New CIA files reveal Al-Qaeda warning sent to Bill Clinton years before 9/11 attack
The CIA has released 71 intelligence reports leading up to the 9/11 terrorist attacks, which reveal the situation with al Qaeda terrorists just months before the devastating plane hijacks.
Yesterday marked the 25th anniversary of the September 11 attacks in 2001, which changed the world forever.
Known as the darkest day in America's history, 2,977 people lost their lives the day four commercial aircrafts were hijacked by al-Qaeda terrorists.
Two jets targeted and hit the Twin Towers in New York, a third hit the Pentagon in Virginia, and a fourth crashed into a field in Pennsylvania after passengers tried to take back the craft.
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In the aftermath, it was determined that Osama bin Laden was at the helm of it all and had instructed his men to carry out the attacks.
Now, the CIA is sharing what it knew and when, and what was disclosed to Bill Clinton, who was the ruling president before George Bush's take over in January, 2001.
CIA Director John Ratcliffe called the drop 'the single largest release of CIA analysis related to 9/11 ever,' revealing in a statement, per CBS: "25 years ago, the 9/11 attacks struck a blow to our Nation, but they did not break us. 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 documents included in the reports allegedly include assessments prepared by analysts for the President's Daily Brief, 70 documents from before the attacks and one report dated the day after.
Two documents had previously been made public in light of 9/11, but the rest have never been seen before.
The docs, which were released yesterday on the 25th anniversary, show that both presidents Bill Clinton and George W. Bush were given information.
The data is dated from 1998 until 2001, with the first being drafted on February 13 98', which revealed that bin Laden had 'met [redacted] and agreed to procure unspecified chemical, biological, and nuclear substances from open markets'.
It also claimed he 'has legitimate companies, business relationships, and a financial empire that could assist his pursuit of' obtaining weaponry.
Allegedly, there were also reports on bin Laden's growing role in the drug trade in Afghanistan with Mullah Omar, the head of the Taliban.
Another report dated February 1998 said that bin Laden and others had called 'for all Muslims to attack US interests and civilians worldwide until the US "retreats" from Saudi Arabia and "Palestine."'
A September memo warned that they 'may fly an explosive-packed airplane into a US city', but noted there was no 'conclusive information on Bin Ladin's intentions for future attacks.'
Reports from the summer of 2001 revealed a postponed plan to attack the US, and on Friday, the 'Bin Ladin Determined To Strike in US' memo frim August 2001, which was declassified in 2004 , revealed that data 'indicates patterns of suspicious activity in this country consistent with preparations for hijackings or other types of attacks, including recent surveillance of federal buildings in New York.'
The investigation into the attacks led to the 9/11 Commission stating that '[m]ost of the intelligence community recognized in the summer of 2001 that the number and severity of threat reports were unprecedented.'
It added: "Many officials told us that they knew something terrible was planned, and they were desperate to stop it."
Finally, September 12, 2001, was the last document sent, and was the day after planes tore down the World Trade Center.
"Mounting evidence indicates Sunni extremists in Afghanistan and the Persian Gulf recently were aware Usama Bin Ladin-directed attacks were imminent," the report said. "[Redacted] the existence of a probable operation was widely known among extremists in Afghanistan and speculated Bin Ladin may have relocated to Kabul to avoid conflict over his activities with the Taliban leadership in Kandahar."
Britt Jones