The Pentagon finally plans to rebut the fury over the now-disbanded covert Pentagon intelligence operation called Able Danger, by releasing a report next week denying claims that an Army unit had previous knowledge about Mohamed Atta, the mastermind behind the 9/11 attacks. According to Reuters news service, the report will come from Pentagon inspector general Thomas Gimble. Rep. Curt Weldon (R-Pa.) last year chastised both the Pentagon and the 9/11 Commission for failing to heed claims of some Able Danger participants. The IG has been investigating the matter for a year.
President Joe Biden will nominate former Air Force acquisitions chief William LaPlante to serve as the Defense Department undersecretary for acquisition, one of the remaining vacancies at the Pentagon. LaPlante, who served in the Obama administration as assistant secretary of the Air Force for acquisition, technology, and logistics from 2014…