CIA Declassifies Bombshell 9/11 Docs Including a 1988 Warning Showing a Possible Attack Against a US City

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The CIA has released 71 presidential intelligence briefing products concerning al-Qaeda and Osama bin Laden, including a 1998 warning about a possible attack using an explosives-laden aircraft against an American city.

CIA Director John Ratcliffe authorized the declassification Friday, marking the 25th anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks. The agency described it as its largest release of President’s Daily Brief material related to 9/11.

The collection spans February 1998 through Sept. 12, 2001, covering intelligence presented during the administrations of Presidents Bill Clinton and George W. Bush.

More than 100 pages are publicly available, although portions remain redacted. Ratcliffe called the disclosure an “act of exceptional transparency” and linked it to President Donald Trump’s broader declassification initiative.

A Sept. 10, 1998, briefing reported intelligence that bin Laden was considering having an aircraft packed with explosives flown into a U.S. city, Conservative Brief reported.

The newly accessible records also document uncertainty about the reliability and specificity of intelligence reaching senior officials.

A July 1998 briefing cited sources the CIA considered questionable. An October 2000 document described bin Laden’s continued determination to attack American targets while noting uncertainty about where or when an operation would occur.

Warnings intensified during summer 2001. A July 24 briefing addressed the apparent postponement of one terrorist operation while cautioning that preparations for other attacks might continue.

The collection includes the previously declassified Aug. 6, 2001, briefing titled “Bin Ladin Determined To Strike in US.”

That document informed Bush of bin Laden’s longstanding interest in attacking inside the country. It referenced possible hijackings, suspicious surveillance of federal buildings and FBI investigations.

The broader release adds detail to warnings previously reported by Resist the Mainstream, including intelligence about potential hijackings and possible attacks on American soil.

The CIA said the records trace analysts’ developing understanding of al-Qaeda despite incomplete information. The documents do not establish that either administration knew the specific Sept. 11 operation in advance.

The National Archives separately released additional 9/11 Commission records, including a roughly 7,000-word summary compiled after investigators reviewed presidential briefings from the three years preceding the attacks.

Newly available interview records involve former national security advisers Condoleezza Rice and Sandy Berger, former counterterrorism official Richard Clarke, former CIA Director George Tenet and former CIA bin Laden unit chief Michael Scheuer.

The Public Interest Declassification Board said the releases followed nearly two decades of advocacy. It renewed its recommendation to Trump in June, after which the National Security Council directed an interagency review.

A Sept. 12, 2001, intelligence report included information from a source suggesting the attack operation had been planned for approximately two years and that the U.S. Capitol had been considered a target.

The board said additional records still warrant review and pledged to continue seeking their release, describing the disclosures as progress toward a fuller public accounting of the attacks.