Pentagon Dismisses 9/11 Army intelligence claims

WASHINGTON-Reuters reports that today the Pentagon's inspector general Thomas Gimble dismissed claims that a former Army intelligence unit known as Able Danger uncovered important information that could have thwarted the deadly September 11, 2001 attacks on the United States that claimed the lives of nearly 3,000 Americans. Gimble said the allegations could not be substantiated. Able Danger was a data-mining operation that used highly developed computer technology to manage information regarding 'international terrorism', particularly Al-Qaeda, from various media, government, and "other publicly available sources". According to public statements made earlier by former Army intelligence officer Lt. Col. Anthony Shaffer and four other members of Able Danger, Able Danger had identified Mohamed Atta--the man who later lead the 9/11/01 attacks against the U.S.--and three others, as possible members of Al-Qaeda well before the 9/11/01 attacks. Able Danger was disbanded in early 2001. Shaffer and Republican Congressman Curt Weldon of Pennsylvania have both previously made claims that defense department officials retaliated against Shaffer for publicly accusing Pentagon lawyers of preventing the Able Danger intelligence team from warning the FBI about the dangers of Al-Qaeda. Shaffer's access to classified information and his security clearance were subsequently revoked, essentially ending his career as a U.S. military intelligence officer. According to Reuters, Gimble publicly denied that the punitive actions taken against Shaffer were in response to his public accusations against the Pentagon, claiming the actions taken against him were "based on misconduct by LTC Shaffer that was substantiated during an official (Defense Intelligence Agency inspector general) investigation taken together with other security-related issues". Both Shaffer's lawyer and Congressman Weldon have heavily criticized the report. Link to the story below. -TW

Pentagon dismisses 9/11 intelligence claims (Reuters)