One of the ways in which CIA/CTC surveiled Osama bin Laden in his Afghan base was with the Predator reconnaissance drone . A joint CIA-USAF program of flights in autumn 2000 ( dubbed " Afghan Eyes " ) produced probable sightings of the Qaeda leader . Black became a " vocal advocate " of arming the aircraft with missiles to kill bin Laden and other Qaeda leaders in targeted killings . During the new Bush administration in 2001 , Black and " Richard " continued to press for Predators armed with adapted Hellfire anti-tank missiles . Legal and technical issues delayed the program . Black urged Tenet to promote the matter at the long-awaited Cabinet-level Principals Committee meeting on terrorism of September 4 , 2001 . The CIA chief duly did so . The CIA was authorized to " deploy the system with weapons-capable aircraft . " See Bin Laden Issue Station . After the 9/11 strikes on the World Trade Center and The Pentagon , some CTC staff refused an order to evacuate the CIA headquarters building at Langley . They included the shift of the Global Response Center on the exposed sixth floor , which Black would eventually argue had " a key function in a crisis like this . " Tenet finally accepted that Black would n't leave , and that their lives would be put at risk
9/11 strikes
September 11 attacks
Cofer Black