[YaYa123]

You asked, "Who in the chain of command could order the documents destroyed?"

I find this quote of Keith Olberman to LTC Shaffer helpful in answering your question :
" First, his (Shaffer's) story, parts which of you have heard previously from Pennsylvania Congressman Curt Weldon, and while in 2000 and 2001, he (Shaffer) tried three times to get information about al Qaeda suspects in America into the hands of the FBI, that the meetings kept getting canceled by military lawyers, fearful the Army would be seen as using its resources against civilians who were in this country legally, and that those suspects eventually ended up hijacking planes on 9/11"

Well, Texas Songwriter, the head "military lawyer", the General Counsel to the Pentagon since May 24, 2001, is William J. Haynes II, a Bush appointee. Either his office, or his Clinton appointed predecessor, is the one who must have canceled Shaeffer's meetings with the FBI. I don't see it as a big leap at all to imagine Haynes, or his predecessor, wanted all Able Danger information destroyed, to keep the Pentagon out of legal hot water.

(Jamie Gorelick resigned as Pentagon General Counsel in 1995. I don't know who Clinton appointed to replace her, but whoever it was, he would have stayed in close contact with her in her next appointment as Deputy Attorney General.)Can't you imagine him calling his predecessor for advice on how to handle this Able Danger hot potato?

I think it was either that person, or William Haynes, who could have ordered the destruction of Able Danger documents. And I think the officer responsible for Able Danger, Shaffer's commanding officer, would have seen to it.

[the_Watchman]

I think the notion of "Pentagon" is important, here. Everyone on the forum is hoping beyond hope that the source of the command to destroy the information came from the Clinton Whitehouse. However, it is possible that the buck stops at the Pentagon. They may have felt vulnerable to charges of snooping on civilians with their Able Danger program. Therefore, we must be prepared to accept that the best news out of this debacle may be proof that the Clinton Whitehouse was INFORMED of the Atta cell in New York and ignored advice to take it out.

It is interesting to me that Senator Joseph McCarthy's name has come up in this thread. My father's assessment of McCarthy was that he was allowed to continue with his investigations as long as he didn't ruffle the wrong feathers. He found most of the moles during early hearings in the Department of Agriculture. McCarthy ran into a buzz saw when he went after the Pentagon! Perhaps Weldon should tread lightly! :)

Finally, putting my tin foil hat firmly on my head, I want to prognosticate [This means I have absolutely NO evidence, but I want to start a good rumor! :] a possible interesting result: What if the information which caused Able Danger to be shut down actually linked Clinton to Bin Laden money? There had to be some reason that Clinton passed when the Sudan offered. Could Able Danger have detected an early Presidential "pardon"? :) </crass speculation>