Posted on 09/29/2005 6:37:50 PM PDT by strategofr
The Pentagon has decided to play games with the Able Danger story, virtually confirming the worst suspicions of just about everybody by first acknowledging that five of its team members recall identifying Mohammed Atta as a potential AQ terrorist a year prior to the attacks, and then forbidding these five witnesses from telling the Senate Judiciary Committee about the program.
The only thing that Donald Rumsfeld has accomplished with this strategy is to introduce real bipartisanship to the Judiciary Committee, which broadly scolded the DoD for pulling the witnesses from the hearing at the last minute:
The complaints came after the Pentagon blocked several witnesses from testifying before the Senate Judiciary Committee at a public hearing on Wednesday. The only testimony provided by the Defense Department came from a senior official who would say only that he did not know whether the claims were true.
Five men and women in a highly-classified program, a status one only reaches by faithful and excellent service, tell the DoD that the program identified al-Qaeda's lead terrorists over a year prior to the attacks, and they're not sure whether it's true? That may be the most pathetic spin I've heard yet on Able Danger. If almost half the analysts in an intelligence group such as Able Danger cannot be trusted to remember something as significant as that, then the Pentagon has more problems than anyone realizes.
A Pentagon spokesman had said the decision to limit testimony was based on concerns about disclosing classified information, but Senator Charles E. Grassley, Republican of Iowa, said he believed the reason was a concern "that they'll just have egg on their face."
Senator Joseph R. Biden Jr., Democrat of Delaware, accused the Pentagon of "a cover-up" and said, "I don't get why people aren't coming forward and saying, 'Here's the deal, here's what happened.'"
Biden, as usual, speaks with equal disingeniuty. He understands perfectly well, at least in general, why the DoD won't produce the witnesses. It has little to do with specific intelligence exposure. After all, if the Senators want to discuss how the identifications worked, they would gladly go into closed session for that testimony.
What the Committee and the rest of us want is open testimony about what they found in relation to 9/11 and the known hijackers, who they identified, what they did with that information -- and who insisted on covering it up, both at the Pentagon and on the 9/11 Commission.
None of that comes under the heading of national security -- it falls into the category of covering some high-ranking ass.
Another reason for the sudden bipartisanship is the timeline of events, especially with the sudden stealth mode of Rumsfeld et al. The identification of the AQ operatives came in 2000, and the initial destruction of the data came in April 2000, as Eric Kleinsmith testified.
That would tend to point to the Clinton Administration as an obstructor. However, the program continued, allegedly predicting the USS Cole attack three weeks before it happened. Shaffer kept extensive files until February 2004, when they mysteriously disappeared after a dispute over a cell-phone bill with the DoD. That sequence happened on Bush's watch, and so does this ill-thought brinksmanship with the Senate.
The American people suffered the worst attack on our soil four years ago. We deserve answers about how that attack could have been prevented. The Pentagon has five witnesses that speak directly to that issue who have been prevented from speaking to the representatives of the people. Arlen Specter needs to subpoena those five witnesses, all of the senior officers in the chain of command for Able Danger, and Donald Rumsfeld himself to answer for why the Pentagon will not cooperate. Four years of hiding Able Danger is long enough. Thursday, September 22, 2005
'The Torch' was able to have CIA Ops shut down after Koreagate and AbScam. I think that was a stepping stone for the need of Able Danger.
I don't care if we publicly ever learn what Able Danger was about. I just want all these corrupt enablers brought to justice.
You're forgiven for the oldness of the article. I either missed it or skimed thru it too fast on David's site.
Now I will pay attention!
I want to know what Rummy's up to. We trusted him, and he owes us a truthful Public explanation! This stinks to high heaven.
Well, thats not going to happen.
This nation will always be on the side of keeping secrets, even if it means a few criminals get away with their activities. You just cannot compromise our intelligence gathering abilities just to put a few folks in jail. If the choice was putting Clinton enablers in jail, vs preventing another 9-11, which would you choose? That choice is easy.
"major portions constructed in Morton, Delaware County, Penna., represented by Curt Weldon....I wonder......."
I don't know the answer, but I do believe in Curt Weldon. He's human, of course, and he could be stopped in some manner. Perhaps others in the state are being paid off in the manner you referred to---people who somehow have access to Weldon's OFF button. But I strongly feel that Weldon himself could not be bought off. That is not to say there is no way in the world to stop him.
"bttt"
What is this?
Somehow I along with others do not believe you are inside on this. More likely whistling in a rain barrel as usual.
"I don't want them to reveal just how they accomplished getting this information...We must always remember that the terrorists are watching what is going on just like us."
In a general sense, you are right. In this specific instance, However, the method of getting information has already been made public. No one to my knowledge, is seeking more information about that process. We are seeking information about how the process was discontinued. This is a political and bureaucratic matter, the resolution of which should not compromise national security, in my opinion.
"You're forgiven for the oldness of the article. I either missed it or skimed thru it too fast on David's site.
Now I will pay attention!"
Thanks, I'll also assumed that those who actually found this post will forgive me for not tagging it correctly and getting it into the Able Danger forum. Unfortunately, many will miss it as a result of that mistake I made.
If you knew how little I care what you think or believe about me, you might have saved yourself a bit of typing.
I've long known that xlinton was a communist agent, a Muscovite candidate, who became elected. The communists succeeded in infiltrating our government all over the place, they own one political party and have their claws in the other. This is the worst news, this is the terrible news that the present administration would like concealed; the depth of the enemy's infiltration, and sum of their power within our very foundations.
Okay, suppose it was all public. Tell me what good it would do? How would National Security be enhanced? What has happened, has already happened. It is the future we need to be focused on, and much less on the past and its criminal participants.
Tell us what you advised Rummy to do. The mystery is killing us.
My response to you would easily have me banned. Therefore, expect to be ignored.
>>>If the choice was putting Clinton enablers in jail, vs preventing another 9-11, which would you choose?
I don't know :(
I hope those with pointy heads aren't infiltrated with corruption. That is the part that is scary. It would be easier to trust then.
That family was apparently killed by punks of the non-Islamic variety.
And I don't buy any of your rationalizations for not pursuing the events around Able Danger. There is no reason to get into present capabilities or programs.
The decision of the Pentagon to cooperate seems to back up my conclusions. This article is old.
If PUkin Dog is inside or not, doesn't matter to me. He does know more than I do and I trust him.
That says alot coming from me because Pukin and I have a history of thread rumbles.
I suspected as much as do others here, you do a lot of whistling in empty rain barrels. It shows.
>>>That family was apparently killed by punks of the non-Islamic variety.
That is true. But were the punks paid to do it by the NON-Islamic variety of IAC?
Lynn Stewart had an office in J.C. that started the IAC Against the War group.
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