CIA releases 9/11 intelligence briefs on al Qaeda warnings

The CIA has declassified 71 intelligence reports that show U.S. officials were tracking Osama bin Laden’s intent to strike American targets years before the Sept. 11 attacks, including a 1998 warning that extremists “may fly an explosive-packed airplane into a US city.”

The documents, released Friday as ceremonies marked 25 years since the attacks, include President’s Daily Brief assessments prepared for Presidents Bill Clinton and George W. Bush and senior administration officials. The CIA said 69 of the documents had never been publicly released. Many remain heavily redacted.

CIA Director John Ratcliffe called the disclosure “the single largest release of CIA analysis related to 9/11 ever.”

“Twenty-five years ago, the 9/11 attacks struck a blow to our Nation, but they did not break us,” Ratcliffe said in a statement. “Generations of CIA officers have since dedicated their careers to securing justice for our fallen Americans and ensuring al-Qa’ida would never again harm our country.”

The collection includes 70 documents from before the attacks and one from Sept. 12, 2001, the day after hijacked planes were crashed into the World Trade Center, the Pentagon and a field in Pennsylvania. Two of the documents had previously been made public during the 9/11 Commission investigation, CBS News reported.

The earliest report, dated Feb. 13, 1998, said bin Laden and other Islamic extremists had “agreed to procure unspecified chemical, biological, and nuclear substances from open markets.” It said bin Laden “has legitimate companies, business relationships, and a financial empire” that could help him pursue such weapons.

Another February 1998 report said bin Laden and others had issued a fatwa “calling for all Muslims to attack US interests and civilians worldwide” until the United States “retreats” from Saudi Arabia and “Palestine.”

A Sept. 10, 1998, briefing said bin Laden’s preferred target was inside the United States, with Washington identified as a prime target. The memo warned that extremists “may fly an explosive-packed airplane into a US city,” while adding that the available intelligence “provides no conclusive information on Bin Ladin’s intentions for future attacks.” The BBC reported that while the 9/11 Commission’s 2004 report noted U.S. intelligence believed al Qaeda was considering using an airplane in an attack, it was not clear the warning reached Clinton.

Other briefs described the Taliban’s protection of bin Laden in Afghanistan. An October 1999 report said bin Laden had invested in 57 narcotics laboratories linked to Taliban leader Mullah Omar and recruited experts “to develop more addictive drugs — possibly ecstasy or methamphetamine.” The 9/11 Commission later found “no reliable evidence that Bin Ladin was involved in or made his money through drug trafficking.”

Reports from the summer of 2001 showed rising concern about a possible plot. A July 24 memo said intelligence indicated “an expected imminent Bin Ladin-sponsored terrorist operation has been postponed,” but that preparations for other near-term attacks “may still be in train.”

The release also includes the previously declassified August 2001 brief titled “Bin Ladin Determined To Strike in US.” It said FBI information showed “patterns of suspicious activity in this country consistent with preparations for hijackings or other types of attacks.”

The sole post-attack report, sent to the White House early on Sept. 12, said “mounting evidence” indicated Sunni extremists in Afghanistan and the Persian Gulf knew bin Laden-directed attacks were imminent. It said the probable operation was “widely known” among extremists in Afghanistan and that bin Laden and Mullah Omar had clashed over bin Laden’s plans.

“Bin Ladin told Mullah Omar he had operations in progress that would cause great damage to the US,” the report said.