India Was On Bin Laden’s Attack List In 1998, Declassified CIA File Shows

WASHINGTON, DC-A CIA intelligence brief listed India among countries where Osama bin Laden intended to carry out attacks in 1998, according to newly declassified documents that also detail his network’s connections in Pakistan and the Taliban’s refusal to expel him from Afghanistan.

The August 28, 1998, assessment named India and Pakistan alongside Egypt, countries in the Arabian Peninsula, Uganda and possibly Nigeria as potential locations for attacks. The source behind the information is redacted, and the visible passage does not identify an Indian target, an attack date or a specific operational plan.

Titled ‘Bin Ladin Terrorist Network Still a Threat’, the brief said bin Laden and other terrorist leaders based in Afghanistan had survived US strikes. Their communications network remained intact, training had resumed at some camps and other camps were being moved.

The assessment said bin Laden could draw on individuals and allied groups in at least 60 countries to conduct attacks.

The document is among 71 President’s Daily Brief products declassified by CIA Director John Ratcliffe to mark the 25th anniversary of the September 11 attacks. The CIA described the collection as its largest release of declassified presidential briefing products related to 9/11.

A January 3, 2000, assessment in the collection detailed the Taliban’s decision not to expel bin Laden from Afghanistan, following requests from Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates for his extradition.

The brief said the Taliban’s Council of Ministers had unanimously decided the previous month against expelling bin Laden. Taliban figures had also warned him to increase his security in case the Kandahar hostage crisis was used to mount an operation against him. Parts of the passage remain redacted.

The assessment also cited “international suspicions of Islamabad’s role in the hijacking”. Those suspicions, along with Pakistani leader Pervez Musharraf’s concerns about terrorism spilling into Pakistan, suggested he would respond to a new attack by increasing pressure on the Taliban to expel bin Laden, the assessment said.

The document recorded suspicions about Islamabad but did not establish Pakistani responsibility for the hijacking.

A June 27, 2000, brief described Pakistani efforts to restrict bin Laden’s network, saying Islamabad was responding to international pressure as well as fears that Islamic radicals could destabilize Pakistan.

Members of bin Laden’s group had complained about difficulties sending Arabs to other countries, apparently because travel through Pakistan was being curtailed. The assessment also reported the arrest of six associates of North African extremists during a raid near Peshawar.

The same brief recorded Taliban complaints that Islamabad had not delivered promised ammunition. The passage is partly redacted and does not establish whether any delivery subsequently occurred.

An earlier assessment, dated February 24, 1998, said leaders of the Pakistan-based Harakat ul-Ansar had joined Egyptian militant groups in signing bin Laden’s fatwa calling for attacks on US interests and civilians worldwide.

The CIA said the collection traces analysts’ evolving understanding of al-Qaida and their attempts to warn of attack planning despite sparse, vague and imperfect information. More than 100 pages of analysis were released. (IANS)