CIA warned of threat of 'explosive airplane' years before 9/11, documents show
Newly declassified CIA documents reveal that US intelligence officials warned presidents Clinton and Bush about the potential for al-Qaeda to use airplanes as weapons years before the 9/11 attacks. The release of these 71 presidential briefs highlights the intelligence community's growing concern regarding Osama Bin Laden during that period.
Why it matters
These documents provide historical context on the intelligence failures and warnings leading up to the most significant terrorist attack in modern US history.
Image source, Getty Images Image caption, CIA warnings to presidents Bill Clinton and George W Bush reveal repeated warnings of an impending attack in the US
Newly declassified documents show that three years before 9/11, US intelligence officials were discussing the possibility that al-Qaeda "may fly an explosive airplane into a US city".
On Friday, the 25th anniversary of hijacked planes being crashed into the World Trade Center, Pentagon and a Pennsylvania field, the CIA released 71 daily presidential briefs spanning from early 1998 to the day after the attacks.
Another document, dated 12 September 2001, said the plot's existence was "widely known" in extremist circles.
President's Daily Briefs are among the most secretive intelligence analyses in the US government, and typically remain classified for 40 or 50 years after publication.
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