Posted on 08/10/2005 5:43:03 AM PDT by OESY
...Rep. Curt Weldon (R-Pa.), the No. 2 man on both the House Armed Services and Homeland Security committees, revealed that an elite military-intelligence unit known as Able Danger identified Atta and three other hijackers as likely members of a terror cell in this country as early as 1999.
The spies wanted to turn the info over to the FBI in 2000, Weldon said, "so they could bring that cell in and take out the terrorists."
He claimed Pentagon lawyers rejected the recommendation because they mistakenly believed that since Atta and the others were in the country legally on visas, they could not be investigated.
In fact, U.S. law bars such intelligence investigations only of American citizens and immigrant "green card" holders — but visa-holders such as Atta and the other hijackers are fair game. ...
Another reason for the Pentagon lawyers' actions, Weldon said, was a pre-Sept. 11 barrier that prevented the FBI and U.S. spy agencies from sharing intelligence — a practice the 9/11 commission criticized last year in its final report.
Jamie Gorelick, a deputy attorney general under former President Bill Clinton and a commission member, codified the separation between investigative and intelligence agencies in a 1995 memo.
Weldon first made his allegations in an unnoticed floor speech in June.
The issue heated up Monday after a story ran in the bimonthly Government Security News, which covers national-security matters....
But Weldon suggested Able Danger's explosive findings had been hidden from commission members.
"Let's put the intelligence folks under oath and let them be cross-examined. And let's put the staffers on the 9/11 commission under oath and let those under oath tell what information they gave," Weldon said.
(Excerpt) Read more at nypost.com ...
So when does the sh$T hit the fan for the Clinton's?
My question is: Did it go to the committee staffs "selectively" with a "what do you want us to do?" attached? My guess was that it went to Gorelicks staff alone.
And probably Ben Veniste's.
bttt
I agree. Gorelick shared it with him. They controlled the 9-11 inquiry. It may explain why the Archives called Bubba's attorney when Berger got caught...and therein lies the "conspiracy".
You may well be right. I'll bet you dollars to donuts the Commission compartmentalized the investigative duties, and left "Clinton-era" stuff to the Clintonistas.
I suppose this wouldn't be a problem if the various compartments were trying to do an honest job. But of course, honesty is at best a secondary consideration for Clintonistas, falling far behind such things as "legacy."
time to go back to my old tagline
Very important read, gents...
Good for you!
Now, if we can convince everyone else here that prior knowledge of terrorist attacks SHOULD be investigated, we are getting somewhere. And that "somewhere" WILL BE back to the Clinton administration.
There are people here who fear that BUsh I or Bush II could get splattered with stuff from such an examination. BE CONFIDENT that the real dirt is in the Clinton administration.
This is all so unbelievable it has to be true...need link for this article.
Saw Weldon on FOX...I actually sat here with my jaw open..FOX talking about it now...
Anyone else wondering if this has anything to do with Sandy Berger's plea deal going up in smoke?
Thanks for the very informative post.
I'm glad your thread is getting lots of views. this is a story that should grow in importance. I've seen it covered already this morning on TODAY, and Weldon was on FOX & FRIENDS.
CBSNews.com has a good article too, a report from their evening news that was replayed all through last night and this morning. I'll post it, for the record.
Spokesmen for the commission members said this week that although the staff was informed by the Pentagon in late 2003 about the existence of a so-called data-mining operation called Able Danger, the panel was never told that it had identified Mr. Atta and the others as threats.
In a final report released last summer called the authoritative history of the attacks, the commission of five Democrats and five Republicans made no mention of the secret program or the possibility that a government agency had detected Mr. Atta's terrorist activities before Sept. 11.
"So when does the sh$T hit the fan for the Clinton's?"
It keeps hitting the fan by the truckload, but it never seems to stick to mister teflon.
When it comes down to it, his supporters just don't care.
This story is getting great coverage on the Minneapolis radio this morning, with Gorelick's name all over it. With announcers asking how this could happen and blaming BJBilly.
BOUT FRICKING TIME!!!!!!!
Thanks so much:)
Did you hear Weldon this morning on FOX? For a mild-mannered fellow he was furious..,
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