Intelligence officials warned a U.S. president in 1998 that al-Qaeda’s leadership had explicitly considered launching a major attack inside the United States, with Washington as a prime target. The assessment highlighted the group’s long-standing ambition to strike American soil directly, raising early concerns about the threat of large-scale terrorism. The briefing underscored the need for heightened security measures against foreign extremist plots targeting domestic cities. Details of the intelligence and its immediate impact remain a key focus in historical accounts of counterterrorism preparedness.
A briefer told Clinton in 1998 that bin Laden’s 'preferred option is to strike the US on its own soil in Washington'.
