CIA Releases 69 Pre-9/11 Briefs Warning on Bin Laden and Al Qaeda
Updated
Updated · The New York Times · Sep 11
CIA Releases 69 Pre-9/11 Briefs Warning on Bin Laden and Al Qaeda
3 articles · Updated · The New York Times · Sep 11
Summary
Sixty-nine newly disclosed presidential intelligence briefs show what the CIA told Bill Clinton and George W. Bush about Osama bin Laden and Al Qaeda before the Sept. 11 attacks.
One Sept. 10, 1998 report warned Al Qaeda “may fly an explosive-packed airplane into a U.S. city,” underscoring that the agency had flagged the group repeatedly even if it missed the attack’s scale.
The release — the CIA’s largest focused on 9/11 — includes material sent in the months and years before the attacks and one intelligence report delivered early on Sept. 12, 2001.
Agency officials said the documents remain redacted to protect sources; such presidential briefs are usually withheld for about 40 years because of security and diplomatic sensitivities.
The trove largely reinforces the 2004 9/11 Commission’s conclusion that U.S. intelligence issued consistent warnings about Al Qaeda but failed to grasp the full scope of the plot.