U.S. intelligence officials under the Clinton administration were warned that Osama bin Laden plotted to hijack a plane, declassified documents indicate. The document release comes as part of the 25th anniversary of the September 11 terrorist attacks and aligns with President Trump’s calls for transparency.
In a September 10, 1998, memorandum titled “Bid Ladin’s Location and Intentions,” officials wrote that Bin Ladin said his “preferred option is to strike the US on its own soil in Washington.” It noted that the “same group responsible for the bombings in Africa may fly an explosive-packed airplane into a US city,” although officials concluded there was no information on Bin Ladin’s “intensions for future attacks.”
Another memo from December 4, 1998 “suggests Bin Ladin and his allies are preparing for attacks in the US, including an aircraft hijacking to obtain the release of Shaykh ‘Umar’ Abd Al-Rahman, Ramzi Yousef, and Muhammad ‘Sadiq’ Awda.”
“A senior Bin Ladin operative from Saudi Arabia was to visit IG counterparts in the US soon thereafter to discuss options–perhaps including an aircraft hijacking,” the memo adds, and goes on to say that some of those in Bin Ladin’s network “have received hijacking training.”
A separate document from August 2001 declared, that “clandestine, foreign government, and media reports indicate Bin Ladin since 1997 has wanted to conduct terrorist attacks in the US.” It stated that Bin Ladin “implied in US television interview in 1997 and 1998 that his followers would follow the example of World Trade Center bomber Ramzi Yousef and ‘bring the fighting to America.'”
“In an act of exceptional transparency, we honor the memory of those we lost on that tragic Tuesday by releasing 71 declassified products—the single largest release of CIA analysis related to 9/11 ever,” said CIA Director John Ratcliffe. “25 years ago, the 9/11 attacks struck a blow to our Nation, but they did not break us. Generations of CIA officers have since dedicated their careers to securing justice for our fallen Americans and ensuring al-Qa’ida would never again harm our country. In the years that followed, numerous CIA officers made the ultimate sacrifice in the Global War on Terror. We honor their memory and service through our commitment to disrupt, dismantle, and defeat those who wish to cause us harm.”
