CIA/Bin Laden Issue Station
CIA station
| CIA/Bin Laden Issue Station link () | |
|---|---|
| Formation | 1996 |
| Extinction | 2005 |
| Leader | Bin Laden Issue Station/Chief |
| A particularly secret CIA station purportedly set up to try to capture and thwart Osama Bin Laden, but which appear to have been thwarting other US law enforcement officials from uncovering the 9-11 event. | |
The Bin Laden Issue Station, also known as Alec Station, was a standalone unit of the Central Intelligence Agency in operation from 1996 to 2005 purportedly dedicated to tracking Osama bin Laden and his associates, both before and after 2001, but which appear to have been thwarting other US law enforcement officials from uncovering the 9-11 event. It was headed initially by CIA analyst Michael Scheuer and later by Richard Blee and others.
Official narrative
Scheuer had noticed an increase in activity by Bin Laden in Afghanistan and the rise of a new organisation known as Al Qaeda, and suggested this be the focus of the station's work. Soon after its creation, Alec Station developed a deadly vision of bin Laden's activities and its work came to include the planning of search and destroy missions. The CIA inaugurated a grand plan against al-Qaeda in 1999, but struggled to find the resources to implement it. At least 5 such missions were planned by Alec Station. The planning of these missions began to factor in the use of aerial drones. In 2000, a joint CIA-USAF project using Predator reconnaissance drones and following a program drawn up by the bin Laden Station produced probable sightings of the al-Qaeda leader in Afghanistan. Resumption of flights in 2001 was delayed by arguments over a missile-armed version of the aircraft. Only on 4 September 2001 was the go-ahead given for weapons-capable drones.
The Strategic Assessments Branch was created in July 2001. "The decision to add about ten analysts to this effort was seen as a major bureaucratic victory, but the CTC laboured to find them. The new chief of this branch reported for duty on 10 September 2001."[1]
Alec Station was wound down in 2005.[2] Bin Laden was reportedly killed in 2011.
Exposure
On 18 April 2023, Kit Klarenberg reported that at least two of the - purported - 9/11 hijackers had been recruited into a joint CIA-Saudi intelligence operation that was covered up at the highest level.[3]