Twenty-five years is long enough: It is time for Trump to declassify the Saudi 9/11 files - opinion
The families of those murdered on September 11 deserve to know what the US government knows about the worst terrorist attack in the nation’s history.
Twenty-five years have passed since the 9/11 terror attacks, yet Americans remain unaware of the full extent of what the US government knows about the individuals who may have aided the Islamic terrorists. A quarter-century later, evidence continues to surface implicating Saudi government officials and others in providing assistance to the terrorists before the attacks.
Fifteen out of the nineteen hijackers were Saudi nationals, and documents released over the years have disclosed sensitive contacts between the hijackers and Saudi government employees and intelligence-linked figures.
The 9/11 Commission, established after the attacks, found no evidence that the Saudi government or senior officials funded al-Qaeda. However, classified 9/11 files released in 2016 and further documents in 2021 have revealed more details about the Saudi connections. In 2021, President Joe Biden ordered a declassification review of government records related to September 11, resulting in the release of FBI records from Operation Encore, an investigation into whether Saudi-linked individuals aided two of the hijackers, Nawaf al-Hazmi and Khalid al-Mihdhar.
The families of 9/11 victims are now demanding that President Donald Trump declassify additional government records related to al-Bayoumi and the hijackers. They argue that the remaining material should be disclosed, with redactions only where necessary to protect current intelligence sources or methods. This request comes as Saudi Arabia attempts to dismiss a lawsuit brought by the victims' families, with the Saudi government appealing a recent ruling in favor of the plaintiffs.
American citizens deserve to know the full extent of the information their government possesses about the 9/11 attacks. The current relationship between the US and Saudi Arabia should not be used as a shield against historical accountability. Twenty-five years is long enough; it is time for Trump to release the Saudi 9/11 files and allow the facts to speak for themselves.
Written by urgent.news from Jerusalem Post's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
