Washington (AP) — Declassified FBI document Details of a man’s contact with Saudi Arabian associates in the United States in connection with logistical support given to two Saudi hijackers in preparation for the September 11 attack said a senior Kingdom official was involved in the plot. Does not provide proof.
The document, released on Saturday, the 20th anniversary of the attack, is the first disclosure record since President Joe Biden ordered a declassification review of undisclosed material for years. The 16-page document summarizes a 2015 FBI interview with a man who had frequent contact with Saudi Arabians in the United States who helped the first hijacker arrive in the country before the attack.
Biden has ordered the Department of Justice and other agencies to conduct a declassification review and publish possible documents in the next six months. He was under pressure from the victim’s family, who had long sought records when proceeding in a proceeding in New York alleging that Saudi officials assisted the hijacker.
The very black-filled document was released hours after Biden attended a commemorative event on September 11 in New York, Pennsylvania and the Pentagon. Relatives of the victims said they opposed Biden’s presence in their memories as long as the documents remained classified.
The Saudi government has long denied involvement in the attack. The Saudi Arabian Embassy in Washington supported the complete declassification of all records as a way to “completely end unfounded claims against the Kingdom.” The embassy said the allegations that Saudi Arabia had colluded were “resolutely wrong.”
These documents were released at a politically sensitive time for the United States and Saudi Arabia, which have formed difficult but strategic alliances, especially on the issue of counterterrorism. In February, the Biden administration announced intelligence activities implying Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman, who killed U.S.-based journalist Jamal Khashoggi in 2018, but criticized the Democratic Party for avoiding direct punishment for the royal family itself. Received.
Victims’ relatives said the publication of the document was an important step in their efforts to link the attack to Saudi Arabia. Brett Eagleson, whose father Bruce was killed in an attack at the World Trade Center, said the release of FBI material “accelerates the pursuit of truth and justice.”
Jim Klineler, a lawyer for the victim’s relatives, said in a statement:
“This document provides a blueprint for how (Al Qaeda) worked in the United States with the active and knowledgeable support of the Government of Saudi Arabia, along with the public evidence collected so far. I will, “he said.
To do this, Saudi officials will exchange telephone calls between themselves and al-Qaeda operatives, have “accidental meetings” with hijackers, and provide them with assistance in settling and finding flight schools. He said that would be included.
As for September 11, there was speculation of official involvement shortly after the attack revealed that 15 of the 19 attackers were Saudis. Osama bin Laden, then al-Qaeda leader, came from a prominent family in the kingdom.
According to a previously declassified document, the United States investigated Saudi diplomats and other diplomats associated with the Saudi government who knew the hijacker after arriving in the United States.
Nonetheless, a 2004 9/11 Commission report stated that a charity linked to Saudi Arabia may have diverted money to the group, but al-Qaeda’s masterminded attack was “the Saudi government as an institution or There is no evidence that senior Saudi Arabian officials have individually funded it. “
Of particular scrutiny were the first two hijackers arriving in the United States, Nawafal Hazumi and Khalid Almidar, and the support they received.
Shortly after arriving in Southern California in February 2000, he helped Saudi Arabian citizens find and rent an apartment in San Diego at a halal restaurant called Omar al-Bayoumi. He has a relationship with the Saudi Arabian government and previously attracted FBI surveillance.
Bayoumi describes the restaurant meeting between Hazmi and Mihdhar as a “coincidence,” and during the interview, the FBI asked if the features were accurate or if the meeting was actually pre-arranged. I tried many times to confirm.
The 2015 interview that underlies the FBI document was an interview with a man who had applied for US citizenship and had repeated contact with Saudi Arabian citizens many years ago. According to the document, one of the male contacts was Bayomi.
The man’s identity is blacked out throughout the document, but he is described as working at the Saudi Consulate in Los Angeles.
Also mentioned in this document is Fahad al-Tumily, a diplomat certified at the Saudi Consulate in Los Angeles at the time, who said the investigators led the militants at his mosque. According to the document, a correspondence analysis identified a 7-minute call from a Tummyley phone to the home phone of a Saudi Arabian family of two brothers detained in a prison in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba in 1999.
FBI releases new declassified record in September 11th attack | Top Story
Source link FBI releases new declassified record in September 11th attack | Top Story
The post FBI releases new declassified record in September 11th attack | Top Story appeared first on Illinois News Today.
No comments:
Post a Comment