Key facts
- The CIA was unprepared for the scale and nature of the 9/11 attacks, according to former officers.
- Initial confusion and a lack of direction from senior leadership characterized the CIA's response in the immediate aftermath of the attacks.
- CIA Director George Tenet and senior leadership relocated to a lower-profile building, while counter-terrorism staff remained at headquarters.
- Some CIA staff faced difficulties evacuating due to traffic, fearing they were vulnerable.
- The agency's pre-9/11 strategy is criticized for overlooking the political aspects of terrorism.
- The attacks led to significant structural changes in US intelligence, including the creation of the Office of the Director of National Intelligence.
The September 11, 2001 attacks on New York and Washington marked a dramatic shift for the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), signaling the end of the Cold War era and the beginning of a "war on terror." Accounts from former CIA officers reveal that the agency was initially unprepared for the scale of the attacks, experiencing confusion and a lack of clear direction.
Margaret Henoch, a former counter-intelligence officer, described a sense of chaos and an initial vacuum of leadership on the day of the attacks. She noted that the seventh floor, where senior leadership including Director George Tenet was located, was surprisingly deserted, leading her to question the consideration given to the thousands of staff remaining in the building, especially given the possibility of it being a target.
Bill Harlow, the CIA's public affairs director at the time, stated that orders were issued for the majority of staff to leave headquarters around 10 a.m., nearly an hour after the second plane struck the World Trade Center. He cited intelligence from 1995-96 indicating terrorist desires to attack CIA headquarters with an airplane, and confirmed that Tenet and senior leadership moved to a more secure building while counter-terrorism personnel remained in the original building, accepting the risk. Senior leadership returned later that afternoon.
Some CIA personnel faced difficulties evacuating due to traffic congestion, leading to fears they were trapped and vulnerable. Steven Cash, a former CIA counter-terrorism officer, criticized the agency's pre-9/11 strategy as being too narrowly focused on individual "bad guys" and neglecting the broader political context of terrorism.
Following the attacks, the CIA underwent significant transformation. Henoch recalled an immediate shift, with everyone at the agency needing to understand al-Qaida. The subsequent changes included the passage of the USA Patriot Act and the Homeland Security Act, and the establishment of the Office of the Director of National Intelligence to improve inter-agency coordination.