Fingering Our Saudi Allies for the 9/11 Attacks

It's the briefest of glimpses into what the American 9/11 Commission learned about the role played by the Saudis in the attacks but it may be enough to force the government to release the redacted 28-pages of the commission's report. From The Guardian:

Investigators for the 9/11 commission would later describe the scene in Saudi Arabia as chilling.

They took seats in front of a former Saudi diplomat who, many on the commission’s staff believed, had been a ringleader of a Saudi government spy network inside the US that gave support to at least two of the 9/11 hijackers inCalifornia in the year before the 2001 attacks.

At first, the witness, 32-year-old Fahad al-Thumairy, dressed in traditional white robes and headdress, answered the questions calmly, his hands folded in front of him. But when the interrogation became confrontational, he began to squirm, literally, pushing himself back and forth in the chair, folding and unfolding his arms, as he was pressed about his ties to two Saudi hijackers who had lived in southern California before 9/11.

Even as he continued to deny any link to terrorists, Thumairy became angry and began to sputter when confronted with evidence of his 21 phone calls with another Saudi in the hijackers’ support network – a man Thumairy had once claimed to be a stranger. “It was so clear Thumairy was lying,” a commission staffer said later. “It was also so clear he was dangerous.”

Could Obama drop a bomb on Riyadh and the House of Saud? What a lovely parting gift for an outgoing president to bestow on his nation and on Saudi Arabia.

Barack Obama has said he is nearing a decision on whether to declassify the 28 pages, a move that has led to the first serious public split among the 9/11 commissioners since they issued a final report in 2004. The commission’s former chairman and vice chairman have urged caution in releasing the congressional report, suggesting it could do damage to US-Saudi relations and smear innocent people, while several of the other commissions have called for the 28 pages to be made public, saying the report could reveal leads about the Saudis that still need to be pursued.

Earlier this week, a Republican commissioner, former navy secretary John F Lehman, said there was clear evidence that Saudi government employees were part of a support network for the 9/11 hijackers – an allegation, congressional officials have confirmed, that is addressed in detail in the 28 pages.

“The 9/11 investigation was terminated before all the relevant leads were able to be investigated,” he said on Thursday. “I believe these leads should be vigorously pursued. I further believe that the relevant 28 pages from the congressional report should be released, redacting only the names of individuals and certain leads that have been proven false.”

This would probably not be good for prime minister Slick and his boy, Steffie. These guys don't waste a chance to tell us what good allies Canada has in the Saudis.

As a footnote, I've been stumbling across references to Canadian support or participation in the Saudis war against the Houthis in Yemen. This goes beyond furnishing the Saudis with death wagons which now do, indeed, seem to be in action in Yemen. There is strong evidence that the Saudis are committing war crimes in attacking civilians in Yemen and, if we're actively assisting them (one report labeled Canada as a member of the Saudi-led coalition), then we may be party to those same war crimes. No wonder Steffi goes all wobbly.