Commission hits out at US intelligence fiasco

US officials knew the al-Qaida terrorist network was interested in hijacking planes, but never thoroughly analysed the threat to try to work out ways to prevent it, the panel looking into the September 11 attacks found.

The commission staff issued a report that found scores of problems with US intelligence-gathering before September 11, including a failure to recognise the threat posed by al-Qaida and an over-reliance on suspect sources for information.