The theories
The claim that Clinton turned down bin Laden in 1996
RECORD / AT A GLANCE
Unproven
Unproven. The 9/11 Commission found no credible evidence that Sudan offered to hand him over. The U.S. ambassador had instructions only to push Sudan to expel him, and there was no U.S. indictment at the time.
THE EVENTS / THE INVESTIGATION / THE STORY
1996
Bin Laden moves from Sudan to Afghanistan.
READ THE FILE
Open an article for its evidence, labeled AI assessment and numbered sources. Read the complete static edition ↗
WHAT PEOPLE SAY ABOUT THIS FILE
1 claim people make about this file, each rated documented, partly true, disputed, unproven or false. Think a rating is wrong? Use Dispute or Support, or join the Discussion.
The Commission found no credible evidence of the offer.
Who says it: Sudan’s defense minister.
OPEN THE RECORD
Numbered citations in each article identify the relevant sources. These records have different purposes and evidentiary weight.
The 1998 embassy bombings, the cruise-missile strikes, the plans to capture bin Laden, and the Sudanese claim of an offer to hand him over, for which the Commission found “no credible evidence.”
Comment, dispute or support a claim, submit a source or rate this page through a short Google Form. It asks you to sign in with Google so we know you are a real person; your email is never shown. Nothing appears here until it has been reviewed. Conversation on X tagged #AIFiles #AIFiles911 shows up below after the daily refresh.
Reader comments
On X
Posts from the daily snapshot appear here when JavaScript is on. You can read this subject’s threads on the forum: Forum: #AIFiles911.
Reader comments are shown only after review, and rows removed from the form’s sheet disappear at the next refresh. X posts are a read-only daily snapshot; posts deleted or made private there are removed at the next refresh. Inclusion is not endorsement. A submitted source stays pending review until a page update says otherwise.
No credible evidence.
Sudan’s minister of defense, Fatih Erwa, claimed Sudan offered to hand bin Laden over. The Commission wrote that it “found no credible evidence that this was so.” Ambassador Timothy Carney was told only to push Sudan to expel him, and had no legal basis to ask for more because no indictment was outstanding. [1]
What we can’t tell you. The Commission relied on U.S. officials’ accounts and records.
The 1998 embassy bombings, the cruise-missile strikes, the plans to capture bin Laden, and the Sudanese claim of an offer to hand him over, for which the Commission found “no credible evidence.”
Approved reader comments and ratings appear here when JavaScript is on.