54. Bin Laden vs the CIA: 9/11 (Ep 4)

The Rest Is Classified

Goalhanger

History

4.6 • 732 Ratings

🗓️ 10 June 2025

⏱️ 42 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

On a clear September morning, the American homeland was shattered, revealing a vulnerability unforeseen for nearly two centuries. But, how did Osama bin Laden, soon to become the world's most wanted terrorist, orchestrate the largest mass murder in American history? What was the "chatter" among Al Qaeda members that something was imminent, and why couldn't the intelligence community piece together the puzzle? This episode plunges into the meticulous planning and devastating execution of the 9/11 attacks. From Khalid Sheikh Mohammed's initial "insane ideas" to Osama bin Laden's personal selection of suicide operatives, we explore the journey from whispers of "something big was coming" to the collapse of the Twin Towers. Discover the strategic warnings received by the U.S. intelligence community and the crucial missed opportunities that allowed the plot to succeed. Listen as Gordon and David recount the horrifying events of 9/11, the immediate response of the U.S. government, and the first frantic steps in the decade-long hunt for the mastermind. ------------------- To sign up to The Declassified Club, go to www.therestisclassified.com or click this ⁠⁠⁠link⁠⁠⁠. To sign up to the free newsletter, go to: ⁠https://mailchi.mp/goalhanger.com/tric-free-newsletter-sign-up⁠ ------------------- Get our exclusive NordVPN deal here ➼ nordvpn.com/restisclassified It's risk-free with Nord's 30 day money back guarantee Exclusive INCOGNI Deal: To get an exclusive 60% off an annual Incogni plan, go to https://incogni.com/restisclassified ------------------- Pre-order a signed edition of Gordon's latest book, The Spy in the Archive, ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠via this link.⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Order a signed edition of David's latest book, The Seventh Floor, ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠via this link.⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ------------------- Email: [email protected] Twitter: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@triclassified⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Assistant Producer: Becki Hills Producer: Callum Hill Senior Producer: Dom Johnson Exec Producer: Tony Pastor Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	For exclusive interviews, bonus episodes, ad-free listening, early access to series,
0:09.0	first look at live show tickets, a weekly newsletter, and discounted books.
0:13.1	Join the declassified club at the rest is classified.com.
0:17.3	Ready to launch your business? Get started with the commerce platform made for entrepreneurs.
0:22.2	Shopify is specially designed to help you start, run and grow your business with easy
0:27.1	customizable themes that let you build your brand, marketing tools that get your products
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0:36.1	up online, in person and on the go.
0:39.4	Shopify is made for entrepreneurs like you. Sign up for your $1 a month trial at Shopify.com slash setup.
1:00.5	The subtlest change in New York is something people don't speak much about, but that is in everyone's mind.
1:02.1	The city, for the first time in its long history, is destructible.
1:07.0	A single flight of planes, no bigger than a wedge of geese, can quickly end this island fantasy,
1:13.5	burn the towers, crumble the bridges, turn the underground passages into lethal chambers, cremate the millions.
1:21.1	The intimation of mortality is part of New York now, in the sound of jets overheadhead in the Black Headlines of the latest edition.
1:29.3	Well, welcome to the rest is classified. I'm Gordon Carrera. And I'm David McCloskey.
1:33.3	And that was not Osama bin Laden, the subject of this series. It was rather American novelist,
1:38.3	E.B. White, who was writing in 1949 in an essay entitled Here is New York. But David, it's kind of an uncanny
1:47.5	kind of foretelling of those terrible events of 9-11, which we're going to be looking at 9-11 itself,
1:54.5	as well as its aftermath in this episode as part of our story of Osama bin Laden al-Qaeda
2:00.0	and the struggle between him and the CIA.
2:03.8	And we'd left the story last time with Osama bin Laden having attacked America.
2:09.4	The CIA having come up with plans to try and stop him, but never having been able to execute them.
	...

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