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

A briefer wrote to then-President Clinton that bin Laden’s ‘preferred option is to strike the US on its own soil in Washington’, and that al-Qaeda ‘may fly an explosive-packed airplane into a US city’.Several dozen presidential briefing documents declassified on the 25th anniversary of the September 11, 2001, attacks detail intelligence government officials had gathered about Osama bin Laden and al-Qaeda leading up to the hijackings that killed nearly 3,000 people and upended the United States’ national security.The documents illustrate security analysts’ tracking of bin Laden’s movements and support system, as well as concerns about possible threats to US targets. They also detail officials’ understanding of his network in the US and other countries, including how his operations were financed.Recommended Stories list of 4 itemslist 1 of 4How 9/11 helped Israel sell its war on Palestinians to Americalist 2 of 4Four former US presidents mark 25th anniversary of 9/11 in New York Citylist 3 of 4Trump pays tribute to the victims of 9/11 at Pentagon ceremonylist 4 of 4How US leaders remembered the 25th anniversary of the 9/11 attacksend of listProclaiming it “an act of exceptional transparency”, CIA Director John Ratcliffe said the documents were the agency’s single largest release of declassified presidential daily briefs — the highly classified briefings prepared by the nation’s intelligence community for the government’s most senior leaders.The documents range from a February 1998 file, prepared for then-President Bill Clinton, titled “Terrorists Seeking WMD Capability” and mentioning bin Laden and other Islamic extremists, to a September 12, 2001, report in which a source indicated the attacks had been planned for two years and had also targeted the US Capitol.An April 1998 document described the Taliban’s unwillingness to hand over bin Laden, at the time seen as their “guest” in Afghanistan, noting their “gratitude for his assistance during the Soviet occupation” was making them “reluctant to alienate him by monitoring or controlling his activities”.