CIA releases declassified documents relating to 9/11 terror attack

The CIA on 12 June released five previously classified documents relating to the 9/11 terror attacks. The documents, which were announced in a press statement sent to reporters on Friday, are "related to the Agency's performance in the lead-up to the attacks."

The five documents, ranging from 10 pages to 480 pages long, include a "redacted version of the 2005 CIA Office of Inspector General (OIG) Report on Central Intelligence Agency Accountability Regarding Findings and conclusions of the Report of the Joint Inquiry into Intelligence Community Activities Before and After the Terrorist Attacks of September 11, 2001."

According to the CIA, the executive summary of the report was released in 2007, with the full report being released in response to Freedom of Information Act requests. In its statement, the agency said: "In response to FOIA requests for the full 2005 OIG report, CIA and other agencies conducted an extensive review of the nearly 500-page document in order to release information that no longer needed to be protected in the interest of national security."

The agency also released redacted versions of four other documents relating to the OIG report, which provide insight into the CIA's performance prior to 9/11. Two of the documents are internal statements by former CIA Director George Tenent in February and June of 2005. The two other documents, which had been released before, "contain fewer redactions in light of the recent declassification of information on CIA's counter terrorism operations."

The CIA concluded its release, saying, "The events of 9/11 will be forever seared into the memories of all Americans who bore witness to the single greatest tragedy to befall our homeland in recent history. The documents released today reflect differing views formed roughly a decade ago within CIA about the Agency's performance prior to 9/11."

IBTimes UK is reviewing the documents in detail. The documents can be read in full on the CIA's online reading room.