Washington DC: More than two years before hijacked airliners struck New York and Washington on 11 September 2001, a presidential intelligence brief sent to President Bill Clinton warned that Osama bin Laden and his allies were preparing attacks in the US and could seize American aircraft, according to documents in the CIA’s declassified 9/11 files.
EIC Saurabh Shukla Exclusive From Inside The White House On Newly Declassified 9/11 Files, Early Bin Laden Warnings And CIA Intelligence
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— NewsMobile (@NewsMobileIndia) September 11, 2026
The 1998 assessment, titled Bin Ladin Preparing to Hijack US Aircraft and Other Attacks, adds to evidence that US officials had received early warnings about the threat posed by Al-Qaida though it did not foresee aircraft being used as weapons. The papers declassified by the CIA under the instructions of the US President Donald Trump come as a reminder for every global leader not to ignore these inputs as they prepare a response. It also confirms the theory that there was a lack of coordination between the US agencies in the years post these inputs.
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Here are the key details from these declassified 9/11 files.
The CIA has released 71 declassified documents related to the September 11 attacks on the 25th anniversary of the deadly terror attacks that killed nearly 3,000 people.
To commemorate the 25th anniversary of 9/11, CIA released 71 President’s Daily Briefs to give Americans a glimpse into our most sensitive intelligence from the years before and day after one of our Nation’s darkest moments.https://t.co/Z2QIjcuvAj pic.twitter.com/N8ZoZ2OvtZ
— CIA (@CIA) September 11, 2026
The documents cover the period from February 1998 to September 12, 2001, and were drawn from daily intelligence briefings provided to President Bill Clinton and his successor, President George W. Bush.
CIA Director John Ratcliffe described the release as “the single largest release of CIA analysis related to 9/11 ever.” He also said, “Americans can now see for themselves the intelligence leading up to this tragic day for our Nation.”
The release came as 9/11 widow Terry Strada called on the US government to hold Saudi Arabia accountable for the attacks.
“Tell the Saudis to stop lying,” Strada said, adding that if Saudi Arabia wants to remain friends with the United States, it cannot continue to deny the pain and destruction suffered by the families.
Strada directed a separate message to Vice President JD Vance, who was in Lower Manhattan, asking him to stand with the families, survivors and Americans.
“Vice President Vance thank you for being here today, please carry that message back, stand with the families, stand with the survivors, stand with Americans, as my husband Tom said that is always the right thing to do,” Strada said.
Fifteen of the Al Qaeda hijackers were Saudi nationals. Strada is also part of a coalition of 9/11 families that believes Saudi Arabia was complicit in the attacks and has sued the Saudi government.
With inputs from Sakshi Singh.
