CIA releases never-before-seen warnings to Bush, Clinton about al Qaeda

The Central Intelligence Agency on Friday released a previously unseen tranche of daily intelligence briefings that had been delivered to two former presidents before the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks. The package includes 71 declassified documents, marking the first time these specific materials have been made public. According to the agency’s release, the briefings informed Presidents George W. Bush and Bill Clinton about al Qaeda’s plans to carry out terrorist attacks on U.S. soil. The documents are described as daily intelligence updates produced in the months and weeks before the attacks on Sept. 11, 2001. The CIA announced the release and provided the documents to the public as part of what the agency characterized as an effort to increase transparency. The release was associated with statements from agency leadership about the decision to declassify and publish the briefings. Analysts and historians are likely to examine the newly available materials to better understand what intelligence was presented to senior U.S. officials in the lead-up to 9/11. Because these are the first publicly released pre-9/11 presidential briefings of this type, they could add detail to the record about the information flow between the intelligence community and the presidency before the attacks.