CIA warned of threat of 'explosive airplane' years before 9/11, documents show

Key Points:

• Newly declassified CIA documents reveal that as early as 1998, US intelligence officials discussed the possibility of al-Qaeda using an explosive-laden airplane to attack a US city, with Washington identified as a prime target.
• The CIA released 71 daily presidential briefs from 1998 to the day after the 9/11 attacks, 69 of which had never been publicly seen, showing growing concern over Osama Bin Laden and al-Qaeda’s intentions.
• Despite repeated warnings about potential attacks, US intelligence had limited details and did not fully grasp the scale of the impending 9/11 plot, and it remains unclear whether these warnings reached President Bill Clinton.
• A briefing on September 12, 2001, noted mounting evidence that extremists in Afghanistan and the Persian Gulf were aware of the attack beforehand, and suggested Bin Laden may have moved to Kabul to avoid Taliban conflict.
• Following the 9/11 attacks, the US and its allies launched an invasion of Afghanistan aimed at dismantling al-Qaeda, with the Taliban leadership reportedly evacuating key figures like Mullah Omar from Kandahar immediately after the attacks.