The Pentagon has muddled through a three-week investigation into allegations that Operation Able Danger uncovered information in 2000 about the 9/11 hijackers that was not passed on to the FBI. (See DR, 8/18/05.) DOD officials on Thursday said that they have not found physical evidence of the chart alleged to contain a photo of Mohammed Atta, but they did uncover three people—not already identified in news media reports—who recalled a chart with either a photo or reference to the 9/11 hijacker. So far, so good. On to an official description of Able Danger. First, what it was not: a military unit or a targeting effort. What it was: a 15-month planning effort that had as one of its tasks uncovering linkages among and within al Qaeda. Glad we got that cleared up.
A half-dozen pilots from one of the Air Force’s premier F-16 units, the 20th Fighter Wing at Shaw Air Force Base, S.C., have been awarded one of the service’s highest decorations for their role in Operation Midnight Hammer, the June 2025 strikes against Iranian nuclear facilities.