Make sure you read this post.
Rick Moran, at Right Wing Nuthouse covers even more "witnesses" coming forward on Able Danger.
"Here’s a comment left on the site Intel Dump in response to skepticism regarding Able Danger problems in passing their information on Atta to the FBI. The commenter is posting as “Anon” but his bona fides are granted by the author of the post, Jon Holdaway:"
"OK smart guys – with your “smell tests” and “Thats just flat out wrong” opinions shown above – I hope you don’t mind, but let me clear up a few things – I was there and I lived through the ABLE DANGER nightmare.
First – yes – The lawyers involved in this (and similar projects) did interpret the 9-11 terrorists as “US persons” – so while you can second guess them all you want – but that was their “legal” call as wrong as it was and is. Unfortunately, the chain of command at SOCOM went along with them (and this, I expect, will be a topic that will become more clear in the near future).
And lawyers of the era also felt that any intelligence officer viewing open internet information for the purpose of intelligence collection automatically required that any “open source” information obtained be treated as if it was “intelligence information”...does this sound like idiocy to you? It did to me – and we fought it – and I was in meetings at the OSD level, with OSD laywers, that debated this – and I even briefed the DCI George Tenet on this issue relating to an internet project.
And yes, Virgina – we tried to tell the lawyers that since the data identified Atta and the others as linked to Al Qaeda, we should be able to collect on them based on SecState Albright’s declaration of Al Qaeda as transnational terrorist threat to the US…well the lawyers did not agree…go figure…so we could not collect on them – and for political reasons – could not pass them to the FBI…I know because I brokered three meetings between the FBI and SOCOM to allow SOCOM to pass the information to the FBI. And, sadly, SOCOM cancelled them every time…
Oh – and DATA MINING is not overt or clandestine – it just “is” – it is something that is done with either open source or classified information. ABLE DANGER used an array of both open and close databases…"
Ok, first let's clear up this "Dissemination Disinformation":
Army Intelligence Field Manual -2:
This is from my post here.
Here's what I posted:
"Note in that in as much the supposed Able Danger unit (reportedly Army types) were evidently investigating civilian threats, the "rule" everyone is citing reference to "walls" about reporting such activity, and the "chop-blocks" by the justice don't follow as the rules for dissmination of intel are already covered in Army Intelligence regulations, and have been for a long time:
Quote:
"US Code, Executive Orders, DOD Directives, and Army Regulations contain specific guidance regarding prohibition on the collection of intelligence information on US citizens, US corporations, and resident aliens. These laws and regulations include criminal penalties for their violation. Any PIO (Police Intelligence Operation) directed against US citizens should undergo competent legal review prior to their initiation." FM 2, US Army, May 2004.
Again - it was already SOP for operations of this type.
Now why is this important? Specifically if these members were essentially Army PI, or even vanilla MP's (Military Police, or MPI), then by Army regulations their "intelligence" gathering would have fallen under federal rules of law enforcement investigative gathering/evidence presentation that all law enforcement must follow. Therefore, even though the "wall of separation" did exist, it wouldn't have necessarily have applied or even had been a factor in this case.
Which leads me to this: "What if the data minining ooeration wasn't a "intelligence" operation per-se, but a "police operation" using a "special team" of AI/MPs in a "law enforcment" capacity"? If so, this would put an interesting twist on things."
IF by "ordinary data mining" this group just "happened" to "snag" some information about certain members of Al-Qaeda, the dissmination because the subjects were in some cases "aliens" or in the country with work permits, ect, then the same rules would apply.
I'm buying into AJ theory over at Strata-Sphere that this was most likely a "beta" minining operation - not using "super-secret" high level ops, but ordinary Army Intel specs, who accidently "discovered gold".
I also believe that Schoomaker was running a "after school" program under Shelton's nose (with Weldon's "plussed up funding", which explains why General Shelton (retired now) says, "Able What?", and why Schoomaker has no comment.
It would also explain this question that Rick posts from TKS:
"Perhaps just as alarming, even the Able Danger team understood its limits. When lawyers blocked Able Danger’s request to approach the FBI, the team simply went back to its work and kept quiet – even after the 9/11 attacks occurred.
Why? If the Able Danger team was so concerned about U.S. security, why didn’t it approach Congress or even the press to sound an alarm?
When I posed that question in my interview with the Able Danger team member, he fell silent. Listening on a speaker phone, a congressional staffer interrupted: “Have you ever seen what happens to whistleblowers?”
Again, the Able Danger member had no answer."
Of course he didn't.
Whistle blowers? Could it be that once these guys/gals got more than they bargined for that because General Schoomaker was running a "rogue" operation, he "shut 'em down" and quick? It would seem some are beginning to "break cover".....heh..
That at this point is a very plausible explaination why Able Danger fell off the map and the paper trail with them.
Weldon has still got a LOT of explaining to do, and I'm afraid that the story is still fresh....
Yet I still want to hear from more some of the real members of this team - enough with the clandestine crap! Speak out!
Subscribe by Email
Follow Updates Articles from This Blog via Email
No Comments