Decision ‘08

AJStrata, The MinuteMan Update the Able Danger Story

You can get the latest from the intrepid AJ here; the 9/11 commission is denying being provided with any files containing the name of Mohammed Atta, but AJ isn’t satisfied as he asks, “What did the DoD know, and when did they know it?” Specifically, was a terrorist cell uncovered in Brooklyn that was not followed up on, or not?

The MinuteMan is more convinced by the Commission’s statement:

…[T]hey do not seem to have been derelict, non-responsive, or uninterested.

Mr. Maguire also provides us with this little tidbit:

The fellow who led the first Able Danger de-briefing was also an expert in terrorism and information management…

…who was on the record as opposing data-mining efforts of the sort apparently piloted by Able Danger.

Confused yet? I close by reminding everyone, though it doesn’t disprove anything, that Rep. Weldon is promoting a book - in fact, you can see the cover right over there on the right-hand side of this blog…a reminder that all sides in Washington usually have an agenda…

More updates as they come along…

UPDATE 08/14/05 6:26 p.m. central: Uh-oh…we learn from Michelle Malkin that Weldon is pulling back on his allegations already. This from Time magazine:

In a particularly dramatic scene in Weldon’s book, Countdown to Terror, the Pennsylvania Republican described personally handing to then-Deputy National Security Adviser Steve Hadley, just after Sept. 11, an Able Danger chart produced in 1999 identifying Atta. But Weldon told TIME he’s no longer certain Atta’s name was on that original document. The congressman says he handed Hadley his only copy. Still, last week he referred reporters to a recently reconstructed version of the chart in his office where, among dozens of names and photos of terrorists from around the world, there was a color mug shot of Mohammad Atta, circled in black marker.

If Weldon is, and the possibility is certainly there, pulling the public’s leg to promote a book on a matter this important…well, let’s just leave it there for now.

And yet…read this from the Bergen Record (with the hat tip to Jim Geraghty):

Federal officials confirmed last week that a year before the attacks, a top-secret military intelligence team was following Atta and three suspected terrorists who turned out to be hijackers. The intelligence operatives tried to sound an alarm but were rebuffed by government lawyers who feared possible legal complications of using military spying techniques to keep tabs on foreign visitors in the United States with legal visas even though they might be terrorists.

A former member of the military intelligence team told me in an interview that it had enough data to raise suspicions. “But we were blocked from passing it to the FBI.”

The connect-the-dots tracking by the team was so good that it even knew Atta conducted meetings with the three future hijackers. One of those meetings took place at the Wayne Inn. That’s how close all this was - to us and to being solved, if only the information had been passed up the line to FBI agents or even to local cops…

…His story, he says, tells us just how close U.S. officials could have come to breaking up the 9/11 plot before it unfolded. But there was one problem: The U.S. government did not want to hear what this sleuth and his 10 teammates had to say - before and even after the 9/11 plot.

By mid-2000, the Able Danger team knew it had important information about a possible terrorist plot. Because of a peculiar series of computer links that went through Brooklyn, the team began referring to the four future hijackers as the “Brooklyn cell.” Their movements and communications were raising too many suspicions.

The Able Danger sleuth, whose interview with me was arranged by the staff of Rep. Curt Weldon, R-Pa., asked that his name not be revealed so he could maintain his top-secret counter-terror role. He emerged from the shadows of spying and intelligence analysis last week because he wanted to set the record straight.

One of his targets is the 9/11 commission. The commission’s staff, he says, ignored him when he approached them on two occasions to spell out Able Danger’s work.

At this point, I feel like Al Pacino in the only memorable scene of the Godfather, Part III: “Just when I get out, they pull me back in”…

7 Responses to “AJStrata, The MinuteMan Update the Able Danger Story”

1 AJStrata Says:
August 14th, 2005 at 5:58 pm
Geraghty as a block buster update. I added it to my post as well. Finally details from the team (and more confirmation on my suspicions on how this would pan out).

Cheers
2 Colin Says:
August 14th, 2005 at 7:29 pm
This would be a good time to reflcet on how well the bloggers have handled this information. Even though many people have expressed their suspicions and even gone out on a limb with speculation, at the end everyone maintained a bit of healthy skepticism. If the Able Danger allegations turn out to be true, the Commission will have quite a few questions to answer. If the allegations turn out to be false, Curt Weldon will have even more questions to answer. Either way, by simply calling for clear accounting by the commission and further investigation, and not flying off the handle like John Conyers and his “congressional committee” investigating the Downing Street Memo.

That being said, I still don’t put a lot of faith in the report. The partisan atmosphere of the commission and any number of folks trying to cover for themsleves makes me very suspicious about their findings. The conclusions reached seemed to be the safest possible, and they seemed to not want to delve into the difficlut questions about the fatal flaws within the Intelligence Community.
3 Jeff Says:
August 14th, 2005 at 7:36 pm
Good points, Colin. The best work done by a blogswarm is not to rush to judgement, but to make sure hidden, unasked, or unanswered questions get answered–one way or another. Come to think of it, “blogswarm” is probably not a good term, because it implies unfair pre-judging. Practically every blog I’ve read about the Able Danger affair has emphasized the speculative side of some of the possibilities.

And it still doesn’t excuse Gorelick from sitting on the commission in the first place–she should have been on the other side of the table, testifying under oath.
4 AJStrata Says:
August 15th, 2005 at 12:05 pm
Jeff,

Why take all the fun out of running out onto a branch? Just Kidding.

Rick Moran has the find of the day -

http://rightwingnuthouse.com/archives/2005/08/14/able-danger-911-commission-pushback-raises-more-questions/

Cheers.
5 Mark Says:
August 15th, 2005 at 1:10 pm
AJ, I don’t know where this thing is going to end up; certainly Weldon’s credibility is somewhat suspect; yet, I stick by reaction that I think there’s enough here to warrant hearings; let’s put all the cards on the table, and see what we’ve got…
6 AJStrata Says:
August 15th, 2005 at 6:53 pm
Well, maybe it is turning the corner. Rick found that new info, and Mac’s Mind is starting to agree with me (will wonders never cease?).

Don’t get me wrong, this could be nothing. But Weldon’s clumsiness has not impacted all we have learned is true - like Able Danger did exist, did track a terrorist network and did get rebuffed.

Check out the upate on this one with Mac’s inputs.

BTW, love th live comment preview - too cool
7 Mark Says:
August 15th, 2005 at 6:57 pm
Thanks, AJ. I’ll check out the update and link later this evening…have a good one!