6/15/1998

According to a Senior Executive Intelligence Brief from June 1998: “Terrorist financier Usama Bin Ladin in an interview published this week with a US journalist indicated he may attack a US military passenger aircraft using antiaircraft missiles. His comments follow those he made at a press conference last month in which he indicated the results of his jihad would be visible ‘within weeks.’ …Authorities in Saudi Arabia [redacted] arrested [redacted] members of a Bin Ladin network and seized antitank missiles [redacted]. …Last month he claimed to have almost completed preparations for an attack against the US this month; [redacted] indicated such an attack would occur in Saudi Arabia or Kuwait [redacted].” [The 15th of the month used for date sorting purposes only.]

 – CIA, “Terrorism: Bin Ladin Threatening to Attack US Aircraft,” (Senior Executive Intelligence Brief), The Central Intelligence Agency’s 9/11 File:, The National Security Archive, June 1998