Retired Navy Commander Kirk Lippold, former commander of the USS Cole, stated that he warned CIA officials of a catastrophic attack on American soil just 20 minutes before the first hijacked plane struck the World Trade Center on September 11, 2001. Lippold shared his recollection during an interview on the "Fox News Rundown" podcast, marking the 25th anniversary of the attacks.
Lippold, who was at CIA headquarters for a briefing on intelligence related to the USS Cole attack, said he told a senior CIA official that the American public would likely not recognize the threat posed by terrorists until a devastating event occurred within the United States. "America doesn't understand. I believe it is going to take a seminal event probably in this country where hundreds, if not thousands, died before Americans realized that we are at war with this guy,' meaning [Osama] bin Laden," Lippold recalled.
He recounted leaving CIA headquarters approximately 20 minutes after making this prediction, only to witness the events of 9/11 unfold. "The first plane hit the North Tower, and I was literally leaving the headquarters when the plane hit the South Tower," he said.
The USS Cole was attacked by al-Qaeda suicide bombers on October 12, 2000, while refueling in Aden, Yemen. The bombing killed 17 U.S. sailors and injured 37 others, tearing a hole in the ship near its waterline. Lippold, who commanded the ship at the time, views this incident, along with other al-Qaeda attacks preceding 9/11, as largely unheeded warnings.
He emphasized that the failure to aggressively confront terrorist groups globally has a significant cost. "It really solidified to me the costs that if the United States does not react to the threat of terrorism and countries who support it, we will continue to pay a price in the future," Lippold stated. He added that terrorism must be stopped wherever it exists around the world.
The September 11 terror attacks resulted in the deaths of nearly 3,000 people, with thousands more suffering from related illnesses.