CIA release documents years of warnings before 9/11 attacks
Seventy-one presidential briefs record warnings about al-Qaeda, planned attacks in the United States, aircraft hijacking and unconventional weapons, but do not establish precise prior knowledge of the attacks.
The CIA has released 71 presidential daily briefs covering February 1998 to 12 September 2001, documenting warnings given to US leaders about Osama bin Laden and al-Qaeda before the 11 September attacks.
The 101 pages describe bin Laden’s movements, financing and networks, as well as planned attacks inside the United States, aircraft hijacking and attempts to obtain chemical, biological and radiological materials. Many passages remain redacted to protect sources.
The documents include warnings that bin Laden intended to strike the United States, references to possible attacks involving aircraft and reports that members of his network had received hijacking training. They also record the Taliban’s refusal to surrender bin Laden, describing him as a guest in Afghanistan.
The release provides a documentary record of warnings that accumulated across several years. It does not, however, identify the timing, location, method or targets of the attacks, which killed nearly 3,000 people.
The CIA’s release adds the underlying briefing documents to findings already outlined by the 9/11 Commission: intelligence agencies had tracked bin Laden’s intentions but failed to assemble the information into a clear picture in time. The best-known brief, “Bin Ladin Determined To Strike in US”, was declassified in 2004.
