September 27, 2005
Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld hasn't heard the last from Sen. Arlen Specter, R.-Pa., on the question of whether a highly classified intelligence program at the Pentagon identified several future hijackers more than a year before Sept. 11, 2001, yet did not inform the FBI of its findings.
Getting anything out of Rumsfeld's Pentagon that might prove embarrassing is like pulling teeth - Abu Ghraib is just one example - but Specter, chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, should do whatever is necessary in this case to force the secretary to open wide.
We agree with senators from both parties that, as Specter put it Wednesday, "the Department of Defense owes the American people an explanation as to what went on here."
The remark came after the Pentagon, citing concerns about revealing classified information in an open hearing, barred several witnesses from testifying before the committee.
The panel is investigating the secret program known as Able Danger to determine if it had identified Mohamed Atta, the lead hijacker on Sept. 11, 2001, and others as potential terrorists. The program sought to uncover people with links to al-Qaida through computer searches of unclassified data.
more...
http://www.thereporter.com/editorials/ci_3066279
Printer-friendly format
Email this thread to a friend
Bookmark this thread
(1000+ posts)
Send PM |
Profile |
Ignore
