New 9/11 documents shed more light on Saudi role

Newly declassified documents by the US government have shed more light on Saudi Arabia’s possible role in the September 11, 2001 terror attacks in the US.

Referred to as “File 17,” the document offers new insights into the attacks and the hidden 28-page chunk of an official bipartisan congressional report that has been kept secret until today.

"Much of the information upon which File 17 was written was based on what's in the 28 pages," former Democratic Senator Bob Graham of Florida told the Associated Press.

He co-chaired the 9/11 Commission that put together the report in 2002. In that year, the congressional panel’s final report was largely viewed as an exoneration of the Arab monarchy which was home to 15 of the hijackers.

"File 17 said, 'Here are some additional unanswered questions and here is how we think the 9/11 Commission, the FBI and the CIA should go about finding the answers,'" Graham added.

The administration of former US President George W. Bush had classified parts of the congressional report to protect what it called intelligence sources and methods.

However, constant leaks and mounting evidence suggest that Washington more than anything wanted to avoid upsetting the Riyadh regime, its staunch ally in the Middle East.

The new report, compiled by Dana Lesemann and Michael Jacobson, lists the names of the people that were in contact with the 19 hijackers who committed the attacks. Of those 15 were Saudi citizens.

The list included Saudi nationals such as Fahad al-Thumairy and Omar al-Bayoumi.

According to the report, al-Thumairy had extensive contacts with the Saudi consulate in Los Angeles and was suspected of assisting at least two of the hijackers after they arrived in the city.

Al-Bayomi is also accused of helping two more hijackers in San Diego in February 2000 and left the US long before 9/11.

“Al-Bayoumi has extensive ties to the Saudi government and many in the local Muslim community in San Diego believed that he was a Saudi intelligence officer,” the report noted.

In May, John Lehman, a former member of the 9/11 Commission, revealed that Saudi Arabia was deeply involved in supporting the hijackers.

“There was an awful lot of participation by Saudi individuals in supporting the hijackers, and some of those people worked in the Saudi government,” said Lehman, adding that “Our report should never have been read as an exoneration of Saudi Arabia.”

He also blasted the commission’s former chairman and vice chairman, who advised President Barack Obama to be cautious about releasing the full congressional report.

Saudi Arabia has threatened to sell off some $750 billion of American assets held by the kingdom if it is found guilty in the attacks that killed some 3,000 people.

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