CIA Declassifies 71 Pre-9/11 Reports on Al Qaeda, Its Largest 9/11 Analysis Release
Updated
Updated · CBS New York · Sep 11
CIA Declassifies 71 Pre-9/11 Reports on Al Qaeda, Its Largest 9/11 Analysis Release
3 articles · Updated · CBS New York · Sep 11
Summary
Seventy-one CIA intelligence reports were released Friday, including 70 from before the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks and one from the day after, offering a new look at what two presidents were told about al Qaeda and Osama bin Laden.
The trove includes President's Daily Brief assessments prepared for senior U.S. officials; some previously reported documents warned as early as 1998 that al Qaeda could use a hijacked or explosive-packed aircraft against a U.S. target.
John Ratcliffe called it the single largest release of CIA analysis related to 9/11, though two of the documents had already surfaced during the 9/11 Commission investigation.
The disclosure came as the U.S. marked the attacks' 25th anniversary with ceremonies in New York, at the Pentagon and in Shanksville, alongside renewed debate over accountability, preparedness and the enduring health toll.