CIA releases briefs on bin Laden and al-Qaida before 9/11
The CIA on Friday released its largest-ever batch of declassified presidential intelligence briefs on the threat from Osama bin Laden and al-Qaida before 9/11.
Among the 71 documents is a September 1998 brief warning that Osama bin Laden’s preferred option was to strike the U.S. on its own soil in Washington, adding that al-Qaida may fly an explosive-packed airplane into a U.S. city.
The documents show both the Clinton and Bush administrations received repeated warnings, but experts say they do not fundamentally change what was known. The threat was clear, while the intelligence lacked the timing and specifics needed to identify the coming attack.
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