Able Danger--time to come clean!

I have often (justifiably) described Arlen Specter as an unabashed RINO. What I am reading with regard to his role in trying to get to the bottom of the Able Danger fiasco leaves me with no choice but to give him kudos:

WASHINGTON — Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Arlen Specter (search) said Wednesday he wants answers from the Defense Department about Able Danger, a secret military unit that is said to have identified four of the Sept. 11 hijackers more than a year before the terrorist attacks.

Pentagon officials blocked five key witnesses from testifying in the Able Danger (search) hearings on Capitol Hill Wednesday, citing security concerns.

"I think the Department of Defense owes the American people an explanation about what went on here," Specter said. "The American people are entitled to some answers."

The testimony was expected to offer information on the secret military unit and its identification of Mohamed Atta (search) — the lead hijacker during the Sept. 11 terror attacks.

Lt. Col. Anthony Shaffer (search) said in written testimony through his attorney that the Pentagon refused to allow him to testify before the committee. His attorney, Mark Zaid, also said that the Pentagon prevented testimony from a defense contractor that he also represents.

Bryan Whitman, a Pentagon spokesman, said that the Defense Department had a representative at the hearing and that it had provided sufficient information to committee members.

“I think there are aspects of this as a classified program that we have expressed some concerns with respect to the appropriateness of some things in an open hearing,” Whitman told reporters on Wednesday. “We are working very closely to provide all the information that [committee members] need to assess Able Danger.”

Zaid fielded questions from committee members on behalf of Shaffer and contractor John Smith. He testified that Able Danger, using data mining techniques, identified four of the terrorists who struck on Sept. 11, 2001.

Zaid said Shaffer would have testified about charts his team created dealing with Al Qaeda (search) and a grainy photo on file of Atta.

“Shaffer remembers it specifically because of the evil death look in Mohamad Atta’s eyes,” Zaid said.

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

Specter asked the official representing the Department of Defense at the hearing, William Dugan (search), the acting assistant to the secretary for intelligence oversight, if the department had any information about an Al Qaeda cell and Atta.

"I don't know," Dugan replied.

Specter asked Dugan to "find out the answers to those questions" relating to what the department knew about the workings of Able Danger.

Read the rest here. There is surprisingly little in the media regarding the proceedings of the day. Even The Captain is strangely silent. Considering how the personnel involved in blowing the whistle are being stifled in their attempts to testify, one would think there would be more of a hue and cry to uncover the truth, and that it would more than qualify as top-of-the fold news, even with Hurricane Rita bearing down:

But, in an 11th-hour decision that surprised and perplexed senators, the Defense Department kept five key witnesses from testifying at the hearing, citing concerns about classified information, Specter said.

There are many unanswered questions regarding the snafus that occurred and the resulting information that was whitewashed by the now discredited $15 million dollar 9-11 Commission, not to mention, according to Congressman Curt Weldon, the 2.5 terabytes of intelligence data regarding Al Qaeda that was destroyed without the knowledge of the commanding general to whom that data was to be given. This whole scenario reeks of major corruption and major CYA activity. However, it is my opinion that the genie has been let out of the bottle, and the cream (or in this case, scum) will rise to the top. Aside from the Soviet-style tactics being utilized in what appears to be an unabashed coverup, this information is just too damned important to keep under wraps, for the consequences of doing so mean the distinct possibility of history repeating itself. Big Brother CYA tactics have never had a place, nor will ever have a place in a government of the people, by the people and for the people.

Time to call your senators and representatives and chew them some new assholes until the truth regarding this matter is finally brought to the fore. When your best friends in such a grave matter are Arlen Specter and Joe Biden, something is terribly amiss.