CIA Declassifies 1998 Warning Given to Clinton Regarding Bin Laden Aircraft Threat
Newly declassified CIA documents reveal that U.S. intelligence warned the Clinton administration in 1998 about a potential al-Qaeda plot to use an explosive-laden airplane against a U.S. city, years before the September 11 attacks.
Nearly three years before the September 11 terrorist attacks, the U.S. intelligence community warned the administration of then-President Bill Clinton that Osama bin Laden was planning to strike the United States using an explosives-laden airplane flown into an American city. This revelation comes from newly declassified CIA documents released on Friday.
The document, dated September 10, 1998, was titled "Bin Ladin's Position and Intentions" and was prepared for senior administration officials with access to the President's Daily Brief (PDB). While the document did not provide definitive intelligence on the exact method or location, it noted that attention was directed toward Washington.
Declassified Documents on 9/11
The document is part of a collection of 71 files released by the CIA to mark the upcoming 25th anniversary of the attacks, with 69 of them made public for the first time. The records show that in the years leading up to the tragedy, the CIA issued a series of warnings regarding al-Qaeda to senior U.S. officials.
"The largest-ever release of CIA analysis related to September 11," stated CIA Director John Ratcliffe regarding the publication.
Historical Impact and Intelligence Failures
The 9/11 Commission previously determined that the intelligence failure was not due to a single agency, but rather a "failure of imagination" and a lack of actionable operational data. These newly declassified records add a significant layer to the historical record, demonstrating that the threat scenario of using an aircraft against a U.S. target was discussed years before the attacks.
