CIA Files Show Clinton, Bush Warned Before 9/11

The CIA declassified 71 intelligence documents on Friday, the 25th anniversary of the September 11 attacks, showing that Presidents Bill Clinton and George W. Bush were told for years that Osama bin Laden wanted to hijack aircraft and strike inside the United States.

The release totals 101 pages drawn from presidential daily briefings spanning February 1998 to September 12, 2001, according to NBC News and the Boston Globe.

CIA Director John Ratcliffe called it the largest single release of CIA analysis on 9/11.

The attacks killed nearly 3,000 people.

What the Documents Say

A brief delivered to Clinton on September 10, 1998 said a group associated with bin Laden "may fly an explosive-packed airplane into a US city," CNN reported, and that his preferred option was to strike Washington. CNN reported the warning was tucked at the bottom of the brief.

A December 4, 1998 memo warned that bin Laden might carry out plans to hijack a US aircraft.

The August 6, 2001 brief to Bush — titled "Bin Laden determined to strike in US" — said the FBI had found patterns of activity consistent with preparations for hijackings.

The Post Millennial, quoting the newly released files, reported a passage saying a senior bin Laden operative from Saudi Arabia was to visit counterparts in the US "to discuss options—perhaps including an aircraft hijacking."