Anthony Shaffer (born 1962) is a U.S. Army Lieutenant Colonel who gained fame for his claims about mishandled intelligence before the September 11 attacks and for the censoring of his book, Operation Dark Heart.
Shaffer enlisted in the Ohio Army National Guard in 1980 and graduated from Officer Candidate School in 1982. He received his B.A. in political science and environmental studies from Wright State University in 1986 and was a member of the WSU national championship Mock Trial team that defeated Northwestern University in front of the Iowa Supreme Court that same year.
Contents |
Shaffer has alleged that the U.S. Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) failed to properly evaluate intelligence on 9/11 hijacker Mohamed Atta. Shaffer's allegations subsequently became known as the Able Danger controversy. In October 2003, according to his later statement to Congress, Shaffer told the 9/11 Commission staff director, Dr. Philip D. Zelikow, that in 2000 a DIA data-mining program known as Able Danger had uncovered two of the three terrorist cells eventually implicated in the September 11 attacks. Shaffer reportedly told Zelikow that DIA leadership declined to share this information with the FBI because military lawyers expressed concerns about the legality of doing so. Shaffer also asserted that he briefed Director of Central Intelligence George Tenet on three separate occasions regarding his unit's activities. The 9/11 Commission Report did not mention Shaffer's allegations, but in 2005 and 2006 the Chairman of the House Select Intelligence Committee, Rep. Curt Weldon, publicized Shaffer's allegations in public statements and hearings.[1]
Shaffer published his memoirs as the book Operation Dark Heart. The Defense Department attempted to preserve secrecy of revelations made by the book, by buying up and destroying all 10,000 copies of the book's first, uncensored run, before allowing for the release of a second, censored printing. However, several uncensored pre-release copies were distributed, allowing a person in possession of an earlier copy to compare it to the redacted version to glean what the government considers unfit for public consumption.[2][3]
Shaffer has conducted multiple courses of instruction in his capacity as a Senior Fellow at the Center for Advanced Defense Studies, including the Psychology of Terrorism, Leadership and Effects-Based Operations. He is a frequent guest on national electronic media (TV and radio) and is frequently quoted in print media as an analyst on defense issues. He is also a nationally known Subject Matter Expert (SME) on intelligence collection and policy, terrorism, data mining, situational awareness and adaptive/disruptive technologies.
Shaffer currently serves as the Reserve G6 Assistant Chief of Staff, Communications and Technology of a U.S. Army Reserve division. He is also a senior advisor to multiple organizations on terrorism and counterinsurgency issues and a member of the U.S. Nuclear Strategy Forum.
Shaffer is a Senior Fellow with EMPact America, and blogs on their web site: http://www.empactamerica.org/matterantimatter/