Able Danger

Article summary

Able Danger was a classified military planning effort led by the U.S. Special Operations Command (SOCOM) and the Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA). It was created as a result of a directive from the Joint Chiefs of Staff in early October 1999 by Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Hugh Shelton, to develop an information operations campaign plan against transnational terrorism. According to statements by Lt. Col. Anthony Shaffer and those of four others, Able Danger had identified two of three al-Qaeda cells active in the September 11 attacks; the 'Brooklyn cell' linked to "Blind Sheik" Omar Abdel-Rahman, including 9/11 leader Mohamed Atta, and three of the plot's other 19 hijackers. In December 2006, a sixteen-month investigation by the US Senate Intelligence Committee concluded "Able Danger did not identify Mohamed Atta or any other 9/11 hijacker at any time prior to September 11, 2001", and dismissed other assertions that have fueled 9/11 conspiracy theories. The Senate Judiciary Committee first attempted to investigate the matter for the Senate in September, 2005. The Pentagon "ordered five key witnesses not to testify", according to Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Arlen Specter. "That looks to me as if it may be obstruction of the committee's activities", Specter, R-Pennsylvania, said at the start of his committee's hearing into the unit.…

Key claims

1. release date: 2006 — source: Wikipedia · confidence 0.95
2. release date: 2006 — source: Wikipedia · confidence 0.95
3. release date: 2006-02-15 — source: Wikipedia · confidence 0.95
4. release date: 2008 — source: Wikipedia · confidence 0.95
5. release date: 2010 — source: Wikipedia · confidence 0.95

Discussion questions

1. Summarise the article in your own words. Which single claim would you verify first, and why?
2. The record states that the release date is "2006". What evidence would count against this claim?
3. The record states that the release date is "2006". What evidence would count against this claim?
4. The record states that the release date is "2006-02-15". What evidence would count against this claim?
5. The record states that the release date is "2008". What evidence would count against this claim?
6. The record states that the release date is "2010". What evidence would count against this claim?
7. Which claim in this article is most likely to be revised as the sources update? How would you check its current status?
8. If two sources disagreed about one of these facts, what would you need in order to trust one over the other?

Bibliography

1. Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?oldid=1360640903