Posted on 02/14/2006 9:17:26 PM PST by Aussie Dasher
A SECRET US military intelligence unit had terrorist ringleader Mohammed Atta in its cross-hairs before the September 11, 2001, attacks 13 times, a congressman claimed today, citing the unit's records.
Data produced by the Pentagon unit code-named Able Danger, which used data mining to investigate the al-Qaeda network, showed Atta's name 13 times, Republican Representative Curt Weldon told a news conference. "Thirteen times we have hits in the data that's still available, that we were told was destroyed," he said, citing recent analyses of data gathered by Able Danger before the 2001 attacks on New York and Washington.
"They knew he was up to no good and that he was planning something."
Mr Weldon, vice chairman of the House Armed Services and Homeland Security Committee, spoke on the eve of a House Armed Services joint subcommittee hearing on Able Danger which he has initiated.
The House representative has pressured Congress and the Pentagon to investigate Able Danger since August, arguing that government officials became aware of Atta's ties to al-Qaeda earlier than admitted.
Mr Weldon said he now had proof there had been several attempts to transfer the information to the Federal Bureau of Investigation, but they were blocked by lawyers for the administration of President George W Bush.
"We have information that will be testified to under oath that there were attempts to transfer information to the FBI on at least three occasions, and on all three of those occasions in September of 2000, lawyers within the administration denied those meetings from taking place," he said.
"At least one" witness would testify under oath that Atta had been on the US intelligence radar before the attacks, the Pennsylvania politician said.
"At least one additional witnesses has come forward who just retired from one of the intelligence agencies who will also testify under oath that he was well aware of, and identified, Mohammed Atta's both name and photo prior to 9/11 occurring," he said.
Mr Weldon also said that Able Danger had detected problems in Yemen, which if they had been properly communicated, could have prevented the attack on the USS Cole in the Yemeni port of Aden in October 2000.
He has criticised the official investigative panel on the 9/11 attacks as lacking and for months has alleged that the authorities were trying to hide pre-September 11 errors committed in tracking al-Qaeda to protect senior officials.
The issue has reopened a long-standing controversy over the failure of the US intelligence agencies to share information that might have prevented the September 11 attacks.
From my files:
Vice Adm. Thomas Wilson, director of the Defense Intelligence Agency, wrote to all DIA personnel this week to explain the protest resignation of a DIA analyst in October. The analyst, Kie Fallis, quit the day after the USS Cole was attacked by suicide bombers in Aden, Yemen. Mr. Fallis charged that a report he had written on the threat of a terrorist attack in Yemen was suppressed by senior DIA officials.Mr. Fallis also uncovered terrorist info related to 9/11:Mr. Fallis' resignation letter stated that he had "significant analytic differences" with DIA superiors over a terrorist threat assessment produced in June.
U.S. intelligence officials said there were warnings, but they arrived too late. The National Security Agency issued a report shortly after the Cole was bombed warning of attacks in the region —too late to be useful.
Adm. Wilson said he asked the Pentagon inspector general (IG) to investigate Mr. Fallis' charges. In an awkwardly worded statement, the three-star admiral said on Wednesday the IG "found no evidence to support the public perception that information warning of an attack on Cole was suppressed, ignored or even available in DIA." What about the private perception?
The admiral's statement drew smirks from several intelligence officials. It relied on a dodge often used by intelligence analysts to dismiss unwelcome information. Saying there is "no evidence" —like that presented to a court of law — is often used to mask the fact there is lots of intelligence to the contrary that spooks would rather not talk about in public.
One piece of the puzzle that Mr. Fallis uncovered was an intelligence report about a secret meeting of al Qaeda terrorists in a condominium complex in Malaysia in January 2000.Information obtained after September 11 identified two of them as Khalid al-Midhar and Nawaf al-Hazmi, who would be on American Airlines Flight 77 when it crashed into the Pentagon. They met with a former Malaysian army captain, Yazi Sufaat, described by Malaysian authorities as a key link in Southeast Asia for al Qaeda, who later would be tied to the bombing of the Cole.
What alarmed U.S. intelligence at the time was that Malaysian security officials traced the men to the Iranian Embassy there, where they spent the night.
The motel owner said that Moussaoui and a man who appeared to be Marwan al-Shehhi -- who helped crash a jetliner into the south tower of the World Trade Center -- were friendly and said a few things, but Atta was clearly the leader. "He did most of the talking and seemed very serious," said the owner, adding, "I was standing face to face, about two feet away from Atta, and talked to the three of them for about 10 minutes. Atta asked if he could rent one of the other rooms at a weekly rate, and I told him no.
"I asked him what they were doing here in the area. And Atta told me they were going to flight school. I thought he meant [Federal Aviation Administration] training in Oklahoma City. But Atta told me no, they were taking flight training in Norman.
bttt
Jamie Gorelick… call 1-800-HILLARY ext. 666.
This date is significant!
Now, also, might be a good time to take a new look at the circumstances surrounding other failures of that Administration to take measures to assure airlines safety and to prevent terrorist attacks following TWA 800, as outlined here.
I just came across this thread and that was the first thing I picked up on. Do you think Weldon actually said that or do you think the media is misconstruing what he said. If it is the later then Weldon should be correcting it.
Tune in tonight. I heard on the radio news this morning that ABC Nightly News and Nightline will be telling about the tapes recently found with Saddam Hussein talking about a big attack on the US and his WMD program.
Post 10--someone said they didn't read this in the transcript of what Weldon said. If I had to guess, it's the press (intentionally) getting the facts wrong.
Lets hope the date of September of 2000 is correct and that blocked by lawyers of President Bush's Administration is wrong.
"We have information that will be testified to under oath that there were attempts to transfer information to the FBI on at least three occasions, and on all three of those occasions in September of 2000, lawyers within the administration denied those meetings from taking place," he said.
Those were undoubtedly the same Xlinton-appointed holdovers lawyers that GWB failed to fire...and still hasn't to this day, I'll bet.
This blowback, which someone in the Administration evidently hoped to avoid by continuing the Xlinton's Jamie Gorelick coverup is now unavoidable...and in fact, is made far worse with the conservative base by the fact of someone's complicity in the coverup.
Agreed, the date doesn't make sense. It does appear that the MSM is messing with the actual statement of Weldon.
"Now, also, might be a good time to take a new look at the circumstances surrounding other failures of that Administration to take measures to assure airlines safety and to prevent terrorist attacks following TWA 800, as outlined here."
First what is significant about the date September 2000? Second your link doesn't work. When I click on it, it says this thread not on this server. Can you fix it?
Sorry about my link. Here it is, corrected
Thanks!
Thanks for the ping!
Thank You!
thanks for the heads-up...I'll catch tonight's NightLine, with barf-bag
nearby as the news crew tries to spin this story into a "Bush Lied"
scenario. I just know they won't be able to restrain themselves.
"We have information that will be testified to under oath that there were attempts to transfer information to the FBI on at least three occasions, and on all three of those occasions in September of 2000, lawyers within the administration denied those meetings from taking place," he said.
Somebody has got to get their time line straightened out. GW Bush became president in January of 2001, and even at that his transition team was denied access for all of November of 2000.
Thanks for the ping.
Concur. There are also connections to illegal campaign funding involving both political parties, so expect some crossover in reporting of those scandals as well.
Please keepme on the list, of course!
Thanks for the ping!
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