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<div>Nick et. al.</div>
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<div>I'm not sure what you mean exactly by writing "neither the CIA or FBI knew about the the 9/11 hijackers," but in fact there is credible evidence that Mohamed Atta, known as one of the main if not the main leader of the 9/11 hijackers, was known to US covert intelligence as having Al Qaeda connections, along with at least three other of the 9/11 plotters, at least as far back as 1999. The facts, if true, regarding this knowledge, well prior to 9/11, raises serious questions regarding how they were able to operate in the USA without the surveillance or monitoring that could have prevented the 9/11 attacks. While some think these claims are false, but there is also credible evidence of a cover-up, with attempts to discredit Lieutenant-Colonel Anthony Shaffer, one of the sources that claims Atta was identified by US intelligence before 9/11.... Ah, the world of spies! And political propaganda. I am reminded of the great cartoon series from Mad magazine called "Spy vs. Spy."
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<div><a href="http://frontpagemag.com/Articles/ReadArticle.asp?ID=19218">http://frontpagemag.com/Articles/ReadArticle.asp?ID=19218</a></div>
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<div>More on "Able Danger:"</div>
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<div><a href="http://www.globalresearch.ca/index.php?context=viewArticle&code=20050827&articleId=867">http://www.globalresearch.ca/index.php?context=viewArticle&code=20050827&articleId=867</a></div>
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<div>This Wikipedia link offers info on Able Danger and the US 9/11 Commision, and other investigations into these claims:</div>
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<div><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Able_Danger">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Able_Danger</a></div>
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<div>A few choice excerpts from the web link above:</div>
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<div>According to statements by <a title="Lt. Col. Anthony Shaffer" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lt._Col._Anthony_Shaffer">Lt. Col. Anthony Shaffer</a> and those of four others, Able Danger had identified the <a title="September 11, 2001 attack" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/September_11%2C_2001_attack">
September 11, 2001 attack</a> leader <a title="Mohamed Atta" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mohamed_Atta">Mohamed Atta</a>, and three of the 9/11 plot's other 19 hijackers, as possible members of an <a title="Al Qaeda" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Al_Qaeda">
al Qaeda</a> cell linked to the '93 <a title="World Trade Center bombing" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_Trade_Center_bombing">World Trade Center bombing</a>. This theory was heavily promoted by Representative
<a title="Curt Weldon" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Curt_Weldon">Curt Weldon</a>, vice chairman of the <a title="House Armed Services Committee" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/House_Armed_Services_Committee">House Armed Services
</a> and House <a title="Homeland Security" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Homeland_Security">Homeland Security</a> committees. In December 2006 after an investigation by the US Senate Intelligence Committee concluded that those assertions are unfounded, rejecting as untrue "one of the most disturbing claims about the Sept. 11 terrorist strikes."
<sup class="reference" id="_ref-1"><a title="" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Able_Danger#_note-1"><font color="#800080">[2]</font></a></sup> The Senate Select Committee on Intelligence reached this conclusion without, apparently, interviewing all witnesses under oath, without explaining why it chose to believe some witnesses and their testimony and not to believe others, without explaining why defense contractor JD Smith appeared to have changed his story from an August 23, 2005 Fox News report, and why it thinks Lt. Col. Anthony Shaffer would have lied and made the whole thing up. The 8 page letter from the Committee to its members, now publicly available and dated December 22, 2006, generally takes a "trust me" approach. The testimony of the individual witnesses is not available the the American public.
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<h2><span class="editsection">[<a title="Edit section: Comments by members of the Able Danger team" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Able_Danger&action=edit&section=5">edit</a>]</span> <span class="mw-headline">
Comments by members of the Able Danger team</span></h2>
<p><a id="Lt._Col._Anthony_Shaffer" name="Lt._Col._Anthony_Shaffer"></a></p>
<h3><span class="editsection">[<a title="Edit section: Lt. Col. Anthony Shaffer" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Able_Danger&action=edit&section=6">edit</a>]</span> <span class="mw-headline">Lt. Col. Anthony Shaffer
</span></h3>
<p>After Weldon's assertions were disputed by the media, <a title="Lt. Col. Anthony Shaffer" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lt._Col._Anthony_Shaffer">Lt. Col. Anthony Shaffer</a>, a member of the Able Danger team, identified himself as Weldon's source. Shaffer claimed that he alerted the FBI in September 2000 about the information uncovered by the secret military unit "Able Danger," but he alleges three meetings he set up with bureau officials were blocked by military lawyers. Shaffer, who at the time worked for the
<a title="Defense Intelligence Agency" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Defense_Intelligence_Agency">Defense Intelligence Agency</a>, claims he communicated to members of the <a title="9/11 Commission" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/9/11_Commission">
9/11 Commission</a> that Able Danger had identified two of the three cells responsible for 9/11 prior to the attacks, but the Commission did not include this information in their final report.<a class="external autonumber" title="http://www.wpherald.com/storyview.php?StoryID=20050908-112911-4218r" href="http://www.wpherald.com/storyview.php?StoryID=20050908-112911-4218r" rel="nofollow">
[4]</a></p>
<p>Shaffer's lawyer, <a title="Mark Zaid" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mark_Zaid">Mark Zaid</a>, has revealed that Shaffer had been placed on paid administrative leave for what he called "petty and frivolous" reasons and had his security clearance suspended in March, 2004, following a dispute over travel mileage expenses and personal use of a work cell phone.
<a class="external autonumber" title="http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,166084,00.html" href="http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,166084,00.html" rel="nofollow">[5]</a> Shaffer remains a controversial figure; he continues to wear the Ranger scroll as a combat patch on his Army uniform, despite never having been assigned or attached to any Ranger unit or otherwise earning that honor. Shaffer's claims of having participated in an air assault with the Rangers have been repeatedly rejected by those who served with him in Afghanistan.
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<p>-------</p>
<p>Ted Moffett</p>
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<div><span class="gmail_quote">On 2/9/07, <b class="gmail_sendername">Nick Gier</b> <<a href="mailto:ngier@uidaho.edu">ngier@uidaho.edu</a>> wrote:</span></div>
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<blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="PADDING-LEFT: 1ex; MARGIN: 0px 0px 0px 0.8ex; BORDER-LEFT: #ccc 1px solid">
<div>Greetings:<br><br>Incredibly enough, neither the CIA or FBI knew about the 9-11 hijackers, so they were not under surveilance. </div></blockquote></div>