WASHINGTON - A Pentagon employee was ordered to destroy documents that identified Mohamed Atta as a terrorist two years before the 2001 attacks, a congressman said Thursday.


The employee is prepared to testify next week before the Senate Judiciary Committee and was expected to identify the person who ordered him to destroy the large volume of documents, said Rep. Curt Weldon (news, bio, voting record), R-Pa.

Weldon declined to identify the employee, citing confidentiality matters. Weldon described the documents as "2.5 terabytes" — as much as one-fourth of all the printed materials in the Library of Congress, he added.

A Senate Judiciary Committee aide said the witnesses for Wednesday hearing had not been finalized and could not confirm Weldon's comments.

Army Maj. Paul Swiergosz, a Pentagon spokesman, said officials have been "fact-finding in earnest for quite some time."

"We've interviewed 80 people involved with Able Danger, combed through hundreds of thousands of documents and millions of e-mails and have still found no documentation of Mohamed Atta," Swiergosz said.

He added that certain data had to be destroyed in accordance with existing regulations regarding "intelligence data on U.S. persons."

Weldon has said that Atta, the mastermind of the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, and three other hijackers were identified in 1999 by a classified military intelligence unit known as "Able Danger," which determined they could be members of an al-Qaida cell.

On Wednesday, former members of the Sept. 11 commission dismissed the "Able Danger" assertions. One commissioner, ex-Sen. Slade Gorton, R-Wash., said, "Bluntly, it just didn't happen and that's the conclusion of all 10 of us."

Weldon responded angrily to Gorton's assertions.

"It's absolutely unbelievable that a commission would say this program just didn't exist," Weldon said Thursday.

Pentagon officials said this month they had found three more people who recall an intelligence chart identifying Atta as a terrorist prior to the Sept. 11 attacks.

Two military officers, Army Lt. Col. Anthony Shaffer and Navy Capt. Scott Phillpott, have come forward to support Weldon's claims.





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Jesus. Wonder how far this will go.

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Whence September dusk grows crisper still,
with leaves all crimson conquered,
I yearn to shout,
and dance about,
and stick pickles in my honker...

Why would they do that? I mean, it would only add fuel to the fire of all these conspiracy theorists about how 9/11 is another great cover-up.

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quote:

Originally posted by MisterOpus1 Jesus. Wonder how far this will go.

Monday, Aug. 29, 2005 1:22 a.m. EDT

Missing Able Danger 'Atta' Chart in 2002 Video

A copy of the Able Danger chart that identified lead 9/11 hijacker Mohamed Atta as a terrorist operating inside the U.S. a year before the 9/11 attacks is clearly visible in a video of a 2002 speech by delivered by Rep. Curt Weldon to the Heritage Foundation.

The Pentagon, the 9/11 Commission and the Senate Intelligence Committee are currently seeking evidence that the bombshell chart, featuring a photo Atta, ever existed - as claimed by three members of the Able Danger team, along with Rep. Weldon. But so far, no physical evidence of the controversial document has surfaced.


Until now.

A third of the way through his May 23, 2002 address on data fusion techniques, the video shows Rep. Weldon unfurling a copy of the now missing document and displaying it to the Heritage audience.

"This is the unclassified chart that was done by the Special Forces Command briefing center one year before 9/11," he explains. "It is the complete architecture of al Qaeda and pan-Islamic extremism. It gives all the linkages. It gives all the capabilities. . . ."

Though Weldon never mentions Able Danger or Atta by name - and the video never zooms in on the chart to the point where Atta's photo is identifiable - it's clear from Weldon comments that the chart is the same one currently being sought.

Since the Able Danger story broke three weeks ago, the Pennsylvania Republican has repeatedly insisted that he gave a copy of the chart shortly after the 9/11 attacks to then-Deputy National Security Advisor Stephen Hadley.

In the 2002 speech, Weldon told the same story in greater detail, standing beside a copy of what he said he gave Hadley.

"I went to the White House. I don't mean to embarrass this guy cause he's a good friend of mine. But I took a mini version of this chart in Nov. [2001] and I turned it over to him - Steve Hadley, who works directly for [then-National Security Advisor] Condi Rice."

Weldon said Hadley was stunned after viewing the Al Qaeda-Atta document.

"This is unbelievable - where'd you get this?" he wanted to know.

After being told that the chart was prepared by military intelligence a year before the 9/11 attacks, Hadley said, according to Weldon, "I've got to show this to the man" - apparently referring to President Bush.

In the same speech, Rep. Weldon also revealed that then-Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Gen. Hugh Shelton received a briefing on the Able Danger chart in the closing weeks of the Clinton administration.

To view Rep. Weldon's entire 2002 speech to the Heritage Foundation, go to:
http://www.heritage.org/Press/Events/2002archive.cfm
He displays the al Qaeda-Atta chart approximately 34 minutes into the presentation.


http://www.newsmax.com/archives/ic/.../29/12430.shtml

quote:

"There's something very sinister going on here that really troubles me," Weldon told FOX News on Thursday, blasting the Sept. 11 commission for not taking the claims more seriously. He said some panel members were trying to smear Shaffer and Able Danger. "What's the Sept. 11 commission got to hide?" Weldon asked. "The commission is trying to spin this because they're embarrassed about what's coming out. In two weeks with two staffers, I've uncovered more in this regard than they did with 80 staffers and $15 million of taxpayer money." http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,167130,00.html

Interesting post, Trancer.

I kinda wonder if the tin foil hat could be worn by either party. Some Rightside tin foilers might claim some Clintonites might have covered this up a little bit, considering it was from 2 yrs. prior to 9/11. Like I said, it'll be interesting to see how far this goes...

___________________
Whence September dusk grows crisper still,
with leaves all crimson conquered,
I yearn to shout,
and dance about,
and stick pickles in my honker...

2.5 Terabytes of documents on one person?

I call bullshit on that figure, especially if the person is actually trying to say there were an equivalent number of documents to 1/4 of the contents of the library of congress.

I will not refute someone was ordered to destroy documents. But the number is sensationalized.


MrS

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quote:

Originally posted by Streakfury Why would they do that? I mean, it would only add fuel to the fire of all these conspiracy theorists about how 9/11 is another great cover-up.

I'm not really interested in conspiracy theories but if you've familiar with any of the arguments presented against the official version of events it so fucking obvious the official story is a complete whitewash. Plus, the reasons/motivation that the authorities gave for the attacks we're also a load of crock. "They hate us/our freedom/are depraved opponents of civilization itself."

EDIT: I've been up all night and quit smoking recently and am trying to get linux to work, so no hostility intended.

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Then they came for the socialists, and I did not speak out— because I was not a socialist;
Then they came for the trade unionists, and I did not speak out— because I was not a trade unionist;
Then they came for the Jews, and I did not speak out— because I was not a Jew;
Then they came for me— and there was no one left to speak out for me." -Martin Niemöller

Last edited by shaolin_Z on Sep-16-2005 at 19:43

Does anyone know if author (and former NBC News producer) Daniel Hopsicker has ever been sued over his book? It seems like it contains a load of information regarding Atta, but I'm curious if anyone has ever come after him in regards to any sort of libel case.

http://www.madcowprod.com/08172005.html

http://www.911citizenswatch.org/mod...article&sid=639

http://pierrejoubert.blogspot.com/2...terrorland.html

http://www.democraticunderground.co...ess=104x1433886

quote:

Originally posted by MrSquirrel 2.5 Terabytes of documents on one person? I call bullshit on that figure, especially if the person is actually trying to say there were an equivalent number of documents to 1/4 of the contents of the library of congress. I will not refute someone was ordered to destroy documents. But the number is sensationalized. MrS

Maybe they had a load of digital images in RAW format, along with video footage in there?

2.5TB does seem like an unusually large file, but you also have to keep in mind that, according to James Banford's 1982 book, The Puzzle Palace: A Report on America's Most Secret Agency, the NSA has over 12 acres worth of underground computers at Fort Meade - which are constantly crunching and storing data (on just about every one of us.) He also reported that in 1978 the NSA controlled 68,000 people to listen in on the world's communications, analyze satellite eavesdropping systems, and develop and break codes. Numerous listening posts are spread around the globe, and 40 tons of classified documents are sent to the shredder each day. (and that was back in 1978!)

quote:

Originally posted by Trancer-X Maybe they had a load of digital images in RAW format, along with video footage in there? 2.5TB does seem like an unusually large file, but you also have to keep in mind that, according to James Banford's 1982 book, The Puzzle Palace: A Report on America's Most Secret Agency, the NSA has over 12 acres worth of underground computers at Fort Meade - which are constantly crunching and storing data (on just about every one of us.) He also reported that in 1978 the NSA controlled 68,000 people to listen in on the world's communications, analyze satellite eavesdropping systems, and develop and break codes. Numerous listening posts are spread around the globe, and 40 tons of classified documents are sent to the shredder each day. (and that was back in 1978!)

Video can take up 2.5 TB very easily, in uncompressed high-res format. Heck, uncompressed HDTV can take about 200 GB for like 30 minutes, or even more.

quote:

Originally posted by shaolin_Z I'm not really interested in conspiracy theories but if you've familiar with any of the arguments presented against the official version of events it so fucking obvious the official story is a complete whitewash. Plus, the reasons/motivation that the authorities gave for the attacks we're also a load of crock. "They hate us/our freedom/are depraved opponents of civilization itself." EDIT: I've been up all night and quit smoking recently and am trying to get linux to work, so no hostility intended.

None taken.

I don't believe all the conspiracy theories either, but then there is always going to be information that's withheld from the public with events like that, so there will always be people who scream blue murder. Meh, let them get on with it, I say.

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