According to a top secret report from the Director of Central Intelligence, George Tenet, on March 19, 2004: “A December 24, 1998 MON [Memorandum of Notification, issued by President Bill Clinton] for the first time authorized the use of lethal force in offensive operations designed to capture Bin Ladin [redacted] spelled out the parameters within which lethal force would be authorized, restrictions [redacted] remained in force in all subsequent MONs [redacted].”
– CIA, “DCI Report: The Rise of UBL and Al-Qa’ida and the Intelligence Community Response,” (Draft, CIA Analytic Report), The Central Intelligence Agency’s 9/11 File:, The National Security Archive, March 19, 2004