Rep. Curt Weldon (R-Pa.) is promising fireworks at an upcoming Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on the Able Danger operation that, in 2000, purportedly fingered al Qaeda cells—including key 9/11 hijacker Mohammed Atta. Weldon told Congressional Quarterly that a DOD employee would testify that civilian supervisors ordered him to destroy a large cache of data pertaining to al Qaeda—or risk losing his job. And this just after the Pentagon shrugged its shoulders last week upon finishing a three-week investigation and reaffirming that Able Danger was merely a planning exercise. (DR, 09/06/05) Pentagon officials did say they had found three new folks who may recall seeing something on Atta.
The rate of building B-21 bombers would speed up if the fiscal 2026 defense budget passes. But it remains unclear how much capacity would be added, and whether the Air Force would simply build the bombers faster, or buy more.
