'CIA Killed The Plan At Last Minute': Bill Clinton Reveals US Aimed To Kill Osama Bin Laden Before 9/11

Former US President Bill Clinton revealed that the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) abandoned a plan to kill al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden before the September 11, 2001 attacks, citing fear of civilian casualties.

Clinton, 80, said he had authorised the agency to eliminate bin Laden, although capturing him alive would have been preferable. However, the CIA withdrew from the proposed operation at the final stage after assessing the potential risks to civilians.

“I had authorised the CIA to try to take him out. I was scared, and I was mad because we tried to get him before, and the CIA at the last minute killed the plan that I think might well have succeeded,” Clinton said during an interview on WABC’s Cats Roundtable programme.

“But they were afraid that if they missed, they'd kill a lot of innocent civilians. They didn't want to run the risk. I didn't second-guess them,” he added.

'I Wish We Had Done More'

Clinton said his administration had viewed bin Laden as the most serious threat facing the United States and expressed regret that further action was not taken against him.

“I wish we had done even more to get him. I always thought he was our biggest threat. I wanted to get him, and I did what I could to do that,” he said.

The former president also recalled watching the September 11 attacks on television while visiting Australia. His wife, Hillary Clinton, was in Washington, while their daughter Chelsea Clinton was in Lower Manhattan.

“At the time, I was in Australia. Hillary was in Washington. But our daughter was in Lower Manhattan, and we were worried to death about her,” Clinton said.

Chelsea was among thousands of people instructed to move northwards through Manhattan as the attacks unfolded.

Clinton said he suspected bin Laden’s involvement as soon as the second hijacked aircraft struck the World Trade Center.

“I immediately said that bin Laden did this. They all looked at me and said, ‘How do you know this?’” he recalled.

CIA Document Reveals Laden's Plans To Target India

Clinton’s remarks coincided with the release of newly declassified CIA documents marking the 25th anniversary of the September 11 attacks.

The records include presidential daily briefs dating to 1998 that warned about bin Laden’s interest in attacking the United States and his attempts to acquire weapons of mass destruction.

Other documents indicate that bin Laden’s network was considering attacks outside the United States. A CIA brief dated August 28, 1998, said he intended to carry out attacks in several countries, including India, Pakistan and Egypt, as well as nations in the Arabian Peninsula. It did not identify a specific target or operational plan concerning India.

Bin Laden remained in hiding for almost a decade after the September 11 attacks, which killed nearly 3,000 people in the United States.

He was killed on May 2, 2011, when US Navy SEALs raided his compound in Abbottabad, Pakistan. The covert military operation was conducted during Barack Obama’s presidency.