Pentagon Blocks Able Danger Testimony

Newsmax ^ | Sept. 21, 2005 | Carl Limbacher and NewsMax.com Staff

[ovrtaxt]

With Carl Limbacher and NewsMax.com Staff

	For the story behind the story...

Wednesday, Sept. 21, 2005 12:55 a.m. EDT

Pentagon Blocks Able Danger Testimony

Pentagon lawyers have ordered five members of the Able Danger intelligence team not to testify at an open Senate in hearing scheduled for Wednesday morning about information they developed on lead 9/11 hijacker Mohamed Atta a year before the 9/11 attacks.

"We have been told I cannot testify tomorrow," Lt. Col. Anthony Shaffer told ABC Radio host Sean Hannity. "We have been told to stand down."

Lt. Col. Shaffer, who was the Defense Intelligence Agency's liaison officer to Able Danger, said he was preparing his testimony for the Senate Judiciary Committee Tuesday afternoon when he was told that the hearing "will be classified, it will be secret."

Hours after Lt. Col. Shaffer revealed that he'd been muzzled, Defense Department spokesman Bryan Whitman told the New York Times that open testimony on Able Danger "would not be appropriate."

"We have expressed our security concerns and believe it is simply not possible to discuss Able Danger in any great detail in an open public forum."

However Shaffer maintained that he intended to discuss only details on the program already made public by Pennsylvania Congressman Curt Weldon, a chief advocate of the intense data mining developed by Able Danger.

Lt. Col. Shaffer's lawyer, Mark Zaid, told United Press International that Able Danger team members "were told verbally that they would not be allowed to testify," and that he had requested the decision about his client be put in writing.

Zaid said that the team leader, Navy Capt. Scott Philpott, a civilian analyst named James Smith and other members of the team had all been denied permission to testify.

Judiciary Committee Chairman, Sen. Arlen Specter told the New York Times late Tuesday that he intended to go ahead with the hearing on Wednesday and hoped that it "may produce a change of heart by the Department of Defense in answering some very basic questions."

Lt. Col. Shaffer was clearly frustrated by the bid to muzzle him and the other Able Danger witnesses.

"I'm past the point of no return here. I'm committed to this course of action," he told Hannity. "I'm truly sorry that it appears right now that the Department of Defense is more worried about saving face than they are about getting the truth out."

[sgtbono2002]

The enemy was on the 911 Commission and they are being protected.

[conservativecorner]

Why are we protecting the demoncrats? UNFRIGGIN REAL!!

[InterceptPoint]

In case it hasn't been posted already, here is the link to the Able Danger Senate Hearings on C-SPAN3

Start time is 9:30 AM ET on Wednesday 21 September.

[Itzlzha]

Yeah we wouldn't want any populist hyperbole, we might come up with something that resembles the Constitution.

BWAHHAHAH!!!!

Nice!

[KillTime]

Maybe they are concerned about saving the limited Intel. gathering mechanisms that have not yet been compromised.

The enemy watches CSPAN too.

Bingo. This is more the reason for standing down their testimony in an open forum; not just some cover up.

Sources and Methods.

As long as they are still allowed to talk behind closed doors then I'm happy. At least this now being discussed.

[Wuli]

As I said weeks ago, the political class is closing ranks around this one, which can only mean the stench goes far and wide and even the GOP is not immune.

[Andy from Chapel Hill]

Right after Tom Clancy wrote "The Hunt for Red October", the law was changed such that accumulating non-classified information with the intent of deriving a classified result was illegal. It is called "The Clancy Law". This practice is also called "constructing the mosaic" on Wall Street and is perfectly legal there.

[Sybeck1]

DU moonbts are saying this is a cover up that won't hurt Clinton, but would Bush.



http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=102&topic_id=1795221&mesg_id=1795221

[niteowl77]

Thanks for the ping, but I like to ignore star-spangled Pat Buchanan dress stainers whenever possible.

[ovrtaxt]

They're on acid. It's going to hurt the status quo DC establishment more than anybody.

[ovrtaxt]

Well, I appreciated it.

Buchanan dress stainers?

???

[Captain Rhino]

Able Danger was using special data mining techniques to sift through the astronomical amounts of raw data intercepted by Echelon on a daily basis. Based on Internet descriptions of how Echelon works and how its information is processed, the Able Danger team was just applying much more sophisticated filtering algorithms to the data stream. Just.

The crux of the Able Danger controversy is the use and later destruction of the data. Before revision of the laws post 9-11, there was a legal wall prohibitting the use of foreign intelligence information by domestic law enforcement agencies. This is what the Justice Department and DoD lawyers were enforcing when they prohibited the meetings between Able Danger team and the FBI. (Thereby preventing the early alerting of the agency to the danger and possibly preventing the attacks.)

Someone has famously remarked that "Democracy is not a suicide pact." Apparently not for civil rights fanatics like Gorelick and company.

Mercifully, the barrier between the cross sharing of information is now down.

(In your comment about Echelon, where you perhaps thinking of Carnivore, the FBI's Internet "wiretap" technology which is only a few years old? Some form or other of Echelon has been in operation under NSA direction since what...the 1950s? BTW, The only knowledge I have about Echelon (or Carnivore) is public.)

[dmz]

Who specifically is protecting them, and why are they being protected?

[newcthem]

This is not a struggle of Republicans and Democrats..it is a contest for control between American Citizens and Government.

Relying on the government is going to get us killed!!

New Orleans was a prime example of expecting the government to save you, and I fear that terrorist hits are going to make the New Orleans situation seem like a picnic.

[Prophet in the wilderness]

How can the Pentagon, or any other branch of the government order someone not to testify at a Congressional hearing ?

[ovrtaxt]

Thanks for the clarification.

Yes, I was confusing Carnivore and Echelon.

[uncbob]

Bush should have cleaned house (I would have) when he was elected in 00.

But that would have been Mean Spirited and not Compassionate Conservatism

[DBrow]

No, I can't say cover-up.

Able Danger was a classified intel tool. If I were a bad guy, one intent on doing big, very illegal things, I'd love to hear a public discussion of how it works and what it's limitations are.

The meeting is classified- that does not mean that the meeting is cancelled or that frank discussions will not be held.

Let's go back before 9/11. The pilot teams knew a little bit about how Echelon, Carnivore,and other intel hoover methods worked. So when they communicated, they used a code, but most importantly they used Yahoo mail and Hotmail. Log in, write a message, then save to draft. The recipient logs in in some other city using the same username/password, and reads the draft message. So two people sent messages, across a distance, without actually "sending" an email. Any spy system that looks for "sent" messages would miss these communications. This was based just on open information. (Could be Able Danger connections here too, come to think of it)

So now some govt person wishes to keep details of Able Danger quiet? Good! Shows foresight.

Another recent intel blunder was leaking the Bush "bathroom" note. Hmmm, think it's the FIRST time newsmen have used telephotos and Photoshop to read text from a lectern? But it's blown now, chances are that any "good stuff" will never be seen now that the capability and intent to use the capability has been revealed.

[auboy]

Thanks, ot. CYA in progress. Hopefully, Weldon will not let this die.