"A long-classified U.S. report released Friday found that some of the 9/11 hijackers were in contact with and received support from individuals likely connected to the Saudi government. Known as the "28 pages," the secret document was part of a 2002 Congressional Joint Inquiry into the Sept. 11 attacks and has been classified since the report's completion, despite repeated calls for its release. The document, which the administration finally delivered to Congress earlier Friday, actually contains 29 pages of material, plus a letter from then-CIA Director George Tenet.
"While in the United States, some of the September 11 hijackers were in contact with, and received support or assistance from, individuals who may be connected to the Saudi Government," the document says. The pages also say that the inquiry obtained information "indicating that Saudi Government officials in the United States may have other ties to al-Qa'ida and other terrorist groups," but the commission that authored the document acknowledged that much of the info "remains speculative and yet to be independently verified."
...The report also criticizes the lack of effective intelligence-sharing in the U.S. government, highlighting an episode where a CIA memorandum "which discusses alleged financial connections between the September 11 hijackers, Saudi Government officials, and members of the Saudi Royal Family" was placed into an FBI case file and never forwarded to FBI headquarters until the memo was discovered by the inquiry. It also says there was a lack of emphasis on intelligence-gathering directed at Saudis in the U.S. in the time before the attacks.
"Prior to September 11th, the FBI apparently did not focus investigative resources on [redacted] Saudi nationals in the United States due to Saudi Arabia's status as an American 'ally.'"
But the report also references instances where the Saudi government was "uncooperative" in counterterrorism investigations before and after 9/11.
"A number of FBI agents and CIA officers complained to the Joint Inquiry about a lack of Saudi cooperation in terrorism investigations both before and after the September 11 attacks," citing one New York FBI agent who said "the Saudis have been useless and obstructionist for years."
http://www.cnn.com/2016/07/15/politics/congress-releases-28-pages-saudis-9-11/
"While in the United States, some of the September 11 hijackers were in contact with, and received support or assistance from, individuals who may be connected to the Saudi Government," the document says. The pages also say that the inquiry obtained information "indicating that Saudi Government officials in the United States may have other ties to al-Qa'ida and other terrorist groups," but the commission that authored the document acknowledged that much of the info "remains speculative and yet to be independently verified."
...The report also criticizes the lack of effective intelligence-sharing in the U.S. government, highlighting an episode where a CIA memorandum "which discusses alleged financial connections between the September 11 hijackers, Saudi Government officials, and members of the Saudi Royal Family" was placed into an FBI case file and never forwarded to FBI headquarters until the memo was discovered by the inquiry. It also says there was a lack of emphasis on intelligence-gathering directed at Saudis in the U.S. in the time before the attacks.
"Prior to September 11th, the FBI apparently did not focus investigative resources on [redacted] Saudi nationals in the United States due to Saudi Arabia's status as an American 'ally.'"
But the report also references instances where the Saudi government was "uncooperative" in counterterrorism investigations before and after 9/11.
"A number of FBI agents and CIA officers complained to the Joint Inquiry about a lack of Saudi cooperation in terrorism investigations both before and after the September 11 attacks," citing one New York FBI agent who said "the Saudis have been useless and obstructionist for years."
http://www.cnn.com/2016/07/15/politics/congress-releases-28-pages-saudis-9-11/
