FBI Director Kash Patel temporarily halted some cooperation with Canada's Royal Canadian Mounted Police this month over the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation's guidance on describing the September 11 attacks.

The move followed a CBC memo that reminded journalists of a longstanding policy requiring attribution to experts or authorities when using the term "terrorism" for the 9/11 attacks. Multiple officials with knowledge of the matter said the extraordinary step was short-lived and limited to the FBI, with other U.S. government agencies continuing intelligence sharing.

Patel publicly criticized the policy in late August social media posts. He called it a "bastardization of history" and an "insult to the souls lost during our largest terrorist attack in US history." He warned that Canadian agencies failing to reject the guidance would no longer have a friend in the FBI.

The CBC swiftly reversed its stance once the memo drew attention late last month, allowing the term "terrorism" to describe the attacks without attribution. FBI officials canceled some meetings with Canadian counterparts during the pause, creating a chill in relations, though not all cooperation stopped.

The RCMP stated it values its relationship with U.S. counterparts for responding to national security threats. The episode highlighted tensions over how media organizations frame the 2001 attacks that killed nearly 3,000 people.

The pause reportedly ended around the 25th anniversary of the attacks. Officials noted it did not affect every element of FBI-RCMP collaboration on issues such as terrorism and cybersecurity.