CIA Declassifies Dozens of Never-Before-Seen Intelligence Reports Related to 9/11
Updated on: September 11, 2026 / 7:52 PM EDT / CBS News
TL;DR
- The CIA released 71 intelligence reports related to the period before the 9/11 terrorist attacks.
- The documents were part of the President's Daily Brief (PDB) for Presidents Bill Clinton and George W. Bush.
- Reports indicate al-Qaeda and Osama bin Laden were determined to strike the U.S. and were seeking chemical, biological, and nuclear substances.
- Intelligence suggested bin Laden had significant investments in Afghanistan's drug trade and was developing more addictive drugs.
- Specific warnings included a memo from September 1998 that extremists might fly an explosive-packed airplane into a U.S. city, with bin Laden preferring to strike on U.S. soil.
- A declassified August 2001 memo, titled 'Bin Ladin Determined To Strike in US,' noted suspicious activity in the U.S. consistent with preparations for hijackings or other attacks.
- The 9/11 Commission report found that the intelligence community recognized the unprecedented number and severity of threat reports in the summer of 2001.
- A report from September 12, 2001, indicated that Sunni extremists were aware of imminent bin Laden-directed attacks and that targets might have included the Capitol and the White House.