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The CIA Just Released Declassified Documents Related to the 9/11 Attacks

The CIA released declassified versions of five internal documents “related to the Agency’s performance in the lead-up to the attacks.”
Photo via Wikimedia Commons

The CIA has released declassified versions of five internal documents dealing with the 9/11 terror attacks, according to a press release sent to reporters on Friday afternoon. The documents are described as being "related to the Agency's performance in the lead-up to the attacks."

The release comes just before the weekend, a time when many organizations tend to "dump" news in an attempt to minimize coverage. VICE News is currently reviewing the documents in detail. The CIA describes them as including "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."

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The executive summary of the OIG report was released in 2007, and the CIA says it released the full report in response to Freedom of Information Act requests. The 500-page document reportedly underwent "an extensive review… in order to release information that no longer needed to be protected in the interests of national security."

Other documents included in the release are two internal statements by former CIA Director George Tenet in February 2005 and June 2005 that were issued in response to drafts of the 2005 OIG report. Two other documents that were previously made public were also re-released with fewer redactions "in light of the recent declassification of information on CIA's counterterrorism operations."

"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 CIA's press release said. "The documents released today reflect differing views formed roughly a decade ago within CIA about the Agency's performance prior to 9/11."

PDF versions of the documents can be found at the CIA's online reading room.

Related: White House Considers Declassifying 28 Pages on Alleged Saudi Government Role in 9/11

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Photo via Wikimedia Commons