Officer Says 2 Others Are Source of His Atta Claims

[Rose Siding]

The former intelligence officer who says that a Defense Department program identified Mohamed Atta and three other hijackers before the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks said yesterday that many of his allegations are not based on his memory but on the recollections of others.

Lt. Col. Anthony Shaffer, who has been on paid administrative leave from the Defense Intelligence Agency since his security clearance was suspended in March 2004, said in a telephone interview that a Navy officer and a civilian official affiliated with the Able Danger program told him after the attacks that Atta and other hijackers had been included on a chart more than a year earlier.

But because he was not intimately familiar with the names and photographs of suspected terrorists, he did not realize that hijackers were listed until it was alleged to him after the attacks, Shaffer said. All of the charts that could support his claims have disappeared, he said.

"I did see the charts and I did handle the charts, but my understanding of them was like a layman," Shaffer said. "We had identified them as terrorists. . . . But even now I do not remember all the names."

The comments add to the uncertainty surrounding assertions by Shaffer and Rep. Curt Weldon (R-Pa.)....

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/08/18/AR2005081801751.html

[barbaraann]

1. Do I see parsing?

n/t

[Rose Siding]

2. He admits he can't remember all the names....

admits he doesn't even have the charts he remembers seeing, yet he *does* remember Atta? Incredulous.

[anotherdrew]

3. he says a civilian pointed atta out to him specifically

I wouldn't expect him to remember an entire 'chart' of names he saw at most a few times several years ago. Would you have that good a memory?

[kikiek]

5. He isn't saying Atta's name was pointed out to him at anytime if

you read the article. He never claims to have seen it. Just says someone else told him that he claimed to have seen Atta's name in spring of 2000. No one else recalls it, and no evidence to support it. Sounds like make believe to me. Lame attempts once again to blame the most popular president ever Clinton. He sure scares those righties.

[July]

9. And the charts have disappeared. Convenient. nt

[kikiek]

10. RIght. They're good at accusing, but not having proof. BIg diff btwn

the right and left is that the right uses the base to repeat their lies. They know they can count on the rw nuts to believe anything they say, and even when proven otherwise, keep repeating it. They are like their little programmed idiots.

[NNN0LHI]

11. It is not just the rightwing nuts who will believe anything ya tell them

Check out the Lou Dobbs peanut gallery who claim Dobbs is a "good Republican" in GD some time. Dobbs has been pushing this Able-Danger BS story as hard as he can lately. He reports on this crap like it is a proven fact. These supposedly progressive Dem's compliment that pumpkin headed rightwing nut every chance they get. Ooh, ain't Lou dreamy. I just shake my head.

Don

[The_Casual_Observer]

4. A cheap stunt to blame Clinton fails again.

I say the story is a bullshit distraction. weldon is a rabid rw nutcase.

[maxrandb]

7. Wrong

They got exactly what they wanted.

1. Make un-substantiated claims that, basically, Clinton hosted Atta at a White House Coffee Clutch.

2. Get all MSM media to tease and tantalize with the story.

3. Have Rush and Insanity harp on it unopposed for 6 hours a day, 5 days a week. Even suggesting that the reason these "phantom" charts can't be found is because they were in Sandy Berger's underwear and socks.

4. Bury it somewhere, when folks aren't looking, that the guy NEVER actually saw Atta on the chart, heard about it second hand, assumed that the "supposed" info was passed on to law enforcement, and now CAN'T FIND THE CHARTS!!

Trust me. The "right-wing" will be talking about this for years!!!

[underpants]

12. Ron Brown's death, Vince Foster, Ark. airport, etc.

yep that is exactly what they are doing. That is right out of the playbook.

The only problem they are running into (in the mainstream) is that Cindy is dwarfing this story and it is a slow news month so any who IS paying attention is paying attention to -Gas Prices/Iraq/Sheehan, in that order.

[maxrandb]

14. I Think Cindy Also Horribly Exposes Them

as the partisan, lying, manipulating, rumor mongering, water-carrying water-boys for the Republican Party that they are.

She has proven that they really will do anything, say anything, and sink as low as is necessary to protect the "boy-king" and his republican party enablers.

[Walt Starr]

6. So all he has is hearsay?

What he fuck is the big deal, then? The guy admits, he doesn't know shit!

[NNN0LHI]

8. Before it is all over they will have most the country thinking...

...Clinton ordered the invasion of Iraq too. And we will have people here who will believe it and repeat it every chance they get.

Don

[underpants]

13. Didn't some nutjob Repub blame Clinton for the WMD mix up?

I know that one did. Several months ago. From Oklahoma or Colorado or Utah if I remember correctly.