Quarter-century following the tragedy, the CIA has lifted the veil of secrecy from dozens of intelligence briefs written between 1998 and 2001. These documents demonstrate that American intelligence monitored Osama bin Laden’s plots closely—even anticipating potential kamikaze aerial strikes—yet failed to dismantle the conspiracy.
The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) declassified 69 intelligence reports detailing warnings regarding Al-Qaeda’s intentions to target the United States prior to the September 11, 2001 attacks. The agency made these files public on Friday, precisely 25 years after the deadliest terrorist strike in U.S. history.
Spanning from February 1998 through September 2001, the released records confirm that CIA briefers repeatedly cautioned U.S. Presidents Bill Clinton and George W. Bush about the danger posed by Osama bin Laden and his network. Nevertheless, intelligence personnel could not pinpoint the exact scale or specific execution method of the impending operation.
The archives contain early warnings regarding Al-Qaeda’s intent to strike American soil in 1998 and preparations for prospective operations throughout 2001. Notably, a CIA analysis dated September 10, 1998, cautioned that Al-Qaeda “could crash an aircraft laden with explosives into a U.S. city.” By July 2001, another briefing recorded a delay in bin Laden’s anticipated operation while stressing that preparations for additional strikes remained active.
Nearly 3,000 Fatalities and over 6,000 Injured
In an unusual move, the CIA also made public a situation report delivered to the U.S. President at 4:00 AM on September 12, 2001. Standard agency protocols typically keep presidential intelligence briefings classified for roughly 40 years before release.
On the morning of September 11, 2001, 19 Al-Qaeda operatives hijacked four commercial airliners. Two planes struck the World Trade Center towers in New York City, precipitating their collapse. A third aircraft slammed into the Pentagon near Washington, D.C. The fourth airliner, United Airlines Flight 93, crashed in a Pennsylvania field after passengers and crew members fought back against the hijackers to regain control of the cockpit.
The attacks claimed 2,977 lives—excluding the 19 hijackers—and injured more than 6,000 people. Victims included airline passengers and crew, occupants of the World Trade Center and Pentagon, alongside hundreds of first responders.