Do you think that the NSA really didn't know about the Al Qaeda operatives inside the United States in 2000 and 2001?

2015-07-22T17:21:58-04:00

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The NSA knew about Mihdhar’s connection to bin Laden and had earlier linked his name with the operations center. Had they known he was now reaching out to bin Laden’s switchboard from a U.S. number, on the day an al Qaeda-linked assassination plot was planned, the agency could have legally obtained an order to tap the San Diego phone line. The Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court, in fact, approves eavesdropping on suspected terrorists and spies in the United States. By monitoring Mihdhar’s domestic calls, the agency certainly would have discovered links to the 9/11 hijackers living on the East Coast, including Mohamed Atta.
It’s likely, in other words, that 9/11 would have been stopped in its tracks...
When [Thomas Drake, a member of the NSA’s Senior Executive Service] heard Hayden’s denial that the NSA had the technical capability to determine that Mihdhar was calling from San Diego, he completely disagreed. “Not true. That’s an absolute lie,” he said. “Every number that comes into that switchboard, if you’re cast-iron coverage on that switchboard, you know exactly what that number is and where it comes from.… You know exactly—otherwise it can’t get there.”
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If this article is technically accurate, then what excuse could the NSA have for not sounding an alarm and alerting the FBI about the al Quaeda connection in San Diego more than a year before the attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon.

What do you think should be done if this turns out to be true? Who should be held responsible for the neglect? Who should be held responsible for the cover-up?

http://foreignpolicy.com/2015/07/21/missed-calls-nsa-terrorism-osama-bin-laden-mihdhar/

Missed Calls

Is the NSA lying about its failure to prevent 9/11?

Response by SPC Jeffrey Bly made Jul 22 at 2015 5:57 PM

2015-07-22T17:57:52-04:00

Would of, could of, should of. It's to late for any of that now. The thing we have to do now is to make sure it can't happen again.

Response by TSgt David L. made Jul 22 at 2015 5:59 PM

2015-07-22T17:59:40-04:00

I'm sure they knew something but may not have had the pieces to put it all together. A day late and a dollar short?!

Response by PO1 William "Chip" Nagel made Jul 23 at 2015 6:00 AM

2015-07-23T06:00:29-04:00

Yes, Having worked for that Lovely Organization for 21 years. Anything is possible. I had to sign something every year to the effect "Thou Shalt Not Spy On Thy Fellow Americans" You can't point your skills and antennas inward and when in doubt you had to assume it was a fellow american. If it was hot an interesting you could pass it off to Justice but cut it loose as soon as feasible. We are part of the DOD and not to be used against our Fellow Americans.

Response by SGM Private RallyPoint Member made Aug 8 at 2015 3:49 AM

2015-08-08T03:49:04-04:00

The key phrase in the article you cite is "Had they known he was now reaching out to bin Laden’s switchboard from a U.S. number, on the day an al Qaeda-linked assassination plot was planned, the agency could have legally obtained an order to tap the San Diego phone line." That's a big "IF."

First, you can trust very little of what Thomas Drake says. Second, What GEN Hayden meant was he didn't have the legal authority to use all the technical means he had available to him at the time to ensure he could follow Mindhar on U.S. soil. That's a large part of what the USA PATRIOT Act was about. Drake simply wasn't capable of placing the situation along with the legal restrictions in place at the time.

I can assure you no one at NSA knew about this and failed to follow up on it. Our analysts were (and are) very smart, talented people who spend their lives often tracking one target or group, and they know them inside out. They would never let something like this slip through their fingers if it were that simple. I know - You can check my resume if you like.