Q&A: Explaining 28 Pages, Saudi Arabia, and the 9/11 Hijackers By Felicia Schwartz
http://blogs.wsj.com/washwire/2016/04/21/qa-28-pages-saudi-arabia-and-the-911-hijackers/
President Barack Obama’s trip to Saudi Arabia this week and pending legislation that would enable families of people killed in the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks to sue the Gulf kingdom have prompted fresh calls to declassify 28 pages of a congressional report said to describe links between Saudi Arabia and the terrorists.
“If all of the information comes out and [the legislation] is passed we can move forward against the Saudis,” said Jim Kreindler, one of the lawyers representing the families of Sept. 11 victims.
Here’s some background on the 28 pages:
What are the 28 pages everyone keeps talking about?
Those are 28 classified pages of a 2002 Congressional investigation into the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001. They concern Saudi Arabia’s possible role in the attacks and President George W. Bush ordered them sealed after the investigation concluded.
These 28 pages are 14 years old. Why are we talking about them now?
Family members of 9/11 victims have pursued a legal effort to sue the Saudi government over the attacks, alleging it had provided some manner of support for the 19 men who hijacked the planes.
These kinds of lawsuits are generally precluded by U.S. law but Congress is weighing legislation that could allow them. The Obama administration has been lobbying hard against the legislation.
In addition, the U.S. relationship with the Gulf kingdom, a long-time ally, has been strained in recent years. In a March interview with the Atlantic, Mr. Obama complained about Gulf Arab allies’ unwillingness to carry their own weight in regional issues. Asked whether Saudi Arabia was a friend to him, he said, “it’s complicated.”
Mr. Obama traveled to Saudia Arabia earlier this week for a summit of Gulf countries.
Saudi Arabia has long said that support for the hijackers didn’t come directly from the government. In 2003 the government called for the report to be declassified. CONTINUE AT SITE
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