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Gold9472
10-03-2006, 11:16 AM
Inquiry Blasts 'Able Danger' Source

http://www.tbo.com/news/metro/MGB7IOX5SSE.html

By RICHARD LARDNER The Tampa Tribune
Published: Oct 2, 2006

TAMPA - A year ago, Tony Shaffer was a media sensation, a spy in from the cold with a riveting account of what a secret military unit called Able Danger had uncovered long before the Sept. 11 attacks.

Now, with the release of a report by the Pentagon inspector general's office, the Army lieutenant colonel is cast in a very different light.

After a lengthy review, Defense Department investigators undercut virtually every aspect of Shaffer's story, which began with his claim the unit had identified Sept. 11 ringleader Mohamed Atta and three other hijackers in early 2000.

In the Sept. 18 report, Shaffer comes across as a lying self promoter who relied on flawed information when he accused military officials of refusing to allow Able Danger players to share their findings with law enforcement officials.

The formerly accessible Shaffer is now letting his attorney in Washington, Mark Zaid, do the talking. Zaid says his client has become a fall guy for bureaucrats hoping to put a controversial episode behind them.

Shaffer, a veteran intelligence officer, always counted on Able Danger insiders for information about the program, Zaid said. But once interviewed by the inspector general's office, these insiders changed their stories because they feared retaliation, he added. Shaffer was left hanging.

"It's unfortunate," Zaid said. "I think there was a lot of self-imposed intimidation."

Not So Certain
Navy Capt. Scott Phillpott is a prime example, according to Zaid.

The goal of Able Danger, established at U.S. Special Operations Command in October 1999, was to track al-Qaeda operatives using data-mining techniques. Phillpott served as the unit's operations officer.

Shortly after Shaffer went public in mid-August of 2005, Phillpott, by then working at the Pentagon, issued a brief statement backing him.

"My story has remained consistent. Atta was identified by Able Danger in January/February 2000," Phillpott said.

That story would unspool when he was questioned by the inspector general's office.

During the first interview, Phillpott, whose name is redacted from the report, said he was "100 percent [certain]" there was a chart with Atta's photograph. During the second interview, he wavered, saying he was not sure he'd seen Atta.

By the third interview, he was convinced Atta was not on the chart.

Phillpott, now captain of the USS Leyte Gulf, a guided missile cruiser, had no comment.

Career Continues
Shaffer, a native of Kansas City, Mo., was stripped of his top-secret security clearance this year. The inspector general's office said that decision wasn't prompted by Shaffer's disclosures, but by "misconduct" not detailed in the report.

Despite the overwhelmingly negative tone of the report, Shaffer's career continues, Zaid noted.

There's plenty of irony, too.

Shaffer still works as a civilian employee of the Defense Intelligence Agency and is seeking to have his security clearance restored, according to Zaid.

As an Army reservist, he's assigned to the 9th Theater Support Command at Fort Belvoir, Va.

Shaffer is the command's inspector general.