Pentagon May Have Known of Hijackers’ Link to Al Qaeda

The Sept. 11 commission will investigate a claim that U.S. defense intelligence officials identified ringleader Mohamed Atta and three other hijackers as a likely part of an Al Qaeda cell more than a year before the hijackings but didn’t forward the information to law enforcement.

Rep. Curt Weldon (R-Pa.), vice chairman of the House Armed Services and Homeland Security committees, said Tuesday that the men were identified in 1999 by a military intelligence unit known as Able Danger. If true, it’s an earlier link to Al Qaeda than any previously disclosed intelligence about Atta.

Sept. 11 commission Vice Chairman Lee H. Hamilton said Tuesday that Weldon’s information, which the congressman said came from multiple intelligence sources, warranted a review. He said he hoped the panel could issue a statement on its findings by the end of the week.

“The 9/11 commission did not learn of any U.S. government knowledge prior to 9/11 of surveillance of Mohamed Atta or of his cell,” Hamilton said. “Had we learned of it, obviously it would’ve been a major focus of our investigation.”

The Sept. 11 panel’s final report, issued last year, recounted government mistakes that allowed the hijackers to succeed.