The Defense Department's inspector general has concluded that a top secret intelligence-gathering program did not identify Mohamed Atta or any other hijacker before the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, determining that there is no evidence to substantiate claims that Atta's name and photograph were on charts collected by military officials before the strikes.
In a 90-page report released yesterday, Pentagon officials said that the recollections of several officials involved in the "Able Danger" data-mining operation "were not accurate" and that a chart they said included a blurry image of Atta and his name never existed. The report concluded that there were no efforts to prevent contact between the Pentagon group and the FBI, a finding that challenges assertions by an officer involved in the program.
"We found no charts or other documentation created before 9/11 that contained a photograph or name of Mohamed Atta and was produced or possessed by the Able Danger team," acting Inspector General Thomas F. Gimble said in the report.
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