Congressman: U.S. Intel Knew 9/11 Plotters - News

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Fri, 12 Aug 2005 21:39:26 -0400

Congressman: U.S. Intel Knew 9/11 Plotters - News

 

 

 

Congressman: U.S. Intel Knew 9/11 Plotters - News

Address:http://news./s/ap/20050810/ap_on_go_co/sept_11_hijackers_11

 

Congressman: U.S. Intel Knew 9/11 Plotters

 

By KIMBERLY HEFLING, Associated Press WriterWed Aug 10, 2:26 PM ET

 

Members of the commission that uncovered the government's failures to

share intelligence among agencies before the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks

want to know whether U.S. defense intelligence officials knew for more

than a year that four of the hijackers were part of an al-Qaida cell

but failed to tell law enforcement.

 

Lee Hamilton, co-chairman of the now-disbanded commission, said

Tuesday that members of the Sept. 11 commission could issue a

statement by the end of the week after reviewing claims that defense

intelligence officials had identified ringleader Mohammed Atta and

three other hijackers.

 

" 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 commission's report on the terrorist attacks, released last year,

traced government mistakes that allowed the hijackers to succeed.

Among the problems the commission cited was a lack of coordination

across intelligence agencies.

 

Rep. Curt Weldon (news, bio, voting record), a Pennsylvania Republican

who serves as vice chairman of the House Armed Services and Homeland

Security committees, said a classified military intelligence unit

known as " Able Danger " identified the men in 1999.

 

That's an earlier link to al-Qaida than any previously disclosed

intelligence about Atta if the information, which Weldon said came

from multiple intelligence sources, is true.

 

A group of 9/11 widows called the September 11th Advocates issued a

statement Wednesday saying they were " horrified " to learn that further

possible evidence exists, and they are disappointed the 9/11

Commission report is " incomplete and illusory. "

 

" The revelation of this information demands answers that are

forthcoming, clear and concise, " the statement said. " The 9/11 attacks

could have and should have been prevented. "

 

With the 9/11 commission disbanded for a year under provisions of the

legislation that created it, some of the panel's members have said

congressional committees should investigate Weldon's assertions.

 

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

terrorist 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 attacks on New York City and

Washington that killed nearly 3,000 people.

 

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 and did not have permanent resident status.

 

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 that the staff members do not recall learning of a

connection between Able Danger and any of the four terrorists Weldon

mentioned.

 

___

 

Associated Press Writer John J. Lumpkin contributed to this report.