Guardian: Saudi officials were 'supporting' 9/11 hijackers, commission member says

[Springfield]

A former Republican member of the 9/11 commission, breaking dramatically with the commission’s leaders, said Wednesday he believes there was clear evidence that Saudi government employees were part of a support network for the 9/11 hijackers and that the Obama administration should move quickly to declassify a long-secret congressional report on Saudi ties to the 2001 terrorist attack.

The comments by John F Lehman, an investment banker in New York who was Navy secretary in the Reagan administration, signal the first serious public split among the 10 commissioners since they issued a 2004 final report that was largely read as an exoneration of Saudi Arabia, which was home to 15 of the 19 hijackers on 9/11.

http://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2016/may/12/911-commission-saudi-arabia-hijackers

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 in California in the year before the 2001 attacks.

http://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2016/may/13/september-11-saudi-arabia-congressional-report-terrorism

I don't know the political leanings of The Guardian, but this latest information is concerning to say the least. Plenty more to read at the links.

[zoony]

SA has long funded extremist groups to give the regime street cred with the crazies while they make deals with Israel and the US. This doesn't come as much of a shock that the Saudi Hikackers were getting support from some of these programs

What I would take issue with is that the Saudi regime was aware and were planning or plotting.

[Predicto]

SA has long funded extremist groups to give the regime street cred with the crazies while they make deals with Israel and the US. This doesn't come as much of a shock that the Saudi Hikackers were getting support from some of these programs

What I would take issue with is that the Saudi regime was aware and were planning or plotting.

 

 

Moreover, from what I've read, the Saudi government is not a coordinated, unified entity.  Much like the Pakistani government, there are plots within plots going in there, and one entity working against another, and the people at the top have no idea of everything that is going on.   Prince Hassan might be funding terrorists, while Prince Abdullah is fighting terrorism, and King Salman doesn't get reports from either of them.  

[Springfield]

I know infinitesimally little about ME politics. Sounds convoluted, and that's saying a lot.

[justice98]

Didnt we know this already? The missing part of the 9/11 report is supposed to go into the Saudi connection, which is why it's never been released.

[Bang]

The choice of words for 'government employees" is interesting,, sort of leaves it up to interpretation as to whether they're important or not.
“There was an awful lot of participation by Saudi individuals in supporting the hijackers, and some of those people worked in the Saudi government,”

 

That could mean janitor on up.
No doubt our media will decide for us.

(Betcha it's "up"!)

 

~Bang

[TradeTheBeal!]

Saddam Hussien did 9/11, everybody knows that. That's why Big Poppa W took him down and saved America!

[Springfield]

Saddam Hussien did 9/11, everybody knows that. That's why Big Poppa W took him down and saved America!

That's the thing.

If Bush knew all along that the Saudi government had a heavy role in the 9/11 attacks but yet still led us to war against Iraq. That's pretty bad.

*Again, note my lack of knowledge of how the Saudi government works.

[TradeTheBeal!]

That's the thing.

If Bush knew all along that the Saudi government had a heavy role in the 9/11 attacks but yet still led us to war against Iraq. That's pretty bad.

*Again, note my lack of knowledge of how the Saudi government works.

It's pretty bad.

[Riggo-toni]

Imagine if 15 of the 19 hijackers had Iranian passports.

[Renegade7]

Moreover, from what I've read, the Saudi government is not a coordinated, unified entity.Much like the Pakistani government, there are plots within plots going in there, and one entity working against another, and the people at the top have no idea of everything that is going on. Prince Hassan might be funding terrorists, while Prince Abdullah is fighting terrorism, and King Salman doesn't get reports from either of them.

I was more leaning towards something like this then the very top of that country plotting to stab us in the back like that. Unfortunately, I feel the talking point will be taken from a few government officials to equalling the whole government being in on this. This is one of those cases the media needs to get the facts straight and make that message clear, but they won't.

[SkinsHokieFan]

The House of Saud controlling oil.  The gift the British gave us after WW1.

[Zazzaro703]

That's the thing.

If Bush knew all along that the Saudi government had a heavy role in the 9/11 attacks but yet still led us to war against Iraq. That's pretty bad.

*Again, note my lack of knowledge of how the Saudi government works.

I guess you never heard one of our former generals tell the story about right after 9-11 there was a memo from the DoD about how we were going to topple 6-7 countries in a few years starting with Afganistan and Iraq, then syria, libya and a couple others followed by Iran. Things didnt go according to plan.

[88Comrade2000]

There's some nice books on the evil of the Bushes, including one by Donald's sometime  buddy Roger Stone.  He even says Pappa Bush was Oswald's handler.

 

The Bushes have always been chummy with the Saudis.

[Riggo-toni]

Best book on the subject, albeit somewhat outdated (it was written in 2004) is Sleeping with the Devil by Robert Baer.  Baer is a former CIA operative, and goes through a laundry list of what officials are on Saudi payrolls through various shell consulting groups.  This isn't the usual tinfoil hat conspiracy stuff, nor is it partisan hackery, but a thoroughly knowledgeable and candid book on our ultimately doomed relationship with the Saudis. 

[Going Commando]

This isn't the usual tinfoil hat conspiracy stuff, nor is it partisan hackery, but a thoroughly knowledgeable and candid book on our ultimately doomed relationship with the Saudis.

Why do you say doomed? Are you thinking Iran can replace our partnership with them? I think there is quite a big mountain to climb before we reach that kind of strategic situation.

Despite our cultural differences, after Turkey, the Saudis are still our most ready and natural partner in the Arab world.

[Riggo-toni]

Doomed in the sense that the Saudis are overextended financially.

[Going Commando]

Doomed in the sense that the Saudis are overextended financially.

Well I'm not sure that changes the strategic reality of the region. We still need a partnership with the Saudis because of the instability in Iraq and Syria and because they're still our best partner for counterbalancing Iran, and by extension, Russian influence in the region. As well as fighting against Shi'a extremism.

Our alliance with the Saudis has been messy since day one. We have so little in common with them culturally, and actually have far more in common with their enemies Israel and Iran. And they've betrayed us numerous times over the past 80-90 years. But in the current geopolitical climate, they're much closer to us than they are to any of the other powers and we still need each other.

[zoony]

I was friends with a guy who had gone over to Saudi Arabia with his company to manage manufacturing for them in the 90s (wolverine boots) The royal family subsequently bought the facility and started making their own boots. So this guy spent almost a decade working for the royal family.

Pretty fascinating stories he would tell about his time there

[twa]

Doomed in the sense that the Saudis are overextended financially.

 

I wouldn't mind being in their shoes...unless Aramco public offering flops 

[Zazzaro703]

Moreover, from what I've read, the Saudi government is not a coordinated, unified entity. Much like the Pakistani government, there are plots within plots going in there, and one entity working against another, and the people at the top have no idea of everything that is going on. Prince Hassan might be funding terrorists, while Prince Abdullah is fighting terrorism, and King Salman doesn't get reports from either of them.

Im in no position to dispute this because how could any of us truly know but i wonder how much of that is true considering some of our politicians receive a lot of "donations" from Saudi Arabia. Seems sort of like a cover their ass type of thing so they can say the saudis that give them money are the good guys and not the ones that execute gays, treat women poorly, fund terror and commit various other human rights violations.

[visionary]

Im in no position to dispute this because how could any of us truly know but i wonder how much of that is true considering some of our politicians receive a lot of "donations" from Saudi Arabia. Seems sort of like a cover their ass type of thing so they can say the saudis that give them money are the good guys and not the ones that execute gays, treat women poorly, fund terror and commit various other human rights violations.

I doubt there's many "good guys" involved. Despite some reforms, it's a pretty messed up place.  

That said, the government does have an interest in keeping their influence in the region and keeping things stable (at least in places they're aligned with)

That's hard to do when extremists are telling everyone that they should be overthrown and that the center of Islam belongs elsewhere.

But of course there will always be competing interests, political intrigue, and people with their own agendas and stupid or short sighted foreign policy decisions.  

[Zazzaro703]

I doubt there's many "good guys" involved. Despite some reforms, it's a pretty messed up place.

That said, the government does have an interest in keeping their influence in the region and keeping things stable (at least in places they're aligned with)

That's hard to do when extremists are telling everyone that they should be overthrown and that the center of Islam belongs elsewhere.

But of course there will always be competing interests, political intrigue, and people with their own agendas and stupid or short sighted foreign policy decisions.

Oh i totally agree, i dont think think any of them are truly our allies. Its more of a the enemy of my enemy is my friend. I was just saying because some of our representatives receive money from them, one in particular receiving over 100 million to her foundation, they might try and play the card and spin a narrative that some of them are good guys and those are the ones funneling them money. The place is an absolute mess, we havent helped at all over the years and i dont see how it will get better anytime soon.

[mcsluggo]

Imagine if 15 of the 19 hijackers had Iranian passports.

 

or...Iraqi...?

[Springfield]

or...Iraqi...?

Wouldn't that be something!

Then we could have had, like, you know... a real reason to go to war in Iraq!