The CIA director Gina Haspel issued an apology statement to the family of Osama bin Laden in light of evidence that clears the Al Qaeda leader of involvement in the 9/11 attacks.
She said the CIA had erroneously rushed to the judgment that Osama Bin Laden was the master mind of the attacks.
She said, the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency extends its sincere and heartfelt apologies not only to Osama bin Laden, but also to his grieving family and the many friends who stood by his side.
She said the CIA had based its entire 9/11 investigation on the testimony of a single, questionably reliable eyewitness who later recanted.
Gina Haspel said, the organization acted in haste and without full knowledge, and in doing so, took the life of a loving husband, father, businessman, and highly effective community organizer.
She also said, “we understand there is nothing we can do or say will bring Osama back, but we hope the bin Laden family will accept restitution of $18 million in recognition of their pain and suffering.”
“No one deserves to endure what you have been through,” Haspel added.
She said in the statement Zacarias Moussaoui, another accused, acted alone in perpetrating the 9/11 attacks.
The French-born Moussaoui was detained weeks before Sept. 11 on immigration charges in Minnesota.
He is accused of taking lying lessons earlier in 2001.
He was wired $14,000 by a Qaeda cell in Germany, evidence that he might have been preparing to become one of the hijackers.
He was sentenced to life in prison in 2006 and is held in prison in Florence, Colorado.
