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Counter-terrorism Operation Able Danger Identified Several of the 9/11 Terrorists a Year Before 9/11
In 2005 it was revealed that five witnesses described as credible by the Pentagon asserted that a pre-9/11 counter-terrorism operation named Able Danger had discovered several of the 9/11 terrorists a full year before the 9/11 attacks. Their story could not be corroborated by computer records related to the operation because, as Major Eric Kleinsmith testified, he was ordered to destroy the information. "Debunkers" apparently do not find this suspicious, having argued that since Able Danger used open source data mining, proof that the project identified lead hijacker Mohammed Atta and connected him to a terrorist cell should have showed up in the press prior to 9/11. However, the project did not rely on open sources alone, but rather used data mining techniques to associate open source information with classified information.
The following excerpt from the Fox News article "Third Source Backs 'Able Danger' Claims About Atta" makes it clear that Atta was not identified by open source material alone:
J.D. Smith, a defense contractor who claims he worked on the technical side of the unit, code-named "Able Danger"... said data was gathered from a variety of sources, including about 30 or 40 individuals. He said they all had strong Middle Eastern connections and were paid for their information. Smith said Able Danger's photo of Atta was obtained from overseas.
An August 22, 2005 article on freerepublic.com explains that one of the reasons why the 9/11 Commission dismissed Able Danger is their timeline for Atta's arrival in the US was incorrect, having him arrive at least several months too early. However, the article notes that The Able Danger team could have "identified the cell overseas before they traveled to the US" or that the 9/11 Commission "got their timeline wrong."
As to the first possibility, Atta he could very well have been identified before he even came to America, because as the New York Times reported on February 24, 2004, before arriving in the U.S., Atta's room mate Marwan al-Shehhi was under surveillance by German intelligence who passed along his first name and telephone number to the CIA. The excuse that the "United States... failed to pursue the lead aggressively" aside, this story lends credence to the idea that both Atta and al-Shehhi were known about before ever arriving in America.
Regarding the second possibility that the 9/11 Commission "got their timeline wrong," the freerepublic.com article notes that "it appears that all of the information that the Commission used to establish travel timelines for the Atta cell came from interrogations... of two co-conspirators with plenty of motivation to mislead American investigators." One of these co-conspirators, Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, stated that he "gave a lot of false information" and "made up stories" due to torture inflicted by his CIA interrogators. Later it was revealed that Mohammed confessed to attacking a bank established only after his arrest.
These co-conspirators lying seems a far better possibility than the noted least plausible alternative summarized on the freerepublic.com article, that the Able Danger members "all lied, and went out of their way to lie to the Commission not once but several times, despite the Pentagon themselves... noting the 'respected' service of the two officers."
In September 2009 Lieutenant colonel Anthony Shaffer wrote the following regarding his involvement in Able Danger:
As to the first possibility, Atta he could very well have been identified before he even came to America, because as the New York Times reported on February 24, 2004, before arriving in the U.S., Atta's room mate Marwan al-Shehhi was under surveillance by German intelligence who passed along his first name and telephone number to the CIA. The excuse that the "United States... failed to pursue the lead aggressively" aside, this story lends credence to the idea that both Atta and al-Shehhi were known about before ever arriving in America.
Regarding the second possibility that the 9/11 Commission "got their timeline wrong," the freerepublic.com article notes that "it appears that all of the information that the Commission used to establish travel timelines for the Atta cell came from interrogations... of two co-conspirators with plenty of motivation to mislead American investigators." One of these co-conspirators, Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, stated that he "gave a lot of false information" and "made up stories" due to torture inflicted by his CIA interrogators. Later it was revealed that Mohammed confessed to attacking a bank established only after his arrest.
These co-conspirators lying seems a far better possibility than the noted least plausible alternative summarized on the freerepublic.com article, that the Able Danger members "all lied, and went out of their way to lie to the Commission not once but several times, despite the Pentagon themselves... noting the 'respected' service of the two officers."
In September 2009 Lieutenant colonel Anthony Shaffer wrote the following regarding his involvement in Able Danger:
I endorse the NYC CAN campaign and support the need for a new, independent, investigation of the events and failures that lead up to the 9/11 attacks.
The original 9/11 Commission inquiry became an exercise in bureaucratic ass-covering and obfuscation of accountability.
I had no intention of joining the ranks of “whistle blowers”. In 2003, when I made my disclosure to the 9/11 commission regarding the existence of a pre 9/11 offensive counter-terrorism operation that had discovered several of the 9/11 terrorists a full year before the 9/11 attacks my intention was to simply tell the truth, and fulfill my oath of office.
Unfortunately, this was a minority view.
Instead of supporting the search for the truth, members of the Bush/Rumsfeld Department of Defense did everything within their power to destroy my 20 year career as a clandestine intelligence operative simply to try to discredit me and my disclosure.
In 2006 I testified before Congress on the pre-9/11 issues regarding the systemic failures I was personally aware of – in both open and closed sessions – and yet nothing was ever done to correct these problems.
The families and victims of the 9/11 attacks are owed a real accounting of why their government failed them. We all deserve answers.
The full accounting has never been made. This accounting is long overdue. I hope the NYC CAN effort will result in a real, detailed, independent investigation that will reveal the full truth – whatever that truth may be.
Tony Shaffer
