On Friday, marking the 25th anniversary of the September 11 attacks, several dozen presidential briefing documents were declassified. These documents provide insights into the intelligence that government officials had collected regarding Osama bin Laden and al-Qaida prior to the hijackings. The attacks resulted in the deaths of nearly 3,000 individuals and significantly altered American national security policies.
12, 2001, report in which a source indicated the attacks had been planned for two years and had also targeted the U.S.
Proclaiming “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 briefing 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 — entitled “Terrorists seeking WMD capability” and mentioning “bin Ladin and other Islamic extremists” to a Sept. Capitol.
