The Central Intelligence Agency's 9/11 File

Top Secret CIA Documents on Osama bin Laden Declassified

More than 120 CIA documents related to 9/11, Osama bin Laden, and U.S. counterterrorism operations have been declassified and released to the National Security Archive (NSA). The NSA said the documents were released as a result of  "a series of FOIA requests by National Security Archive staff based on a painstaking review of references in the 9/11 Commission Report."

The documents include new details about al-Qaeda's plot against the U.S., as well as CIA attempts to counter the rising terrorist threat. Other information includes early attempts to apprehend bin Laden, the beginning of the U.S. Predator UAV program in Afghanistan and Pakistan, and al-Qaeda's ties to Pakistan before 9/11. Like the 9/11 Commission Report, the collection also details repeated CIA warnings of the bin Laden terrorist threat prior to 9/11.

The NSA outlines and catalogues several highlights of what it is calling the "CIA 9/11 Document Collection:"

■The 1998 Raw Intelligence Report on UBL's Plans to Hijack an Airplane that Became an Item in the December 4, 1998 President's Daily Brief

■Internal CIA E-mails on Osama bin Laden

■Two Definitive CIA Reports on the September 11, 2001 Attacks

■A Series of CIA Senior Executive Intelligence Briefs (SEIBS) from June-September 2001 Warning of "Imminent" Al-Qaeda Attacks

■Detailed Reports on Al-Qaeda Organization

■Bin Laden's Attempts to Acquire Weapons of Mass Destruction

■A Positive CIA Assessment of CIA Counterterrorism Capabilities in August 2001

The NSA posting, highlights, and full collection of the documents can be accessed here.