Attackers 'linked to al-Qaeda' a year before 9/11
August 9, 2005 - 7:42PM http://www.smh.com.au/news/world/attackers-linked-to-alqaeda-a-year-before-9 11/2005/08/09/1123353312893.html A year before the September 11 attacks, Mohammed Atta and three other bombers had been identified as likely members of a cell of the al-Qaeda network operating in the US by a military intelligence team that recommended sharing the information with the FBI, The New York Times said today. The recommendation from the intelligence unit, known as Able Danger, was rejected in part because the four suspects had valid entry visas, a former defence intelligence official and a Republican lawmaker Curt Weldon told the paper. Under US law, US citizens and residents may not be singled out in intelligence-collection operations, Weldon and the intelligence official said. But while the measure did not include visa holders, Atta and his three colleagues were extended that protection because of pre 9/11 discomfort at sharing intelligence information with a law enforcement agency. The account, which Weldon said he based on assertions by three former intelligence officers with knowledge of Able Danger, is the first time Atta was identified by any US agency as a potential threat before the September 11 attacks, the daily said.The former intelligence defence officer, who asked not to be identified, told the daily that Able Danger was formed in 1999 to assemble information about al-Qaeda networks around the world. "Ultimately, Able Danger was going to give decision-makers options for taking out al-Qaeda targets," the former official said. Meanwhile, by a record 57-34 per cent margin, most Americans believe the Iraq war has made their country more vulnerable to terrorist attacks, according to a poll published on Tuesday. And by a 56-41 per cent margin, Americans believe some or all US troops should be withdrawn from Iraq - a record 33 per cent said all troops should be pulled out, according to the USA Today/CNN/Gallup poll. By a 54-44 per cent margin, the 1004 adults polled by telephone August 5-7 said the Iraq War was a mistake and by a 56-43 per cent margin, they felt the war was going badly. The survey, which had a margin of error of plus or minus three percentage points, found that President George Bush's approval rating was 45 per cent - one point higher than his lowest score - and his disapproval rating 51 per cent. AFP [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] ------------------------ Yahoo! Groups Sponsor --------------------~--> <font face=arial size=-1><a href="http://us.ard.yahoo.com/SIG=12h79map1/M=362329.6886306.7839369.3040540/D=groups/S=1705323667:TM/Y=YAHOO/EXP=1123604826/A=2894321/R=0/SIG=11dvsfulr/*http://youthnoise.com/page.php?page_id=1992 ">Fair play? Video games influencing politics. Click and talk back!</a>.</font> --------------------------------------------------------------------~-> -------------------------- Want to discuss this topic? Head on over to our discussion list, [EMAIL PROTECTED] -------------------------- Brooks Isoldi, editor [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://www.intellnet.org Post message: osint@yahoogroups.com Subscribe: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Unsubscribe: [EMAIL PROTECTED] *** FAIR USE NOTICE. This message contains copyrighted material whose use has not been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. OSINT, as a part of The Intelligence Network, is making it available without profit to OSINT YahooGroups members who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information in their efforts to advance the understanding of intelligence and law enforcement organizations, their activities, methods, techniques, human rights, civil liberties, social justice and other intelligence related issues, for non-profit research and educational purposes only. We believe that this constitutes a 'fair use' of the copyrighted material as provided for in section 107 of the U.S. Copyright Law. If you wish to use this copyrighted material for purposes of your own that go beyond 'fair use,' you must obtain permission from the copyright owner. For more information go to: http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtml Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/osint/ <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
