Newly declassified CIA files reveal that the Clinton White House was warned in September 1998 that Osama bin Laden intended to crash a bomb-laden airplane into an American city, a threat that materialized three years later on September 11, 2001. The intelligence was part of a report prepared for senior officials who read the president's daily intelligence digest.
The document, headlined 'Bin Laden's Location and Intentions,' did not specify a target or a date but indicated Washington D.C. as a potential focus. Bin Laden's operatives would later attack the Pentagon.
Analysts had also informed the White House in July 1998 that a strike by bin Laden on the U.S. was considered 'plausible.' Further intelligence in October 2000 suggested he remained 'committed' to attacking American targets, though specific targets or timing could not be identified by intelligence agencies.
These revelations emerged as former President Bill Clinton attended the 25th anniversary commemoration at Ground Zero, standing with families of victims of the attacks foreshadowed by the 1998 memo.
Previous intelligence assessments for President George W. Bush's administration also highlighted bin Laden as a threat. In 2001, he was mentioned in at least 18 editions of Bush's daily intelligence briefing, with seven of those reports delivered weeks before the September 11th attacks. One memo on July 24, 2001, noted an 'expected imminent' bin Laden operation had been postponed but cautioned that other attacks might still be planned.
The 71 documents were released by the CIA to mark the 25th anniversary of the attacks that killed nearly 3,000 people in New York City, the Pentagon, and a field in Pennsylvania. The 9/11 Commission had referenced the 1998 memo in its report but had not disclosed that it was specifically written for the president's briefing.
Former acting CIA chief Michael Morell told The Wall Street Journal that the documents demonstrate the agency provided