President Obama is finally considering a release of classified 9/11 documents within the next 2 months, according to reports by Fox News and CBS 60 Minutes. The documents allegedly reveal an extensive “Saudi support network” for the hijackers, including inside the United States. Remember, 15 of the 19 hijackers in the September 11 attacks were Saudi nationals.
According to a transcript of a CBS 60 Minutes interview with Senator Bob Graham:
Bob Graham: I think it is implausible to believe that 19 people, most of whom didn’t speak English, most of whom had never been in the United States before, many of whom didn’t have a high school education– could’ve carried out such a complicated task without some support from within the United States.
Steve Kroft: And you believe that the 28 pages are crucial to this? Understand…
Bob Graham: I think they are a key part.
Former U.S. Senator Bob Graham has been trying to get the 28 pages released since the day they were classified back in 2003, when he played a major role in the first government investigation into 9/11.
Bob Graham: I remain deeply disturbed by the amount of material that has been censored from this report.
At the time, Graham was chairman of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence and co-chair of the bipartisan joint congressional inquiry into intelligence failures surrounding the attacks. The Joint Inquiry reviewed a half a million documents, interviewed hundreds of witnesses and produced an 838 page report — minus the final chapter which was blanked out — excised by the Bush administration for reasons of national security. Bob Graham won’t discuss the classified information in the 28 pages, he will say only that they outline a network of people that he believes supported the hijackers while they were in the U.S.
Steve Kroft: You believe that support came from Saudi Arabia?
Bob Graham: Substantially.
Steve Kroft: And when we say, “The Saudis,” you mean the government, the–
Bob Graham: I mean–
Steve Kroft: –rich people in the country? Charities–
Bob Graham: All of the above.
The Bush and the Obama administrations both dragged their feet on releasing the report, citing national security as a concern. But the families of the 9/11 victims deserve to know who exactly was responsible for the deaths of their loved ones. If Saudi royals and elites played a significant role in the 9/11 attacks (and it looks like they did), President Obama should definitely not be going to Saudi Arabia and shaking their hands for a summit next week.
