قبل 11 سبتمبر بـ 3 أعوام.. وثائق «CIA» تكشف نيات بن لادن

About three years before the September 11 attacks, American intelligence reports spoke of the possibility of using "a plane loaded with explosives" to strike an American city, as part of information that monitored the intentions of al-Qaeda and its leader Osama bin Laden to target the United States on its own soil.

The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), coinciding with the 25th anniversary of the attacks, revealed the declassification of 71 documents from the "President's Daily Brief," covering the period from February 13, 1998, to September 12, 2001, and revealing the evolution of American intelligence's monitoring of al-Qaeda's movements and plans.

A Plane Loaded with Explosives

Among the most notable documents is a memorandum dated September 10, 1998, titled "Bin Laden's Location and Intentions," prepared for senior officials in the administration of then-President Bill Clinton.

The memorandum indicated that bin Laden preferred to target the United States on its own soil, specifically Washington, and included information about the possibility of the group using a plane loaded with explosives to reach an American city.

The memorandum did not specify a date or location for a potential attack, but it also monitored movements within American diplomatic facilities, with intelligence analysts suspecting that some of them were linked to attempts to scout and assess those sites.

Plans in Arab Countries

The documents revealed monitoring of bin Laden's movements between areas in eastern and western Afghanistan, noting that his allies focused on locations that had been previously scouted and where their elements could move with relative freedom, as security measures at American facilities were less stringent.

One report also mentioned that bin Laden was planning to launch attacks in Uganda, Egypt, Yemen, and Lebanon, in addition to other countries.

Warnings Before the Attacks

The matter was not limited to the 1998 report, as the documents included repeated warnings of al-Qaeda's desire to attack the United States. In July 1998, a report submitted to Clinton indicated that the organization's ambitions to carry out an attack inside America seemed "plausible" in light of bin Laden's statements.

In August 1999, a document discussed the possibility of using multiple targets circulated in reports to mislead American intelligence, while a document dated July 24, 2001, referred to the postponement of "an expected imminent terrorist operation sponsored by bin Laden," while preparations for other attacks continued.

The last report published by the agency before the September 11 attacks, dated August 28, 2001, did not include any reference to a potential attack inside the United States or the use of planes, but instead focused on the possibilities of assassination, kidnapping, missile attacks, mortar attacks, and long-range weapons, in addition to primitive chemical or biological attacks.

The First Hours After September 11

The documents included a report prepared at 4 AM on September 12, 2001, for then-President George Bush, which contained the latest available information regarding the aftermath of the attacks and bin Laden's movements.

The report quoted a source in Afghanistan stating that bin Laden had left Kandahar before the attacks heading to Kabul in anticipation of a potential operation, while another source indicated that the attacks were "the result of two years of planning."

Following the September 11 attacks, the American national security and intelligence system underwent extensive reorganization, including the establishment of the Department of Homeland Security in 2002, followed by the Office of the Director of National Intelligence in 2004, to enhance coordination and information sharing.