Posted on 09/20/2005 6:57:29 PM PDT by livesbygrace
WASHINGTON -- Sept. 11 family members are protesting a reported Pentagon attempt to close this week's Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on a claim that military intelligence had lead hijacker Mohammed Atta in its sights as early as 1999.
"They want to sweep it under the rug," said Joan Molinaro, a former Eltingville resident, whose firefighter son was killed at Ground Zero.
"They have been denying this Atta thing up, down and sideways for weeks," she said. "And now they want to cover it up."
Bruce DeCell of Dongan Hills, who lost a son-in-law and cousin at the World Trade Center, said he has wearied of attempts by government officials to suppress 9/11-related information. "They always plead national security," he said. "But 9/11 was about national security and 3,000 people died because they let it happen."
"It would be a travesty to keep the facts surrounding this operation from the public," said Kristen Breitweiser of New Jersey, who lost her husband at Ground Zero.
Judiciary Committee sources confirmed that the Pentagon was negotiating with panel members on whether the testimony of some witnesses due to appear at tomorrow's hearing could involve classified information and should be taken in private session.
But at this point, the committee intends to conduct an open hearing, the sources said.
Aides to Republican Rep. Curt Weldon of Pennsylvania, who requested the hearing, said it was "news to us" that the session might be closed. "It's still public as far as we know," said John Tomaszewski, a Weldon spokesman.
Weldon has claimed that a military intelligence program known as Able Danger identified Atta as a member of al-Qaida in late 1999 while he was living in this country.
The claim conflicts with the 9/11 commission's finding last year that Atta did not enter the United States to start taking flight courses until June 2000 and that he did not appear on the radar screen of U.S. intelligence until he flew American Flight 11 into the Trade Center's North Tower.
Members of the now disbanded commission and the Pentagon have dismissed Weldon's claim as bogus, saying that no confirmation could be found despite a massive search of Pentagon files and numerous interviews with military intelligence officials.
"Bluntly, it just did not happen," said commissioner Slade Gorton, a former senator from Washington State, at a press conference here last week.
Weldon has said a Pentagon employee is prepared to testify at the hearing that he was ordered to destroy a large volume of Able Danger documents, including those mentioning Atta.
And the blame for allowing treasonous activity to go unpunished, once again, lies with the MSM, which is just as corrupt as the Democrats they're protecting by what they choose and refuse to report.
This sucks and I will say it again. There is something evil going on here.
John O'Neill and a few others would agree . . .
I was kinda thinking of those guys today. Part of the reason I posted that.
Molinaro made a good move. I think the victims' families will be instrumental in bringing those responsible to justice. The DC lawyer wagons are circling to cover their arses.
"Bluntly, it just did not happen," said commissioner Slade Gorton, a former senator from Washington State, at a press conference here last week. "
i would not believe a former or curreny Senator from Waashington State if they swore an oath that the sun was shining at high noon.
"This sucks and I will say it again. There is something evil going on here."
Yep, and I think there's only one reason why this is trying to be covered - it goes DEEP.
There probably is something evil going on.
But, we won't do anything about it BECAUSE too many want to show that they were right that "the fix is in", "that this will go nowhere".
The typical GOP cave-in trait that we see in our politicians and the ones we rant and rave against. We are just like them. The dems have spoken, they do not want to have this come out, and we will cave - as always.
Do the dems ever cave? Do they say "well the fix is in, this will go nowhere". No - they keep on pushing, and shoving. We are the cavers.
bttt
It's time to put them on trial.
New Hillary ally Rupert Murdoch certainly has used The Falafel Factor to smear and belittle Weldon and Schaffer, and protect Gorelick and the Clinton Protection Commission.
If Bush and Rumsfeld suppress info about Able Danger they may have very good reasons to do so.
There could be an active source of information out there inside al-Qaida that still is producing.
I am not a blind follower but I still believe that Bush and Rumsfeld are honorable men.
It can only be stonewalled, and that's not politically intelligent for the administration to allow the pentagon to do so now or over the next year and three years.
If the SCOTUS could force Nixon to hand over his tapes, they can force the Pentagon to hand over this information. It needs to come out
As do I, strongly. Which is why I say "if". But my faith was tested by Bush/Gonzales' wrist-slap for Sandy Berger, for a felony crime to falsify documents for a Federal investigation.
"There could be an active source of information out there inside al-Qaida that still is producing."
Power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely. Ladies and gentlemen, it looks like we have seeing another, mystifying revelation of how our government (elected, appointed, and commissioned officials) operates. This is not a republican or democratic problem, this is an accountability problem. We need to avoid welding our allegiances to personalities and look long term. Conservatives must demand accountability from our leaders and have these hearings. This paternalistic response from the pentagon is patronizing at best, and criminal at worst. WHO DO THEY WORK FOR? Weldon needs to be on them, everyday, like a pit bull. LickGore needs to be put under oath for her contributions to the disaster. Lets not blog ourselves into a heated frenzy only. Call your congressman and senators. If the source is still producing, then this better be revealed in closed sessions, or recall them all for malfeasance of office.
"The passion with which Gorton dismisses this is kinda scary. He never had a burr in his ass like that when he was a senator."
Be thankful that this goober is no longer in the Senate.
You have perfectly captured my feelings during the entire 8 years Clinton was in office. I thought it would end when Clinton's term ended. I was sadly mistaken.
What's going on here is that our thoroughly incompetent government apparatus desperately needs the people to believe that they're in control of things and know what they're doing. If enough people lose faith in the system, there's the risk that the system falls apart and that the people will really rise up as one for a mass change, and the powers that be can't risk that.
Better to keep the sheeple pacified with mindless entertainment and other distractions than to let the truth get out.
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