A Sunday exposé from the New York Post digs into the missing portion — known as the “28 Pages” — of the 9/11 files. Through a series of attempted and partial interviews, the paper uncovers a pattern of stonewalling that occurred whenever anyone asked the FBI about Saudi Arabia’s possible connection to the hijackers. The White House also refused to declassify all information that could illuminate a connection between the Saudi elite and the men who flew airplanes into the World Trade Center and the Pentagon. These alleged maneuverings may have been aimed towards preserving the U.S.’ alliance with the oil-producing state
The report segment in question has been safeguarded in the U.S. Capitol basement, but the New York Post found many claims of “diplomatic immunity” standing in front of evidence that investigations were shut down and alleged co-conspirators were overlooked. The paper spoke with an on-record source who details hijackers’ funding by a Saudi ambassador. The same source also alleges that prominent Saudis “are currently funding the global jihad.” Accusations of a deliberate U.S. coverup only spiral from there:
Those sources say the pages missing from the 9/11 congressional inquiry report — which comprise the entire final chapter dealing with “foreign support for the September 11 hijackers” — details “incontrovertible evidence” gathered from both CIA and FBI case files of official Saudi assistance for at least two of the Saudi hijackers who settled in San Diego.
Some information has leaked from the redacted section, including a flurry of pre-9/11 phone calls between one of the hijackers’ Saudi handlers in San Diego and the Saudi Embassy, and the transfer of some $130,000 from then-Saudi Ambassador Prince Bandar’s family checking account to yet another of the hijackers’ Saudi handlers in San Diego.
An investigator who worked with the JTTF in Washington complained that instead of investigating Bandar, the US government protected him — literally. He said the State Department assigned a security detail to help guard Bandar not only at the embassy, but also at his McLean, Va., mansion.
According to the New York Post‘s sources, Bandar enjoyed a cigar with George W. Bush at the White House, just days after the largest terrorist attack on U.S. soil. From there, the FBI was blocked from interviewing any key Saudis in relation to 9/11. Instead, agents protected these Saudi elites, acting as escorts and helping to evacuate them from various cities. One police lieutenant is quoted as saying the FBI thought these elites were “too political to touch,” so they were not interviewed about any al Qaeda matters before being allowed to leave the United States.
The entire New York Post story is fascinating, especially when one takes into consideration how Saudi Arabia is threatening to sell off U.S. assets (worth billions) if Congress passes legislation that would allow American courts to dig further into the Saudi government’s ties to 9/11. In addition, the Obama administration has reportedly asked Congress not to pass the bill, and again, diplomacy is being listed as a reason.
(Via NY Post & New York Times)