YOU WONT BELIEVE: Before 9 11 us knew bin laden was a threat india pakistan tensions were the bigger worry - What They Never Told You

By the time four hijacked planes tore through the American skies, Washington had already spent years watching the rise of Osama bin Laden and al-Qaeda.

The problem, as the 9/11 Commission Report makes clear that, in South Asia, American attention was repeatedly pulled towards another crisis.

India and Pakistan

The Commission report makes it a point to highlight that: "In the State Department, concerns about India-Pakistan tensions often crowded out attention to Afghanistan or Bin Ladin. Aware of instability and growing Islamic extremism in Pakistan, State Department officials worried most about an arms race and possible war between Pakistan and India."

Washington knew Pakistan was unstable and it also knew that Islamist extremism was growing there. They also had information that Pakistan supported the Taliban and were aware of Bin Laden operating from within Afghanistan.