Specter Seeks Info On Intelligence Unit

Specter seeks info on intelligence unit
'Able Danger' reportedly spotted Sept. 11 terrorist

http://www.centredaily.com/mld/centredaily/12479505.htm

By Kimberly Hefling
8/26/2005

WASHINGTON -- The chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee asked the FBI to hand over all information about a secret military intelligence unit that purportedly identified Sept. 11, 2001, mastermind Mohamed Atta as a terrorist a year before the terrorism attacks.

Two military officers, Lt. Col. Anthony Shaffer and Capt. Scott Philpott, contend that a unit code-named "Able Danger" used data mining -- searching data for patterns -- to identify Atta in 2000. Shaffer has said three other Sept. 11 hijackers were also identified.

In a letter to FBI director Robert Mueller, Sen. Arlen Specter, R-Pa., asked the agency for "all information and documents it has" on Able Danger, Shaffer, Philpott and any other people linked to the operation. The letter, dated Wednesday and distributed Thursday to reporters, also seeks a meeting between Specter's staff and FBI agent Xanthig Mangum.

A handwritten note at the bottom says, "Bob, I'd like to move head on this ASAP."

Ed Cogswell, an FBI spokesman, said Thursday the FBI is reviewing the matter.

Shaffer claims to have contacted Mangum about setting up a meeting with the FBI to discuss Able Danger findings but was told by military attorneys he could not go because of concerns about the legality of gathering and sharing information on people in the United States, Specter wrote.

Pentagon spokesman Bryan Whitman said Thursday the stories told by Shaffer and Philpott match. But no evidence has been found supporting their claims that any Sept. 11 hijackers were identified by Able Danger, Whitman said.

Shaffer and Philpott have said they made comments to the Sept. 11 commission about Able Danger and its findings, but were not taken seriously. If proven correct, the intelligence would change the timeline for when government officials first learned of Atta's links to al-Qaida.

Their claims were first made public by Rep. Curt Weldon, R-Pa., vice chairman of the House Armed Services and Homeland Security committees.

Former commission chairman Thomas Kean and Vice Chairman Lee Hamilton issued a statement Aug. 12 saying the commission did not obtain enough information on the operation to consider it historically significant.

Senate demands info on Able Danger data-mining program

http://www.politechbot.com/2005/08/2...-demands-info/

Aug 25, 2005

Honorable Robert Mueller

Director

Federal Bureau of Investigation
935 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW
Washington, D. C. 20535-0001

Dear Director Mueller,

It has been reported in the news media and directly to my staff that Army Lt. Colonel Anthony Shaffer was the operations officer for a secret military program referred to as Able Danger. The mission of Able Danger was to use a sophisticated data mining program in conjunction with more traditional military intelligence methods to identify and track al Qaida terrorists oversees.

In connection with this mission, Shaffer reports that he and his associates discovered the names and U.S. locations of three of the four 9-11 pilots a year prior to 9-11. Because the suspected al Qaida terrorists were located in the U.S., Shaffer reports that he made repeated requests of Defense Intelligence Agency (“DIA”) officials to schedule a meeting with FBI officials in order to present this intelligence to the FBI for further investigation. Shaffer further contacted FBI agent Xanthig Mangum and asked her to schedule such a meeting within FBI. Shaffer states that he made this request both verbally and by email to Agent Mangum. Shaffer claims that the DIA decided not to share this information with the FBI on the advice of legal counsel and that certain meetings that had been scheduled on this issue were cancelled as a result.

This is an official request that your office provide to the Judiciary Committee all information and documents it has in connection with Able Danger, Lt. Colonel Anthony Shaffer, Captain Scott Phillipot or any other persons having any connections with Project Able Danger, including, but not limited to, email communication, notes, phone message slips, memos or any other supporting documentation.

I would appreciate it if you would provide Agent Mangum for an interview with my staff at your earliest convenience. Also, please provide information concerning any and all requests made to the FBI by any other entity, agency, branch or commission in connection with Agent Mangum, Lt Colonel Shaffer, Project Able Danger or any related matters, including, but not limited to, requests for interviews or documents.

Thank you for your attention to this important question about cross agency information sharing.

Sincerely,

Arlen Specter

The funniest thing about the whole Able Danger affair... the reasoning given by the lawyers to not to pass the information along to the FBI was because Mohammad Atta had a valid visa. That is not the case. He simply didn't have one.

Therefore, the reasoning for not passing the information along to the FBI is based on a lie. So... why then did they block the information?

"Protected Heroine Trafficking" fits neatly into place, doesn't it?