Former US President Bill Clinton revealed on Sunday, September 13, that the CIA abandoned a plan to eliminate Osama bin Laden before the September 11 attacks, citing concerns that a botched operation could result in the deaths of innocent civilians.
Clinton, now 80, discussed the agency’s decision-making during a radio interview on WABC’s “Cats Roundtable” with host John Catsimatidis. He said he had personally authorized the CIA to attempt to take out bin Laden, noting that while capturing him alive would have been preferable, stopping him was the priority.
“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. He explained that the agency backed off out of fear that a failed strike could kill numerous civilians — a risk they weren’t willing to take. “I didn’t second-guess them, but I think, in the end, [bin Laden] was determined to do what he did, and he had lots of money and lots of capacity,” he reflected, adding that he wished more had been done to capture him given how seriously he regarded bin Laden as a threat.
Recalling September 11
Clinton also described the moment he realized bin Laden was behind the 9/11 attacks. He was in Australia at the time, watching television when the second plane struck the World Trade Center, while his wife Hillary was in Washington and their daughter was in Lower Manhattan — an especially anxious moment, he said, since they were unable to reach her as she joined thousands being evacuated on foot.
“I immediately said that bin Laden did this. They all looked at me and said, ‘How do you know this?'” Clinton recalled telling those around him that only two adversaries had the capability to carry out such an attack — Iran and bin Laden — and that Iran could be ruled out given the certainty of a devastating US response. That left bin Laden, whom he knew had been plotting an attack on US soil for years.
Bin Laden was eventually killed in a covert raid on his compound in Abbottabad, Pakistan, carried out by US Navy SEALs on May 2, 2011, during Barack Obama’s presidency.
On the risk of future attacks
Asked whether he believed New York City could again become a target, Clinton said it remains a real possibility. “I think it’s entirely possible. I think we have to stay on guard about that. We have to make sure we’re getting all the intelligence we can on the issue,” he said, while noting that the US is far better prepared today than it was in 2001.
“We’re much better prepared [now] than we were… [But] you only have to miss once, and then you’re screwed. It’s just something that has to be a continuing part of our national security plan,” he said, adding that national unity could be found in the shared goal of preventing large-scale threats while pursuing positive outcomes for the country.