Osama Bin Laden stories

Sep 11, 2026

CIA releases dozens of presidential daily briefs on bin Laden before 9/11

The CIA released 71 declassified documents on the 25th anniversary of 9/11, including presidential briefings showing warnings to Presidents Clinton and Bush about Osama bin Laden's plans to attack the United States as early as 1998.

Sep 11, 20269 sources

Top claims

▪The declassified documents span from a February 13, 1998, briefing prepared for President Bill Clinton to a situation report dated September 12, 2001
▪A September 10, 1998, intelligence brief presented to President Bill Clinton warned that Osama bin Laden's preferred option was to strike the United States on its own soil in Washington and that his group might fly an explosive-packed airplane into a U.S. city
▪A December 4, 1998, document prepared for President Bill Clinton warned that Osama bin Laden was preparing to hijack U.S. aircraft and that network members had received hijack training

Subtopics

Terrorism & counterterrorism Government transparency Bill Clinton CIA

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