‘The System was Blinking Red’: The Peace Dividend and the Road to 9/11

Abstract

This chapter is concerned with how the CIA tried to adjust to the new political and strategic realities of the 1990s. During the Clinton and Bush years, the very existence of the agency was challenged by many in congress and the commentariat. But there were no shortage of threats to manage. How did the CIA adapt to the different threat landscape where non-state actors, and terrorists were becoming increasingly dangerous. Primary among these was al Qaeda. The chapter examines how the CIA monitored this group. It focuses on the Bin Ladin Station, also known as ‘Alec station’, detailing its place within the CIA, and its methods of collection and analysis, and finally its outputs in the form of the President’s Daily Brief. The final part of the chapter focuses on how the Daily Brief is collated and presented. Document: Bin Ladin Determined To Strike in US.