CIA drops dozens of declassified documents on bin Laden and al-Qaeda

What the report says

The CIA has released dozens of declassified presidential briefing documents that shed light on what US officials knew about Osama bin Laden and al-Qaeda before the September 11, 2001 attacks, according to Al Jazeera and The Associated Press. The files were made public on the 25th anniversary of 9/11 and, the agency said, represent its largest single release of declassified presidential daily briefs.

The documents span from early 1998 to just after the attacks and outline intelligence concerns about bin Laden’s movements, his support network, financing, and possible threats to US targets. One briefing prepared for President Bill Clinton in February 1998 referred to extremists seeking weapons of mass destruction, while later material described the Taliban’s reluctance to restrict bin Laden in Afghanistan.

A source cited in one 1998 briefing said bin Laden’s preferred target was inside the United States, in Washington, and warned that al-Qaeda might try to use an explosive-laden airplane against a US city. Other briefings mentioned possible hijacking tactics, trial runs at a New York airport, and efforts to develop radioactive material for so-called dirty bombs.

Al Jazeera reported that many pages were heavily redacted to protect sources and that the release did not appear to reveal major new details about the attack plot itself. Still, the documents offer a clearer view of the warning signs US intelligence was tracking before the attacks that killed nearly 3,000 people and reshaped US security policy.