Years before 9/11, CIA warned Clinton, Bush of 'explosive-packed airplane attack': What newly released files reveal
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Newly released CIA memos show that US presidents Bill Clinton and George W Bush were repeatedly warned about Osama bin Laden Photograph: (AFP)
Newly released CIA intelligence briefs show that US presidents Bill Clinton and George W Bush were repeatedly warned about Osama bin Laden and Al-Qaeda’s plans to attack America years before 9/11. The warnings included possible aircraft hijackings and attacks involving US cities.
On the 25th anniversary of the September 11, 2001 attacks in the US, the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) has released more than 70 presidential intelligence briefs related to Al-Qaeda and its leader Osama bin Laden. The documents clearly shows that CIA repeatedly warned Presidents Bill Clinton and George W Bush that Osama bin Laden was determined to strike America. Though the warnings lacked definitive information about precisely how or when the attacks might take place, it came repeatedly for three years before the attack on Sep 11, 2001.
The release provides "unprecedented transparency on America's most sensitive intelligence publication from the years before and the day after one of the darkest moments in our history," the CIA said in a statement. "The products trace the story of CIA analysts' evolving understanding of Al-Qaeda and efforts to highlight and warn of Osama bin Laden's attack plotting despite sparse, vague, and imperfect information," it said. “Americans can now see for themselves the intelligence leading up to this tragic day for our Nation,” CIA Director John Ratcliffe said. The documents amount to more than 100 pages.
The documents cover a period starting during Bill Clinton's presidency and continue into that of George W Bush, who was in office when the attack happened. 19 Al-Qaeda operativeshijacked four airliners. Two jets hit the World Trade Center's Twin Towers, causing the iconic skyscrapers to collapse. A third struck the Pentagon, while a fourth believed to have been aiming for Congress or the White House -- crashed into a field in Pennsylvania after passengers fought back. Soon after, the US invaded Afghanistan and later Iraq as part of the "War on Terror" after 9/11.
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What the documents show?
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A September 10, 1998 brief -- parts of which were redacted -- said that Al-Qaeda “may fly an explosive-packed airplane into a US city.” The same memo stated that “intelligence provides no conclusive information on bin Ladin’s intentions for future attacks.” Another dated December 4, 1998, which also contained redactions, said bin Laden "and his allies are preparing for attacks in the US, including an aircraft hijacking."
In August 1998, al-Qaeda attacked US embassies in both Kenya and Tanzania, killing 224 people and prompting the US to strike targets in Afghanistan and Sudan with cruise missiles. One document dated 28 August 1998 - 21 days after the embassy attacks and eight days after the US retaliation - warned that the network remained intact and that Bin Laden was actively "considering attacks in the US".
Another memo after failed attempt by the Clinton administration to kill the Al Qaeda leader with Tomahawk missile strikes in Afghanistan and Sudan stated the group 'remains intact' and militants were training to ‘hijack commercial airliners, experimenting with crude chemical or other unconventional weapons, doing dry runs to test US airport security, plotting to take hostages and trafficking narcotics to fund terrorism plans.’
An intelligence brief from March 26, 2001 also said that “Taliban is not likely to give up bin Ladin for less than full diplomatic recognition and significant reconstruction aid. On Aug. 6, 2001, just one month before the attack, the CIA sent a note to the president, titled: “bin Ladin determined to strike in US.” “Clandestine, foreign government, and media reports indicate bin Ladin since 1997 has wanted to conduct terrorist attacks in the US,” the briefing stated.
