ABLE DANGER - FACTS REPORTED BY CURT WELDON
Part 9
TRANSCRIPT: WELDON DISCUSSES RECENT DEVELOPMENTS WITH ABLE DANGER ON
LOU DOBBS TONIGHT (CNN)
WASHINGTON, Nov 9 - Today, Congressman Curt Weldon (R-Pa.), vice chairman of the House Armed Services and Homeland Security Committees, appeared on Lou Dobbs Tonight (CNN) regarding his recent work on Able Danger - a Department of Defense planning effort to identify and target the linkages and relationships of Al-Qaeda worldwide. Below is a transcript of that interview.
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DOBBS: New charges tonight. Charges of a massive cover-up by
members of our defense intelligence community. Congressman Curt
Weldon today called for a criminal investigation into what he
says, is the most important story of our lifetime.
Weldon says the army's intelligence unit known as Able Danger,
identified the ringleaders of the 9/11 attacks more than a year
before September 11, but those warnings were ignored by the
Pentagon.
Weldon says the defense intelligence agency is now trying to
smear the reputation of Able Danger member Lieutenant Colonel
Anthony Shaffer, for speaking out about the scandal.
In addition to identifying the ringleaders of the 9/11 attacks,
Congressman Weldon says Able Danger warned defense officials
about terrorist activity in the Port of Aden in Yemen, two weeks
before that bombing of the U.S. the bombs of the U.S.S. Cole in
2000.
He also blasted the 9/11 Commission, calling them a
disappointment and a failure for not including that information
about Able Danger in its final report.
I talked with 9/11 commission member and former senator Slade
Gorton three weeks ago. And I ask him why Able Danger was
omitted from the commission's report.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SLADE GORTON, FORMER 9/11 COMMISSIONER: Well, Able Danger worked
out very interesting. It didn't identify Mohammed Atta a year
beforehand. Unfortunately, no one identified Mohammed Atta
beforehand. Able Danger was simply irrelevant to our report and
still is.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
DOBBS: Congressman Weldon now joining me from Washington, in an
exclusive interview.
Congressman, it is good to see you. Simply irrelevant how Slade
Gorton describes Able Danger, what's your reaction?
REP. CURT WELDON (R), ARMED SERVICES COMMITTEE: Unbelievable.
Slade Gorton has never talked to any principle involved with
Able Danger. And how he can go off and profess to know something
about something that he's never talked to anyone about, is
beyond me.
Slade Gorton is into what the 9/11 commission is doing, Lou.
It's called c, y, a. Cover their butts, pretend it didn't
happen.
How can you say something is historically insignificant that
Louis Freeh just two weeks ago on national TV said Able Danger
information was the kind of intelligence that could have
prevented the hijackings.
That's Louis Freeh saying that two weeks ago. Able Danger was
briefed to the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff in January
of 2001. How could you call that historically insignificant?
Lou, this is a cover-up. It's not a third-rate political
burglary. It's a cover-up of information on the largest attack
in the history of the country.
DOBBS: Congressman, you are calling for a criminal
investigation. Obviously, you're not going to receive a great
deal of cooperation from the leadership, the Republican
leadership in the House or the Senate.
You're a Republican, what kind of reaction are you getting as
you go one on one with your fellow Congressman?
WELDON:
Lou, the members of Congress want the facts to come out,
both parties. I did a briefing this afternoon for members of
Congress, we had dozens of their members and their staff show
up.
And just within two hours Lou, today, I got 100 signatures.
One
hundred signatures from Republicans and Democrats across the
country. Liberals and conservatives to Secretary Rumsfeld
demanding that we allow these Able Danger military officers to
testify in an open hearing.
The American people need to know the facts. They need to know
the truth. Three thousand people were killed, 17 sailors were
killed in the U.S.S Cole. The 9/11 commission did not do its
job. It's time to get the facts out to the American people.
DOBBS: Let me quote Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld,
Congressman. When asked about Able Danger, Donald Rumsfeld said,
quote, it's such an interesting story. Of course, it's something
that occurred well before this administration came in. Back in
the '90s, as I understand it, and it's an interesting story.
What's your response?
WELDON:
Well, Donald Rumsfeld would not have been given the
detailed information about Able Danger because it ended at the
end of 2000, before he came into office.
However, Lou, we have to understand. There were people within
the Pentagon who stayed in place from the 1999/2000 period into
2001. In fact, they're still there today. They have a vested
interest in not having the story be told because some of them
are going to be embarrassed because the American people will see
we failed them in 1999 and 2000.
We failed them in 2001. We had information we should have acted
upon. It was denied from being transferred to the FBI and as
Louis Freeh said just two weeks ago, could have allowed us to
stop the hijackings from having ever occurred.
DOBBS: Louis Freeh, the former FBI director. At this point,
Congressman, where does the investigation go from here? The
people that are most critical to establishing what the unit,
Able Danger knew, and was capable of disseminating, relevant to
9/11, have been gagged by the Pentagon and cannot speak. What do
you do now?
WELDON:
Well, we have a DOD, inspector general investigation
that actually commenced today. I met for an hour and a half with
four of their top leaders. They were requested by three separate
members of Congress, one senator and two House members.
They have commenced an internal investigation of the Defense
Intelligence Agency. In addition to that, I talked to the head
of the General Accounting Office and I have asked him to look at
a criminal investigation of what happened, and a deliberate
attempt to cover-up information.
The person who debriefed Scott Philpott, Lou, was a guy named
Dieter Snell. Dieter Snell worked for Jamie
Gorelick. We have to
know whether or not there was a deliberate attempt by Dieter
Snell not to have the 9/11 commission members know the full
details of what Able Danger was doing. I can't answer that
question. An investigation needs to take place.
DOBBS: And Scott Philpott, of course, one of those who has been
gagged by the Pentagon in this case. Congressman Curt Weldon, we
thank you very much.
WELDON: My pleasure, Lou.
DOBBS: When we continue here, we'll have the very latest for you
on the terrorist attacks in Jordan.
And then, why the results of Election Day 2005 have left
President Bush and the Republican party with a difficult
challenge.
Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
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