This wasn't in the the US Congress 9/11 report of 2004

[Louis VI the Fat]

French intelligence reportedly warned their American counterparts, eight months before the September 11, 2001 attacks, that Al-Qaeda was planning to hijack a US-bound plane.

The DGSE external intelligence service wrote a total of nine reports between September 2000 and August 2001 on Al-Qaeda threats against the US and passed all of them on to the Central Intelligence Agency's Paris bureau, Le Monde newspaper said Monday.

Le Monde based its report on 328 pages of classified documents leaked by DGSE sources, showing that Osama bin Laden's network had been infiltrated by foreign agents long before the September 2001 attacks. In a file dated January 5, 2001, also seen by AFP, the DGSE said it had learned of a plan to hijack a plane bound for the United States from Frankfurt in Germany and take it to Kandahar in Afghanistan.

Le Monde said that file was passed onto the CIA in January of the same year. The plot described was allegedly drawn up by Al-Qaeda with the Taliban militia in Afghanistan and Chechen rebels. But there was no discussion then of flying the plane to the United States to smash it into a building there, which is what Al-Qaeda hijackers did when they seized four planes in September 2001 in attacks that left 3,000 people dead.

The January 5, 2001 file was titled "Aircraft hijack plan by radical Islamists." It said that in October of the previous year, bin Laden had decided at a meeting in Afghanistan his next action against the US would involve a hijacking, but that there was still disagreement among Al-Qaeda leaders over the exact details.
Al-Qaeda had in 1998 carried out simultaneous bomb attacks on the US embassies in Tanzania and Kenya that left hundreds dead. The DGSE documents drew on information provided by the intelligence agencies of other countries that was corroborated by agents placed by the French in Al-Qaeda training camps in Afghanistan, Le Monde said.

These agents were often young men from European cities who had been recruited by the DGSE after trying to become "jihadis," or holy warriors, for Al-Qaeda. The DGSE reports were also based on information gleaned from intercepting satellite phone calls, Le Monde said.

A 2004 report by the US Congress on the events leading up to September 11 highlighted failures by US intelligence services to gather and share information that might have helped prevent the attacks. But Le Monde said no mention was made in that report of the information that the DGSE passed on to the CIA in early 2001. The DGSE documents said the plotters, who began working on the hijack plan in 2000, considered seven airlines, including American and United Airlines, which had planes hijacked on September 11.

Le Monde on Monday published a lengthy article on the affair, written by Guillaume Dasquie, the author of two books on Al-Qaeda, who acquired the documents. The dossier consisted of notes, maps, graphics, and satellite photos gathered between July 2000 and October 2001. Le Monde said sources close to the DGSE said the agency had as early as 1995 set up a cell to watch bin Laden.

Link. And todays original Le Monde article (french).

Now to be fair, the warning was about a plane hijack. Which prior to 9/11 meant some negotiations before you stormed the plane and shot the hijackers. But even so...
These new revelations don't speak well for American intelligence before september 11th 2001.

(The 'DGSE' is the French secret service, 'CIA' or 'MI5')

[Husar]

Just look into the bees and cellphones thread, there are so many things which are brushed away as fearmongering, I wouldn't even wonder if intelligence agencies do the same, even though their job is not to do just that.
That's not to say fearmongering doesn't exist, but some people are so fearless, they think everything dangerous is just fearmongering it seems.
It's a real shame they didn't react to that, what it can result in was pretty obvious.
Of course to add a small conspiracy theory, maybe they did nothing because they wanted to invade a few countries?

[gunslinger]

So, we should have been looking for terrorists in Germany who were going to hijack a plane and fly it to Kandahar. Oh, and they had narrowed it down to seven airlines. And one of those airlines happens to be the one that was used on 9/11. HOW COULD WE HAVE MISSED THAT ONE?!

[Adrian II]

Now to be fair, the warning was about a plane hijack.

To be even fairer, there were warnings involving planes all the bleeping time, going back to 1996 or even further.
And to be totally fair, are you sure this one wasn't covered in the 9/11 report? I don't know, just asking. It's a very detailed report.

[KukriKhan]

And, just thinking here, how soon are French elections, and how valuable would be info that 'We told them' to which candidate?

[Adrian II]

And, just thinking here, how soon are French elections, and how valuable would be info that 'We told them' to which candidate?

Thinking a bit more here.
Primo. Le Monde claims that this 328 page document is the entire DGSE file on Al Qaeda collected between July 2000 and September 2001. I find that hard to believe. Very hard indeed.
Secundo. According to the administrative head of the DSGE at the time, Pierre-Antoine Lorenzi, who is interviewed in that article, said memo concerned a 'classic plane hijacking' only. Hardly a blueprint for 9/11.
Tertio. The file discloses the preferred French methods of information gathering, particularly humint from young French jihadists who are 'turned around' by the DGSE. Why would they disclose this now? Strange.

[Husar]

It's a very detailed report.

Oh snape, maybe I shouldn't have just read the highlighted parts, but...it was late and I was a bit tired.

[Vladimir]

I have Top Secret intell for you:

A Muslim youth will firebomb a car in Paris. Now go stop him

(you understand the point correct?)

[Redleg]

Link. And todays original Le Monde article (french).

Now to be fair, the warning was about a plane hijack. Which prior to 9/11 meant some negotiations before you stormed the plane and shot the hijackers. But even so...
These new revelations don't speak well for American intelligence before september 11th 2001.

(The 'DGSE' is the French secret service, 'CIA' or 'MI5')

I actually heard this before when the 9/11 report was being published. I believe that there was discussion around this particlur area, I just don't remember if it mentioned the specific nations that provided the warnings about hijacking of airplanes. If I wasn't so lazy today I would attempt to find the 9/11 report to verify if it mentioned by name the nations that provided the warnings.

[Louis VI the Fat]

This story is teh suck. It's ancient news, deserving of our scorn. It's a repeat of the 2004 report: the signs for an attack were there but it's nigh impossible to distill relevant information out of so many intel reports I mean there are warnings that OBL wants to blow up embassies and hijack planes and bomb powerplants and kidnap Santa Claus all the time so looking back there are always 'warnings' about every possible terror attack that can happen and anyway this has all been debated back in 2004 so what's the point of these new leaks it's not teh new at all

Well I thought it was interesting and thought I'd share it.

* gets his coat, leaves the building sulking, and is heard murmering to himself while he slowly fades off into the distance *

[Vladimir]

Well I thought it was interesting and thought I'd share it.

* gets his coat, leaves the building sulking, and is heard murmering to himself while he slowly fades off into the distance *

Come back Shane!

No, seriously, thanks for the info .

[Adrian II]

Well I thought it was interesting and thought I'd share it.

Um, no, that's not what you did. You added: 'These new revelations don't speak well for American intelligence before september 11th 2001.' I think that has been adequately answered...

Oh, and do come back, we still love you!

[Vladimir]

Um, no, that's not what you did. You added: 'These new revelations don't speak well for American intelligence before september 11th 2001.' I think that has been adequately answered...

Was it ever in doubt? Everyone was too busy spending the "peace dividend".

[Odin]

Was it ever in doubt? Everyone was too busy spending the "peace dividend".

Sssshhhhhh dont say that too loud, the liberals are back in power !

[Pindar]

(The 'DGSE' is the French secret service, 'CIA' or 'MI5')

The key to an effective intelligence service is to have at least 4 four letters in the agency acronym.

[Louis VI the Fat]

There is one more thing: why is it that the US Congress 9/11 report makes no mention of this? American intelligence agencies were in the possesion of a file dated January 5, 2001, entitled 'Aircraft hijack plan by radical Islamists', concerning information about OBL deciding at a meeting in Afghanistan that Al-Qaeda's next action against the US would involve hijacking planes, and that they considered seven airlines, including American and United Airlines.
Apart from realising (again) how deplorably close intelligence came towards thwarting 9/11, the question remains why the 9/11 commission doesn't mention this file.

AdrianII
Primo. Le Monde claims that this 328 page document is the entire DGSE file on Al Qaeda collected between July 2000 and September 2001. I find that hard to believe. Very hard indeed.
Where does Le Monde say this is the entire DGSE file? In the quote below they say that they received an impressive amount of documents, 328 classified pages in total. Not that this is the entire DGSE file on AQ.

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

C'est une impressionnante masse de documents. De loin, on croirait une thèse universitaire. De près, rien à voir. Des coups de tampons rouges "confidentiel-défense" et "usage strictement national" sur chacune des pages. En haut à gauche, un logo bleu roi : celui de la DGSE, la Direction générale des services extérieurs, les services secrets français. Au total, 328 pages classifiées. Notes, rapports, synthèses, cartes, graphiques, organigrammes, photos satellite. Le tout exclusivement consacré à Al-Qaida, ses chefs, sous-chefs, planques et camps d'entraînement. A ses soutiens financiers aussi. Rien de moins que l'essentiel des rapports de la DGSE rédigés entre juillet 2000 et octobre 2001. Une véritable encyclopédie.

Secundo. According to the administrative head of the DSGE at the time, Pierre-Antoine Lorenzi, who is interviewed in that article, said memo concerned a 'classic plane hijacking' only. Hardly a blueprint for 9/11.
Yes, but. If AQ were prevented from hijacking planes, then in effect this would've prevented the hijacking of planes to slam them into buildings too.

Le Monde reveals that apart from the intelligence warnings already discussed in the US 9/11 commission, amongst others there was an extensive memo in the possession of the CIA by january 5 2001, stating that AQ's next action against the US would involve hijacking planes, and that they considered seven airlines, amongst which were American Airlines and United Airlines.

We all know that agencies receive countless warnings and reports about possible threats, and we all realise how difficult it is to distill correct and relevant information out of it. Then again, working it all out is precisely what these intelligence agencies are there for. At the very least, it is frustrating to once again realise how close to preventing 9/11 American intelligence came. To quote the 9/11 commission: 'The US was unable to capitalize on mistakes made by AQ'.

Tertio. The file discloses the preferred French methods of information gathering, particularly humint from young French jihadists who are 'turned around' by the DGSE. Why would they disclose this now? Strange.This method is not a revelation, the revelation is the content this method yielded.
Why it should be leaked, or why now, I don't know. I can't figure it out. I don't see a connection to the elections, to answer Kukri's question.

The journalist, Guillaume Dasquié, is an expert on AQ. Maybe he is simply very well connected with sources within the DGSE. Maybe somebody there wanted to show off, or prove the relevancy of the DGSE. The revelations are not so earthshattering that it would either embarrass or impress the Americans - their agencies had more or less the same information. All of them I should add and God knows how many counter-terrorist agencies they had, all blissfully ignoring the work of other agencies, be they domestic or foreign. That's not a new conclusion, but still a very dissapointing one nonetheless.

[Adrian II]

Where does Le Monde say this is the entire DGSE file? In the quote below they say that they received an impressive amount of documents, 328 classified pages in total. Not that this is the entire DGSE file on AQ.

And then it quotes the present administrative director:

Et le 3 avril, l'actuel chef de cabinet, Emmanuel Renoult, nous reçoit sur place, dans l'enceinte de la caserne des Tourelles à Paris. Après avoir parcouru les 328 pages que nous posons sur son bureau, il ne peut s'empêcher de déplorer une telle fuite, tout en nous laissant entendre que ce paquet représente la quasi-intégralité des productions de la DGSE sur le sujet pour cette période cruciale. En revanche, sur le fond, impossible de lui soutirer le moindre commentaire. Trop sensible.

I drew my conclusion too fast - but they certainly suggest this is 'quasi everything' the DGSE had on Al Qaeda.

If you check Chapters 8 and 11 of the 9/11 Commission Report you will find that by January of 2001 U.S. intelligence agencies were awash with warnings of impending attacks on U.S. soil and/or U.S. interests elsewhere. The French memo to the CIA was probably judged by the CIA not to be very irrelevant compared to the much better American intel on Al Qaeda. It warned of an old Al Qaeda plan (beginning of 2000) to hijack an American airliner in Frankrufrt and fly it to Kandahar. Nothing came of it. With hindsight, this French report may just as well be considered misleading. Maybe the DGSE was led around by the nose by some Al Qaeda contact.

So the French memo probably doesn't figure in the report for a good reason...

[Devastatin Dave]

I have Top Secret intell for you:

A Muslim youth will firebomb a car in Paris. Now go stop him

(you understand the point correct?)

LOL

You forgot that the arsonist will not be identified as a "Muslim youth", but just a "youth" by all the media.