FBI declassifies documents from its 9/11 investigation
The FBI has declassified a document that formed part of the investigation into the 9/11 attacks and the possible involvement of the Saudi government in the attacks. The 16-page document, some parts of which have been redacted, states that the hijackers had contact with Saudi individuals in the United States, but rules out a link between the terrorists and Riyadh.
The 2016 investigation provides details of alleged logistical assistance to two of the hijackers by Fahad al-Thumaniry, a Saudi consular official, and Omar al-Bayomi, a Saudi intelligence agent posing as a student in Los Angeles.
US authorities say al-Bayomi was involved in providing "travel assistance, lodging and financing" to Nawaf al Hazmi and Khalid al Mihdhar, two of the 9/11 terrorists. Al-Bayomi was in contact with Bin Laden and is reported to have spoken "enthusiastically" about the Al Qaeda leader. He was arrested in the UK after the attacks.
A few days before the 20th anniversary of 9/11, Joe Biden signed an executive order to declassify all classified documents about the attacks in a phased manner. "It is critical to ensure that the US government maximises transparency, relying on classification only when strictly tailored and necessary," the text of the order states.
Biden took this decision after multiple requests from the victims' families to shed light on the events. More than 1,600 people affected by the disaster signed a letter asking the president to refrain from going to Ground Zero to commemorate the anniversary unless he releases confidential documents.
The president, for his part, said the order fulfils one of his campaign promises. "When I ran for president, I pledged to ensure transparency regarding the declassification of documents about the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks in the United States," Biden said.
The Saudi embassy in Washington said it "welcomes the release" of the FBI documents. The Riyadh government has been accused by the victims' families for years of having links to the terrorists. Indeed, the letter to Biden suggests that Riyadh was linked to "aiding the attacks". The embassy also responded to the allegations by stressing that "any allegation that Saudi Arabia is complicit in 9/11 is categorically false".
"As past investigations, including the 9/11 Commission and the release of the so-called '28 pages', have revealed, no evidence has ever emerged to indicate that the Saudi government or its officials had prior knowledge of the terrorist attack or were in any way involved," the embassy added.
The 9/11 Families United, however, accused the FBI of eliminating any clues about Saudi involvement in the attacks. "Now that the secrets of the Saudis are exposed, it is time for the Kingdom to acknowledge the role of its officials in the murder of thousands of people on US soil," the organisation said in a statement.
Leon Panetta, former secretary of defence and former CIA director, has also welcomed Biden's decision. "I think the families of the victims have a right to know the whole truth about what was involved and who was involved in the 9/11 attacks," Panetta told CNN. However, the former defence secretary doubts that the families will get "satisfactory answers about Saudi Arabia's role with respect to this attack".
The US Justice Department will continue to declassify new 9/11-related documents over the next six months.
