Former US President Bill Clinton has disclosed that the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) abandoned a planned operation against Osama bin Laden before the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks because of concerns that the mission could result in the deaths of innocent civilians.
Clinton, 80, made the revelation on Sunday, September 13, during an interview on WABC’s Cats Roundtable programme hosted by John Catsimatidis.
The former president said he had authorised the CIA to pursue bin Laden and would have preferred that the al-Qaeda leader be captured alive. However, Clinton stressed that the primary objective was to prevent him from carrying out further attacks.
According to Clinton, the CIA ultimately called off the operation at the final stage after assessing the potential risks to civilians.
He said he was frustrated by the decision because he believed the mission could have succeeded, but added that he did not blame the agency for refusing to proceed with an operation that posed significant risks.
Clinton said he had regarded bin Laden as one of the greatest threats to the United States and wished his administration had done more to stop him before the 9/11 attacks.
The former president also recalled his reaction to the September 11 attacks while he was in Australia. He said he immediately suspected bin Laden after watching the second aircraft crash into the World Trade Center in New York.
Clinton explained that he was particularly worried because his daughter was in Lower Manhattan at the time. He said she was among the thousands of people instructed to move north following the attacks, while the family struggled to establish contact with her.
According to Clinton, he had already been aware of bin Laden’s long-standing intentions to attack the United States and believed the al-Qaeda leader had the financial resources and operational capacity to carry out a major attack.
Osama bin Laden was eventually killed nearly a decade after the 9/11 attacks. US Navy SEALs carried out a covert operation at his compound in Abbottabad, Pakistan, on May 2, 2011, during the presidency of Barack Obama.
Reflecting on the possibility of another major terrorist attack, Clinton said New York City could still face such a threat despite improvements in US intelligence and national security.
He warned that authorities must remain vigilant and continue gathering intelligence to identify potential threats.
Clinton acknowledged that the United States is now better prepared than it was before the 9/11 attacks but stressed that national security agencies cannot afford to overlook even a single serious threat.
He also expressed hope that efforts to protect Americans from major security threats could become an area capable of bringing greater unity to the country.
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