Bill Clinton Says CIA Once Had Authorization to Capture or Kill Osama bin Laden

Former President Bill Clinton said in a September 13, 2026 interview that, before the September 11 attacks, he had authorized the CIA to pursue an operation aimed at capturing or killing Osama bin Laden.

Speaking on WABC’s Cats Roundtable, Clinton recalled that U.S. intelligence officials had developed a plan to target the al-Qaeda leader, whom American authorities had identified as a growing threat.

According to Clinton, however, the operation was ultimately called off because the CIA feared that a failed attempt could result in civilian casualties.

Clinton described the decision as one of the major regrets of his presidency, reflecting on what might have happened had the operation gone ahead.

Bin Laden was later identified by U.S. authorities as the mastermind behind the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, which killed nearly 3,000 people in New York, Washington, D.C., and Pennsylvania.

The former president’s comments offer a retrospective look at the difficult decisions U.S. officials faced in the years before 9/11, when intelligence agencies were increasingly focused on the threat posed by bin Laden and al-Qaeda.

Clinton’s remarks also underscore how concerns over potential civilian casualties and the risks of a covert operation influenced decisions surrounding efforts to target the al-Qaeda leader before the attacks.

Source: NY Post