was and is a controversial subject. DOD's Information Awareness Office is probably an outgrowth of Able Danger.Total (now Terrorism) Information Awareness (TIA) has been a lightening rod for civil libertarians.

From research done yesterday (Tuesday), we now know that Clinton signed an EO making Reno Assisant Sec of Defense in charge of Domestic Affairs. and the FBI Counter Terrorism Dept was put in the hands of one person.

This story is going to go to the very top.

[San Jacinto]

As though you have to appreciate foreign practices in order to understand what is usual in the United States. The name of the document is the Constitution of The United States of America.

[BushisTheMan]

Thank you for the name. He was fantastic, wasn't he? He shut down OR very quickly and effectively in my opinion.

Did you see where OR had Col. Hunt and Bill McGowan (?) on. Now they say it can be won. I still prefer McEnerney over Col. Hunt....and I used to admire Col Hunt so much before. But not any more.

[popdonnelly]

Kerik knows a lot less about this story than we do. He was only reacting to what Ben Veniste said.

[olde north church]

I think Col. Hunt's problem is his, for lack of a better term, temper. Very straightforward and get it done yesterday mindset. I don't think he would sacrifice his men a la General Pickett in the name of "romance" but he doesn't appear to have that cold, calculating General Sherman air about him either.

General McEinerny seems have a linear, analytical mind that is great for overall strategy but could be a disadvantage in a super-hot zone.

Thank God the Clinton generals are gone, McCaffery, Shinseki, Shelton, Clark and Gen. John Shalikashvili. I don't think between the five of them, they could have organized a hard-on.