New Pre-9/11 Intel Questions

Congressman Says Info On 9/11 Ringleader Never Shared With FBI

(CBS/AP) 
The issue resurfaced Monday in a story by the bimonthly Government Security News, which covers national security matters.

Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld said he was unaware of the intelligence until the latest reports surfaced.

But Pentagon spokesman Bryan Whitman said the Sept. 11 commission looked into the matter during its investigation into government missteps leading to the attacks and chose not to include it in the final report.

Al Felzenberg, a spokesman for the commission, confirmed that the panel's investigators had been aware of Able Danger but said they “don't recall any mention of Mohammed Atta” or of cell.

The Sept. 11 commission's final report, issued last year, recounted numerous government mistakes that allowed the hijackers to succeed. Among them was a failure to share intelligence within and among agencies.

Despite the conflict over who knew about Atta and when, Andrews reports that most experts say that this kind of information would be shared today. Under the 9/11 intelligence reforms, Pentagon agents are now allowed to tip off the FBI to suspected terrorists.

The Justice Department inspector general said in a report released in June that the FBI missed at least five opportunities before the Sept. 11 attacks to piece together vital intelligence information about the terrorists. Inspector General Glenn Fine called it “a significant failure” that hindered the FBI's chances of preventing the attacks.