CIA briefings warned of al-Qaeda airplane attack years before 9/11

September 12, 2026 at 12:53 AM2 min

This digest was compiled by AI from multiple sources — links to the originals are below.

Newly declassified CIA presidential briefs show intelligence officials warned as early as 1998 that al-Qaeda might fly an explosive-laden airplane into a US city. The 71 documents, released on the 25th anniversary of the September 11 attacks, span from early 1998 to the day after the attacks. The briefs reveal repeated warnings to Presidents Bill Clinton and George W. Bush, but few details on the scale of the impending attack.

Key Facts

A CIA briefing dated 10 September 1998 reported that al-Qaeda 'may fly an explosive-packed airplane into a US city', with Washington a prime target.
The CIA released 71 daily presidential briefs on 11 September 2026, the 25th anniversary of the attacks, spanning from early 1998 to 12 September 2001.
Of the 71 documents, 69 have never been seen by the public, and many remain heavily redacted.
A briefing dated 28 August 1998, 21 days after the US embassy bombings in Kenya and Tanzania, warned that Bin Laden was actively 'considering attacks in the US'.
A document sent to the White House at 0400 on 12 September 2001 noted that 'mounting evidence' suggested extremists in Afghanistan and the Persian Gulf were aware the attack had been imminent.

Declassified Presidential Briefings

The CIA released 71 daily presidential briefs on 11 September 2026, the 25th anniversary of the attacks. The documents span from early 1998 to the day after the attacks, and 69 of them have never been seen by the public. Many of the briefs remain heavily redacted, and they were created during both the Clinton and Bush administrations. CIA Director John Ratlcliffe said in a statement that the attacks 'struck a blow to our nation, but they did not break us'.

Early Warnings of Airplane Attack

A briefing dated 10 September 1998 reported that Bin Laden's preferred location for a strike was within the US, with Washington a prime target. The same document stated that the group 'may fly an explosive-packed airplane into a US city'. A document written on 28 August 1998, 21 days after the embassy attacks in Kenya and Tanzania that killed 224 people, warned that Bin Laden was actively 'considering attacks in the US'. The 9/11 Commission's 2004 report noted that US intelligence believed al-Qaeda was considering using an airplane in the attack, but it was never clear that the warning reached then-President Bill Clinton.

Aftermath and Intelligence Assessment

Only one of the released presidential briefings comes from after the attacks, sent to the White House at 0400 on 12 September 2001. That report noted that 'mounting evidence' suggested extremists in Afghanistan and the Persian Gulf 'were aware' the attack had been imminent. The briefs echo the assessment of the official 9/11 Commission that US intelligence repeatedly warned of a potential attack, but had few details or sense of the scale of what was coming.