Bill Clinton details reason CIA abandoned plan to 'take out' Osama Bin Laden before 9/11
Former US President Bill Clinton has opened up about a chilling foiled plan to take out Osama Bin Laden before the 9/11 attacks in 2001.
Speaking in a radio interview this weekend, the 42nd president reflected on the 25th anniversary of the terrorist attacks that completely changed the world forever.
While appearing as a guest on WABC's Cats Roundtable show, the 80-year-old told host John Catsimatidis exactly where he was when the news broke.
"I was watching television and in Australia when the second plane hit," Clinton recalled, adding that he immediately suspected the Al-Qaeda leader was responsible.
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He revealed he had been tracking Bin Laden for years prior to the attacks and had approved an operation to eliminate the threat.
However, Clinton revealed the CIA ultimately abandoned the mission because 'they were afraid that if they missed, they'd kill a lot of innocent civilians and they didn't want to run the risk'.
"I didn't second guess them, but I think in the end, you know, the guy was determined to do what he did and he had lots of money and lots of capacity," Clinton added.
Before admitting: "I wish we'd done even more to get him. I always thought he was our biggest threat."
Clinton went on to detail exactly why Bin Laden was so determined to attack America, tracing the terrorist's motives back to a recent conflict in Afghanistan.
"We had been working with him when he wanted to get the Russians out of Afghanistan," Clinton explained to Catsimatidis.
He added that Bin Laden 'believed that he had to get all the infidels wherever they were from out of the, you know, what he hoped was his sphere of influence'.
"They were willing to kill a lot of people to do it - and I always thought that. So I wanted to get him, and I did what I could to do that," Clinton added.
Reflecting on the darkest day in American history, the Arkansan heaped praise on the brave passengers of United Airlines Flight 93, who heroically fought back against the hijackers.
"The people in Shanksville, Pennsylvania deserve a lot of credit for bringing that plane down," he told the radio host, noting how they prevented an even larger catastrophe.
Clinton explained: "It was clearly meant to hit the Capitol or it would have been a lot worse."
As for weather the New York could be a target of future terror attacks, he told Catsimatidis: "I think it's entirely possible, and I think we have to stay on guard about that, and we have to make sure we're getting all the intelligence we can on the issue, because I think there is a chance that that will happen.
"I think we're much better prepared than we were - we're much more likely to pick up on it than we were. But you only have to miss once, and then you're screwed. So I think it's just something that has to be a continuing part of our national security plan."
Joe Yates