What did the government know about the 9/11 attacks and when? | Forensic Files

the information that we had now compiled was absolutely compelling it was multiple sourced it was sort of the the
last straw picked up the phone call Secretary have to see the director I'm coming
[Music] out you know George ten is a very smart guy he's chewing on his cigar going back
and forth he's jumping up down his eyes are flashing it's not just red lights there were real
plots being manifested the threat continues to rise public pronouncements by people in Al
Qaeda was there would be eight major celebrations coming the world was going to be stunned by what would soon happen
we decided the next thing to do was and pick up the white phone call the White House we're coming down right now
I said Cony I have to come see you we're coming right [Music] now present at the July 10 White House
meeting our national security adviser condalisa rice and other top officials there will be significant terrorist
attacks against the United States in the coming weeks or months the attacks will
be spectacular they may be multiple al-qaeda's intention is the destruction of the United
States and I said this country's got to go on a war footing now so I've slammed my hand on the
table what happened yeah what did happen yeah what happened essentially nothing happened yeah that's right remarkably
condal s rice would later write that her memory of the meeting was not very crisp
at the end of July we were sitting in my conference room and we were just thinking about all
of this and trying to figure out how this attack might occur and I'll never forget this till
the day I die rich B looked at everybody and said they're coming here and the silence that followed was deafening you
could hear a pin drop they're coming here

Former CIA Director George Tenet, in his first interview in eight years, and his deputy, Cofer Black, speak out in detail for the first time about a critical White House meeting in July 2001 that they thought might have changed the course of history. For more, watch "48 Hours Presents: The Spymasters - CIA in the Crosshairs" airing Saturday, May 21, 9-11 p.m. ET/PT on CBS.

Brief Summary

The episode reveals the urgent July 10 meeting on Al Qaeda threats and the lack of action taken afterward.

Key points

A Call to Action. A sense of urgency as officials decide to contact the White House immediately.
Impending Terrorist Attacks. Officials warn of significant and spectacular terrorist attacks against the U.S. soon.

Episode highlights

Episode quotes

They're coming here.

A chilling realization during a tense meeting.

2:28WatchMay 17, 2016

More from 48 Hours

Solve the Crime

Read a real case one clue at a time, then see how your call held up against the investigators.