In response to a 1996 State Department warning about bin Laden and the 1998 bombings of U.S. embassies in East Africa by al-Qaeda ( which killed 224 people , including 12 Americans ) , Clinton ordered several military missions to capture or kill bin Laden , all of which were unsuccessful . In August 1998 , Clinton ordered cruise missile strikes on terrorist targets in Afghanistan and Sudan , targeting the Al-Shifa pharmaceutical factory in Sudan , which was suspected of assisting bin Laden in making chemical weapons , and bin Laden 's terrorist training camps in Afghanistan
1998 bombings of U.S. embassies in East Africa
1998 United States embassy bombings
Bill Clinton