Congress Releases '28 Pages' That Looks For Saudi Links To Sept. 11 Hijackers

Congress on Friday released the "28 pages," a previously classified document that examined possible connections between the Saudi government and the Sept. 11 hijackers.

The document — which actually contains 29 pages — had taken on a life of its own, prompting frequent speculation about its contents, though only a limited number of government officials had been allowed to read it.

Bob Graham, the former Democratic senator from Florida, was one of the co-chairman of the congressional inquiry that produced the pages back in 2002. He had long called for the document's release, saying it pointed to extensive Saudi government contact with some of the hijackers. Fifteen of the 19 hijackers were from Saudi Arabia.

But the White House said Friday the document supported other investigations into the same question.

The document "does not change the assessment of the U.S. government that there's no evidence that the Saudi government as an institution or senior Saudi officials individually funded al-Qaida," said White House press secretary Josh Earnest.

The document was based largely on information the FBI and CIA gathered in the first year after the Sept. 11 attack. This information was available to U.S. investigators, including the 9/11 Commission, which followed up in 2004 with its comprehensive report on all the events surrounding Sept. 11.

The U.S. has never accused or prosecuted any Saudi government officials of involvement in the Sept. 11 plot. Yet some critics have claimed the U.S. government was protecting the kingdom because the two countries are close allies.

The Saudis argue that they would never support al-Qaida, a terrorist group committed to overthrowing the Saudi monarchy.

Saudi Arabia, meanwhile, said it welcomed the document's release, which it had advocated for years. The Saudis said that keeping it classified left a cloud over the kingdom and they were unable to respond to the contents since they were not publicly known. - Read More at the NPR

Congress Releases '28 Pages' That Looks For Saudi Links To Sept. 11 Hijackers

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