Congressman: Officials monitored 9/11 hijackers in U.S. a year before the

[54anickel]

http://www.nctimes.com/news/nation/890510424.txt

WASHINGTON -- Sept. 11 ringleader Mohammed Atta and three other hijackers were identified by defense intelligence officials more than a year before the attacks but information about their possible connections to al-Qaida never were forwarded to law enforcement, Rep. Curt Weldon said Tuesday.

snip>

However, Weldon said Pentagon lawyers rejected the recommendation because they said Atta and the others were in the country legally.

"In fact, I'll tell you how stupid it was, they put stickies on the faces of Mohammed Atta on the chart that the military intelligence unit had completed and they said you can't talk to Atta because he's here on a green card," Weldon said.

snip>

Pentagon spokesman Bryan Whitman said the 9/11 commission looked into the matter during its investigation into government missteps leading to the attacks and chose not to include it in thew final report.

more...

[Zhade]

1. Kick

Kick

EDITED to replace 'o' with 'i'! :rofl:

[DS1]

2. Sounds like they're making the argument for further bridging the

"gap" between DOD and DOJ and CIA and FBI.

If we don't work "together" now, we'll let things keep happening until we do.

[halsaxby]

21. In other words...

If you don't let us roll back the constitution and allow the military to start operating in the US, we will continue to blow up/have our stooges blow up US buildings.

[TrogL]

3. Oh. My. God.

Can you say LIHOP?

[FlemingsGhost]

4. LIHOP !

Wake up, America ...


LIHOP -- LIHOP-- LIHOP-- LIHOP-- LIHOP-- LIHOP-- LIHOP-- LIHOP-- LIHOP-- LIHOP-- LIHOP-- LIHOP-- LIHOP-- LIHOP-- LIHOP-- LIHOP-- LIHOP-- LIHOP-- LIHOP-- LIHOP-- LIHOP-- LIHOP-- LIHOP-- LIHOP-- LIHOP-- LIHOP-- LIHOP-- LIHOP-- LIHOP-- LIHOP-- LIHOP-- LIHOP-- LIHOP-- LIHOP-- LIHOP-- LIHOP-- LIHOP-- LIHOP-- LIHOP-- LIHOP-- LIHOP-- LIHOP-- LIHOP-- LIHOP-- LIHOP-- LIHOP-- LIHOP

Put them in prison, this time.

[LoKnLoD]

12. OK I'm new ..whats LIHOP & MIHOP mean

I know the gist is "they" did it, but what is the full acronym?

Thanks in advance.

[Carni]

6. "Let's blame Clinton"

I could be wrong but I notice they emphasize 2000 in this--was it LATE 2000? (Like after bush was foisted on us? I would imagine it was and that bushie boy blocked whatever info was uncovered)

I really REALLY hate these people!

[54anickel]

13. Article states Sept of 2000

[DS1]

15. Well, the election was in 2000, and shithead didn't take office until

January of 2001.

Just pointing this out for the sake of accuracy

[0007]

7. LIHOP - I absolutely believe that's the case.

And if followed through with honest investigators and judges junior's crime cabal will see the inside of prisons. The 911 Commission Report was a sham without question.

[shanti]

18. we BEEN saying it!

but everyone calls us :tinfoilhat:ers

[blm]

5. I wouldn't trust a word that comes out of that Moonie Weldon's mouth.

.

[Old and In the Way]

8. Well someone's lying then.

From the OP:

"Pentagon spokesman Bryan Whitman said the 9/11 commission looked into the matter during its investigation into government missteps leading to the attacks and chose not to include it in thew final report."

On CNN a few minutes ago Weldon just flat out said that the 9/11 Commission was not made aware of this information.

So which is it?

[jsamuel]

9. you know what this means... someone is hiding something

[Roland99]

11. From the NY Times link

A former spokesman for the Sept. 11 commission, Al Felzenberg, confirmed that members of its staff, including Philip Zelikow, the executive director, were told about the program on an overseas trip in October 2003 that included stops in Afghanistan and Pakistan. But Mr. Felzenberg said the briefers did not mention Mr. Atta's name.

The report produced by the commission last year does not mention the episode.

[Generator]

10. More info here in NY Times article

The former intelligence official said the first Able Danger report identified all four men as members of a "Brooklyn" cell, and was produced within two months after Mr. Atta arrived in the United States. The former intelligence official said he was among a group that briefed Mr. Zelikow and at least three other members of the Sept. 11 commission staff about Able Danger when they visited the Afghanistan-Pakistan region in October 2003.

The official said he had explicitly mentioned Mr. Atta as a member of a Qaeda cell in the United States. He said the staff encouraged him to call the commission when he returned to Washington at the end of the year. When he did so, the ex-official said, the calls were not returned.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/08/09/politics/09intel.html?pagewanted=1&ei=5090&en=bc4d02afa0a46012&ex=1281240000&partner=rssuserland&emc=rss

[Roland99]

14. I'm still trying to figure out what this means.

The DoD lawyers that said Atta couldn't be monitored as he was here on a valid visa got their jobs how?

What was sent up the executive chain and to Richard Clarke and others?

When did the Propagandist's administration become aware of this and why didn't they do anything about it? After all, they are the ones staining their panties over the Patriot Act.

Knowing John O'Neill's work on tracking Al Qaeda, why wasn't he made aware of this? (I think we know the answer there, though.)

[progressivebydesign]

16. Perhaps because they were Saudis?

Is that why they were left alone? This is pretty damning info, who made the decision to ignore those people?? How far up did it go?

[slor]

17. In other words...

these fuckers said, "do not stop operations, we need to go into Iraq".

[Bluebear]

19. Sounds right. nt

[halsaxby]

20. Here is the AP version

Congressman: Defense Knew 9/11 Hijackers

By KIMBERLY HEFLING
Associated Press Writer

WASHINGTON (AP) -- The Sept. 11 commission will investigate a claim that U.S. defense intelligence officials identified ringleader Mohammed Atta and three other hijackers as a likely part of an al-Qaida cell more than a year before the hijackings but didn't forward the information to law enforcement.

Rep. Curt Weldon, R-Pa. and vice chairman of the House Armed Services and Homeland Security committees, said Tuesday the men were identified in 1999 by a classified military intelligence unit known as "Able Danger." If true, that's an earlier link to al-Qaida than any previously disclosed intelligence about Atta.

Sept. 11 commission co-chairman Lee Hamilton said Tuesday that Weldon's information, which the congressman said came from multiple intelligence sources, warrants a review. He said he hoped the panel could issue a statement on its findings by the end of the week.

"The 9/11 commission did not learn of any U.S. government knowledge prior to 9/11 of surveillance of Mohammed Atta or of his cell," said Hamilton, a former Democratic congressman from Indiana. "Had we learned of it obviously it would've been a major focus of our investigation."

The Sept. 11 commission's final report, issued last year, recounted numerous government mistakes that allowed the hijackers to succeed. Among them was a failure to share intelligence within and among agencies.

According to Weldon, Able Danger identified Atta, Marwan al-Shehhi, Khalid al-Mihdar and Nawaf al-Hazmi as members of a cell the unit code-named "Brooklyn" because of some loose connections to New York City.

Weldon said that in September 2000 Able Danger recommended that its information on the hijackers be given to the FBI "so they could bring that cell in and take out the terrorists." However, Weldon said Pentagon lawyers rejected the recommendation because they said Atta and the others were in the country legally so information on them could not be shared with law enforcement.

Weldon did not provide details on how the intelligence officials identified the future hijackers and determined they might be part of a cell.

Defense Department documents shown to an Associated Press reporter Tuesday said the Able Danger team was set up in 1999 to identify potential al-Qaida operatives for U.S. Special Operations Command. At some point, information provided to the team by the Army's Information Dominance Center pointed to a possible al-Qaida cell in Brooklyn, the documents said.

However, because of concerns about pursuing information on "U.S. persons" - a legal term that includes U.S. citizens as well as foreigners admitted to the country for permanent residence - Special Operations Command did not provide the Army information to the FBI. It is unclear whether the Army provided the information to anyone else.

The command instead turned its focus to overseas threats.

The documents provided no information on whether the team identified anyone connected to the Sept. 11 attack.

If the team did identify Atta and the others, it's unclear why the information wasn't forwarded. The prohibition against sharing intelligence on "U.S. persons" should not have applied since they were in the country on visas - they did not have permanent resident status.

Weldon, considered something of a maverick on Capitol Hill, initially made his allegations about Atta and the others in a floor speech in June that garnered little attention. His talk came at the end of a legislative day during a period described under House rules as "special orders" - a time slot for lawmakers to get up and speak on issues of their choosing.

The issue resurfaced Monday in a story by the bimonthly Government Security News, which covers national security matters.

Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld said he was unaware of the intelligence until the latest reports surfaced.

But Pentagon spokesman Bryan Whitman said the 9/11 Commission looked into the matter during its investigation into government missteps leading to the attacks and chose not to include it in the final report.

Hamilton said 9/11 Commission staff members learned of Able Danger during a meeting with military personnel in October 2003 in Afghanistan, but the staff members do not recall learning of a connection between Able Danger and any of the four terrorists Weldon mentioned.

http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/S/SEPT_11_HIJACKERS?SITE=VAWOO&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&SECTION=HOME">http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/S/SEPT_11_HIJACKERS?SITE=VAWOO&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&SECTION=HOME

[SillyGoose]

22. .

They couldn't have prevented this. They didn't have the flight numbers or seat assignments for the terrorists, remember? :sarcasm:

[Media_Lies_Daily]

23. The easiest way to achieve your objectives is by loosening....

...the surveillance on those you suspect of planning an attack, and/or assassination.

That will allow those people under loosened surveillence to carry out their plan, which will in turn allow you to take whatever steps necessary to achieve your objectives.

In this case, Atta and his group were allowed to carry out the events of 911, thus allowing the NeoCons to tighten their grip on the U. S., and carry out their pre-planned attacks on the Middle East.