India was among several countries that Osama bin Laden was considering as a potential target years before the September 11 attacks, newly released US intelligence documents have revealed.
A presidential
intelligence brief from August 28, 1998, listed India alongside Pakistan, Egypt, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Yemen and Uganda among countries where the then al-Qaeda chief wanted to carry out attacks. Nigeria was identified as another possible target.
The document, however, does not point to any specific target in India or provide details of when or how such an attack could have been carried out.
The brief is among more than 70 presidential intelligence documents released by the US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) on Friday, marking 25 years since the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. Together, the documents run into more than 100 pages and offer a glimpse into US intelligence assessments of the threat posed by bin Laden in the years leading up to 9/11.
What The 1998 CIA Brief Said About India
Titled ‘Bin Ladin Terrorist Network Still a Threat’, the August 1998 brief assessed the state of bin Laden’s network following US missile strikes on al-Qaeda camps in Afghanistan.
While the source behind the intelligence is redacted, the document indicated that bin Laden’s ambitions extended well beyond attacks against the United States.
According to the brief, India was among a string of countries being considered for attacks. The document also pointed to the geographical reach that bin Laden’s network had already established.
“Bin Ladin’s well-established infrastructure in North America, Europe, and East Asia lends credibility to reports that he also will target US interests in these regions,” it said.
Al-Qaeda Network Survived US Strikes
The intelligence assessment came after the United States launched missile strikes against al-Qaeda camps in Afghanistan in August 1998.
Despite the strikes, US intelligence assessed that bin Laden and other terrorist leaders operating from Afghanistan had survived and that “their communications network remains intact”.
The group had also resumed training at some camps, while others were being relocated, according to the document.
Hours before the US strikes, the brief said, bin Laden had been looking to mount further attacks against the United States as well as the United Kingdom.
The CIA assessment also warned of the scale of the network potentially available to him, saying bin Laden may “call on a network of individuals and allied groups in at least 60 countries to conduct attacks.”
US Intelligence Had Warned Of Bin Laden Threat Before 9/11
The India reference forms part of a much wider collection showing how frequently the threat from bin Laden surfaced in intelligence presented to the White House before the September 11 attacks.
The newly released presidential intelligence briefs span the administrations of Bill Clinton and George W Bush, covering the period from 1998 to 2001.
They show that US intelligence repeatedly warned about the possibility of terrorist attacks during the years preceding 9/11, when al-Qaeda ultimately carried out the deadliest terrorist attack on US soil.
Announcing the release, the CIA said the documents provide “unprecedented transparency on America’s most sensitive intelligence publication from the years before and the day after one of the darkest moments in our history.”
What Happened On September 11, 2001
On September 11, 2001, 19 al-Qaeda operatives hijacked four passenger aircraft in the United States.
Two were flown into the Twin Towers of New York’s World Trade Centre, causing both buildings to collapse. Another aircraft struck the Pentagon outside Washington.
The fourth plane crashed in Pennsylvania after passengers fought back against the hijackers. It was believed to have been headed towards either the White House or the US Capitol.
The attacks killed nearly 3,000 people and triggered the US-led “war on terror”, including the invasion of Afghanistan later that year.
