The 9/11 Commission fights back.
WASHINGTON (AP) -- The leaders of the 9/11 commission late Friday disputed a congressman's criticism that the panel did not adequately investigate a claim that four hijackers were identified as al-Qaida members more than a year before the attacks.In a joint statement, former commission chairman Thomas Kean and vice chairman Lee Hamilton said a military official who made the claim had no documentation to back it up. And they said only 9/11 ringleader Mohamed Atta was identified to them and not three additional hijackers as claimed by Rep. Curt Weldon, vice chairman of the House Armed Services and Homeland Security committees.
''He could not describe what information had led to this supposed Atta identification,'' the statement said of the military official. [SNIP]
Kean, a former Republican New Jersey governor, and Hamilton, a former Democratic congressman from Indiana, said records had been sought from the U.S. Special Operations Command and none mentioned Atta or any other Sept. 11 hijackers. They were requested after staff members from the commission were told about Able Danger during a meeting in Afghanistan.Weldon said Friday that Atta's name was specifically mentioned during the Afghanistan meeting, but Kean and Hamilton denied that Friday in the statement.
Did the AD guy simply make a claim that there was a Qaeda cell in New York without having any specifics? That sounds like a weak report.
If Atta was never mentioned in the Able Danger report, then how could the commission members know to ask what information lead to Atta’s identification?
The 9/11 Commission staff members met with AD in Afghanistan? Was it only the staff members?
The commission's response only leads to more questions. I don't know whether the answers will come out without this military official having to be named in public.
UPDATE: Captain Ed reminds up of how drastically the story has shifted:
After the Commission spokesman denied that Able Danger ever came to their attention, Hamilton himself said, "The Sept. 11 commission did not learn of any U.S. government knowledge prior to 9/11 of surveillance of Mohammed Atta or of his cell. Had we learned of it obviously it would've been a major focus of our investigation."See Jim Geraghty also.
UPDATE:He-said, they-said: the military official re-asserted to FoxNews that he had personally briefed one of the Commission members (not the staff) regarding Mohammed Atta.
