Declassified Files Reveal Warnings of 9/11 Hijack Plans

Former Presidents Bill Clinton and George W. Bush received multiple warnings about a plot organized by Usama bin Laden and his terror network to hijack large commercial jets. These warnings, released in documents by the Trump administration, originated from presidential daily briefs (PDBs) and high-level CIA intelligence memoranda.

According to the reports, some operatives had already managed to bypass security checks during a simulation at an unidentified New York airport three years prior to the 9/11 attacks. The plan was to use hijacked airplanes to negotiate the release of imprisoned extremists like Sheikh Omar Abdel-Rahman and Ramzi Yousef.

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A Dec. 4, 1998, presidential daily briefing highlighted that members of the bin Laden network had acquired hijack training, though no direct ties to his al-Qa’ida organization in aircraft hijackings were identified. The report suggested bin Laden might consider different operations against US aircraft.

Earlier, a Sept. 10, 1998, memorandum warned that bin Laden’s preferred method was an attack on US soil, possibly in Washington, D.C. The document warned of a potential threat to fly a plane loaded with explosives into an American city.

Throughout 1998, US intelligence monitored bin Laden’s movements, identifying associates operating in states such as New York, California, Texas, Michigan, and Florida.

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A PDB dated Aug. 6, 2001, informed President Bush about suspicious activities within the US, suggesting preparations for potential hijackings or attacks. Activities included recent monitoring of federal buildings in New York.

Documentation revealed al-Qa’ida members, including US citizens, lived or traveled within the country, maintaining support structures that might aid in executing attacks.

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Following US missile strikes at bin Laden’s Afghan base in 1998, bin Laden reportedly expressed a desire to retaliate in Washington.

A daily brief provided to Bush weeks before September 11, 2001, indicated the FBI was engaged in about 70 field investigations tied to bin Laden’s network.

The Trump administration’s release of these documents forms part of a broader initiative to reveal intelligence obtained before 9/11.

CIA Director John Ratcliffe stated, “Today I authorized the release of 71 Presidential Daily Briefs to honor the lives of those killed on 9/11 and CIA officers who subsequently gave their lives in the fight.”

In addition, the Trump administration’s second term saw the declassification of files related to the assassinations of President John F. Kennedy, his brother Robert F. Kennedy, and Martin Luther King Jr.