CIA Declassifies 9/11 Warnings

The CIA released several dozen declassified presidential briefing documents on September 11, the 25th anniversary of the attacks, showing repeated warnings to Presidents Bill ClintonBill Clinton42nd President of the United States (1993–2001) and George W. BushGeorge W. Bush43rd President of the United States (2001–2009) that Osama bin LadenOsama bin Ladenfounder of al-Qaeda (1957–2011) and al-Qaeda were seeking to strike the United States. A September 10, 1998 brief warned that a bin Laden-linked group “may fly an explosive-packed airplane into a US city,” while later reports discussed hijacking plots involving large commercial jets. Memorial coverage focused on the attacks’ toll—2,977 killed—and the wars, security policies, Islamophobia and political distrust that followed.