# Bombshell CIA 9/11 files lay bare Bill Clinton’s horrific Bin Laden mistake…as ex-president grimly faces families at Ground Zero

- URL: https://talkfuse.com/story/bombshell-cia-9-11-files-lay-bare-bill-clintons-horrific-bin-laden-mistake-as-ex-president-grimly-faces-families-at-ground-zero/
- Published: 2026-09-11T23:00:45+00:00
- Updated: 2026-09-12T05:16:37+00:00
- Original publisher: Daily Mail (publisher lean: Right)
- Original article: https://www.dailymail.com/news/article-16124527/Bombshell-CIA-9-11-files-lay-bare-Bill-Clintons-horrific-Bin-Laden-mistake-ex-president-grimly-faces-families-Ground-Zero.html?ns_mchannel=rss&ns_campaign=1490&ito=1490
- Topics: Business, Government, Markets, Politics, World

## Key points

- 1998 CIA memo warned Clinton's team of a bin Laden plane-bomb plot on a US city
- Bin Laden appeared in 18+ of Bush's 2001 daily briefs before 9/11
- CIA released 71 files; widow demands unredacted Saudi Arabia files

## Summary

Newly declassified CIA files reveal that Bill Clinton's White House was warned in September 1998 that Osama bin Laden wanted to fly a bomb-laden plane into an American city, exactly three years before hijackers struck the Pentagon on 11 September 2001. The disclosure, reported by the Wall Street Journal, shows the warning formed part of Clinton's own top-secret daily intelligence briefings, and that bin Laden also featured in at least 18 editions of George W Bush's presidential daily brief in 2001, seven of them in the weeks before the attacks. The papers reignite scrutiny of how much successive administrations knew and failed to act upon, a debate that resurfaced as Clinton stood among bereaved families at Ground Zero for the 25th anniversary.

The 1998 memo, titled "Bin Laden's Location and Intentions", named no specific date or target but flagged Washington DC as a likely aim, while other documents show analysts warned in July 1998 that an attack was "plausible" and in October 2000 that bin Laden remained "committed" to striking the US despite being unable to pinpoint targets or timing. The CIA released 71 documents in total, calling it the largest-ever release of its 9/11 analysis; former acting director Michael Morell said they proved the agency gave "long and loud" warnings, though other insiders noted the underlying intelligence was often thin. At the same Ground Zero ceremony, 9/11 widow Terry Strada accused multiple administrations of shielding Saudi Arabia and pressed for unredacted files on the kingdom's alleged role, adding a fresh political dimension to the anniversary.

## Coverage

- [Daily Mail: Bombshell CIA 9/11 files lay bare Bill Clinton’s horrific Bin Laden mistake…as ex-president grimly faces families at Ground Zero](https://www.dailymail.com/news/article-16124527/Bombshell-CIA-9-11-files-lay-bare-Bill-Clintons-horrific-Bin-Laden-mistake-ex-president-grimly-faces-families-Ground-Zero.html?ns_mchannel=rss&ns_campaign=1490&ito=1490)
- [Fox News: Clinton, Bush received multiple warnings on bin Laden hijack plots before 9/11, declassified files show](https://www.foxnews.com/politics/clinton-bush-received-multiple-warnings-bin-laden-hijack-plots-before-9-11-declassified-files-show)

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Summarised by TalkFuse (https://talkfuse.com/). Quote the original publisher for the reporting and link this page for the summary and discussion.