Posted on 09/20/2005 6:25:39 PM PDT by 4mor3
September 20, 2005 Pentagon Blocks Testimony at Senate Hearing on Terrorist By PHILIP SHENON WASHINGTON, Sept. 20 - The Pentagon said today that it had blocked a group of military officers and intelligence analysts from testifying at an open Congressional hearing about a highly classified military intelligence program that, the officers have said, identified a ringleader of the Sept. 11 attacks as a potential terrorist more than a year before the attacks.
The announcement came a day before the officers and intelligence analysts had been scheduled to testify about the program, known as Able Danger, at a hearing of the Senate Judiciary Committee.
Bryan Whitman, a Defense Department spokesman, said in a statement that open testimony about the program "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." He offered no other detail on the Pentagon's reasoning in blocking the testimony.
Senator Arlen Specter, the Pennsylvania Republican who is chairman of the committee, said he was surprised by the Pentagon's decision because "so much of this has already been in the public domain, and I think that the American people need to know what happened here."
(Excerpt) Read more at nytimes.com ...
This is bullshit.... let them testify!!!!
That's that....they are going to bury it.
Check this out.....
I guess it was too good to be true, that this information was actually going to get a hearing in the public!!!1
Hillary? Clinton (Poppa's best bud?)
Who is doing this???
What are we going to do about it???
Mr. Whitman, the Pentagon spokesman, said that in place of members of the Able Danger team, a senior defense official would be sent to the Wednesday hearing to discuss "what the law and policies are on domestic surveillance and to provide some insights about information-sharing between agencies."
They will now lecture the public on why they can't tell us.
Able Danger goes to deep for it to get a public hearing..
Well, well; the plot thickens. No everybody will be SURE something is there, won't they?
Weldon must be so ticked off. There are forces trying to bury the TRUTH and I am ticked to a fairtheewell.
One of them was on Hannity today....said the Pentagon revoked his clearance so he couldn't testify. I guess we'll never find out for sure.
I heard Lt. Col. Schaeffer on Hannity's radio show this afternoon, soon after he found out he wasn't going to be able to testify tomorrow...
He sounded so bummed....he was all geared up for it...but he said that he doesn't have anymore information than he has already told Rep. Weldon...
He also said that he and the others have really stuck their necks out to go public with this..especially since the documents were supposedly destroyed....but he said he won't give up.
I would think that Weldon should call a press conference with all of the people that are not being allowed to testify...just standing BY him...and Weldon can let us know what they know..
Weldon DID say that we would find out tomorrow WHO ordered the documents to be destroyed...except that I think the person who was supposed to testify to that...might be one of the ones that have been told to not show up.
As I have said before when the chips are down they cover for each other up there. No telling who all from both parties that would be outed.When push comes to shove you cannot trust your own government.
Doesn't matter....this was to big to ever see the light of day.....it only got this far because a US Congresscritter pushed it to the forefront. Now they can control the story....they revoke their security clearance...and next I expect Schaffer to get recalled back to active duty.
Could you add "Able Danger" to the title? I think it'd get more views.
Time to deluge Rummy with letters?
I have alot a faith in the president and the cabinet. This is ridiculous. They should have answered Weldon's concerns early on and kept it quiet, or they should just come clean now. What is this months' long dog-and-pony show about anyway???
Pinz
As I predicted a week ago.
It's a sort of "gentlemen don't read each other's mail" kind of thing. Face the facts: Bush is covering for Clinton. Don't ask me why. It is insane, particularly given Clinton's pathetic and desperate "Build me up by tearing Bush down" performance on Sunday.
This is one of the most significant abuses of executive power in U.S. history.
This makes withholding a tape of a conversation about a third rate burglary seem very small.
Nearly 3,000 Americans did not die in Watergate.
WOW!!
(( ping ))
Shermy was right - the domestic surveillance and data gathering was likely illegal (in a technical sense).
is this the end now?
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