Thursday, August 11, 2005
Clinton White House in 9/11 Breakdown
Rep. Curt Weldon, R-Penn., is vowing to find out who in the Clinton administration ordered a group of military intelligence officers not to tell the FBI about critical information on two 9/11 hijackers that was obtained two years before they destroyed the World Trade Center.
"What bothers me is two things," Weldon told WABC Radio's Mark Levin late Wednesday. "I'm told that that they couldn't share this information with the FBI? How far up the chain [of command] did it go? Did it go to the White House? And if so, who ordered it?"
Asked about reports that restrictions on intelligence sharing implemented by Clinton Deputy Attorney General Jamie Gorelick played a role in the disastrous intelligence breakdown, Weldon said: "I think that needs to be investigated."
"There was no reason not to share this information with the FBI," he complained, "except that the firewalls that existed back then were so severe that they wouldn't let these agencies talk to one another."
In a round of interviews Tuesday and Wednesday, Weldon detailed the information obtained by an elite Defense Intelligence group named Able Danger, which had identified lead 9/11 hijacker Mohammed Atta and his partner, Marwan al-Shehhi as al Qaida terrorists who were operating inside the U.S.
On Sept. 11, 2001, Atta hijacked American Airlines Flight 11 and flew it into World Trade Center Tower One, while al-Shehhi commandeered United Airlines flight 175 and destroyed Tower Two. The twin attacks killed over 2,700 Americans.
Rep. Weldon said that the Able Danger team urged that the FBI be briefed on their intelligence on Atta and al-Shehhi on three separate occasions - only to be turned down.
"I do know that one of the military intelligence officers I'm talking to had led me to believe that some of his documents have been destroyed," he revealed, adding he has yet to confirm the allegation.
The Pennsylvania Republican told Levin that three current members of the Able Danger team have already come forward to talk to him, and eleven more are willing to testify.
Rep. Curt Weldon, R-Penn., is vowing to find out who in the Clinton administration ordered a group of military intelligence officers not to tell the FBI about critical information on two 9/11 hijackers that was obtained two years before they destroyed the World Trade Center.
"What bothers me is two things," Weldon told WABC Radio's Mark Levin late Wednesday. "I'm told that that they couldn't share this information with the FBI? How far up the chain [of command] did it go? Did it go to the White House? And if so, who ordered it?"
Asked about reports that restrictions on intelligence sharing implemented by Clinton Deputy Attorney General Jamie Gorelick played a role in the disastrous intelligence breakdown, Weldon said: "I think that needs to be investigated."
"There was no reason not to share this information with the FBI," he complained, "except that the firewalls that existed back then were so severe that they wouldn't let these agencies talk to one another."
In a round of interviews Tuesday and Wednesday, Weldon detailed the information obtained by an elite Defense Intelligence group named Able Danger, which had identified lead 9/11 hijacker Mohammed Atta and his partner, Marwan al-Shehhi as al Qaida terrorists who were operating inside the U.S.
On Sept. 11, 2001, Atta hijacked American Airlines Flight 11 and flew it into World Trade Center Tower One, while al-Shehhi commandeered United Airlines flight 175 and destroyed Tower Two. The twin attacks killed over 2,700 Americans.
Rep. Weldon said that the Able Danger team urged that the FBI be briefed on their intelligence on Atta and al-Shehhi on three separate occasions - only to be turned down.
"I do know that one of the military intelligence officers I'm talking to had led me to believe that some of his documents have been destroyed," he revealed, adding he has yet to confirm the allegation.
The Pennsylvania Republican told Levin that three current members of the Able Danger team have already come forward to talk to him, and eleven more are willing to testify.
