(TRUNEWS) While reviewing 9/11 documents previously declassified in July 2015, blogger Brian P. McGlinchey discovered a new link between Saudi Arabia and the 2001 terror attacks.
In the seventeenth of the 29 documents released under the Interagency Security Classification Appeals Panel (ISCAP) appeal 2012-48, McGlinchey uncovered that the FBI had located the flight certificate for Ghassan Al-Sharbi — a known al-Qaeda member who trained with the 9/11 hijackers. The report said the Embry Riddle certificate was buried in an underground cache in Pakistan, and was inside an official envelope marked from the Saudi Embassy in Washington.
Image: Ghassan Al-Sharbi bio – excerpt from Document 17
McGlinchey noted on his blog, 28pages.org that its not uncommon for people to re-use envelopes or to correspond with their nations embassy while living in a foreign country. But did say nonetheless, that this — and the rest of Document 17 — directly indicates another possible connection between the Saudi government, al-Qaeda, and the 9/11 terrorist attack.
This suspicion was echoed by former Florida governor and senator Bob Graham, who co-chaired the joint congressional inquiry which produced the now classified 28 page 9/11 report. “That’s very interesting. That’s a very intriguing and close connection to the Saudi embassy,” Graham said after McGlinchey shared his discovery with the now champion of the 9/11 declassification movement.
Graham said on Saturday April 16th in an interview with CNN’s Michael Smerconish: “I believe that there is material in the 28 pages and the volume of other documents that would indicate that there was a connection at the highest levels between the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the 19 hijackers.”
Graham’s appearance was in response to a recent series by CBS’s “60 minutes”, which aired in a web extra 9/11 Commission member and former Secretary of the Navy John Lehman’s saying, “yes, the average intelligent watcher of 60 Minutes would recognize them instantly,” referring to the names included in the classified 28 page report.
Saudi Arabia has subsequently threatened to sell $750 billion in U.S. Treasury securities if Congress passes a law holding their nation legally responsible for the US terror attacks on September 11th 2001. TRUNEWS has previously speculated that this — and the looming death of the petrodollar — are the real reasons behind Barack Obama, Ash Carter, Paul Ryan, and top US officials paying special visits to Riyadh this month.
GHASSAN ABDULLAH AL SHARBI
The New York Times documented in their “The Guantanamo Docket” project that Al-Sharbi, who’s full name is Ghassan Abdullah al Sharbi, is one of the 80 remaining detainees at Gitmo. His public record includes his graduation from Embry Riddle University in Prescott, Arizona with a degree in electrical engineering, his reported association with other al-Qaeda operatives and alleged attendance at training camps in Afghanistan.
Al-Sharbi was also identified in the now infamous July 2001 “Phoenix Memo” — also known as “Phoenix EC” — written by FBI agent Kenneth Williams, who unsuccessfully attempted to raise the alarm prior to 9/11 that a large frequency of Middle Eastern extremists were attending flight schools with “ill intents”.
9/11 Memorial NYC -REUTERS/Eduardo Munoz
“POSSIBLE POLITICAL INFLUENCE”
Also revealed in the report — titled by ISCAP as “Saudi Notes” but dubbed by McGlinchey as “Document 17”— its authors and previous officials on the 9/11 Commission investigation, Dana Lesemann and Michael Jacobson, sought to examine possible political influence on the examination of links between the House of Saud and the 9/11 attacks.
McGlinchey noted that Lesemann and Jacobson had previously worked together on the 2002 joint congressional 9/11 intelligence inquiry and authored the classified, 28-page chapter on foreign government financing of the attacks. The 47 pages of Document 17 was their proposal to extend that research.
In Document 17 Lesemann and Jacobson asked two specific, eye-catching questions; 1. How Aggressively has the U.S. Government investigated possible ties between the Saudi Government and/or Royal Family, and the September 11th attacks? And 2. To what extent have the U.S. Government’s efforts to investigate possible ties between the Saudi Government and/or Royal Family, and the September 11th attacks been affected by political, economic, or other considerations?
Image: Two Questions for US government – excerpt from Document 17
These questions, McGlinchey wrote, are “strikingly relevant today, as a declassification review of just 28 pages said to implicate Saudi Arabia in the 9/11 attacks has inexplicably taken three times as long as the entire joint inquiry that produced them, and while a growing number of current and former officials who are familiar with the pages emphatically assert there’s no national security risk in their release.”
Lesemann was later fired from her position by the 9/11 Commission head Philip Zelikow, when he discovered she had gone around him to obtain a copy of the now classified 28 page 9/11 report for her investigation.
Zeikow, a close friend of National Security Advisor Condoleezza Rice and a member of the Bush administration’s transition team, was seen as a controversial — and ethically compromised —appointment to head the 9/11 Commission, especially since he continued to maintain consistent contact with GOP political insider Karl Rove during the investigation.
McGlinchey referenced Philip Shenon’s book, “The Commission“, as a prime example of the Bush Administration’s stonewalling of 9/11 inquiries:
(Commission member and former Secretary of the Navy John) Lehman was struck by the determination of the Bush White House to try to hide any evidence of the relationship between the Saudis and al Qaeda. “They were refusing to declassify anything having to do with Saudi Arabia,” Lehman said. “Anything having to do with the Saudis, for some reason, it had this very special sensitivity.” He raised the Saudi issue repeatedly with Andy Card. “I used to go over to see Andy, and I met with Rumsfeld three or four times, mainly to say, ‘What are you guys doing? This stonewalling is so counterproductive.”
The Bush dynasty is both personally and financially connected across multiple generations with the House of Saud. This is shown openly by the personal friendship George W. Bush had with the Saudi ambassador to the U.S. at the time of 9/11 attacks, Prince Bandar bin Sultan — aka Bandar Bush.
ADDITIONAL SAUDI LINKS IN DOCUMENT 17
In Document 17, a section titled “A Brief Overview of Possible Saudi Government Connections to the September 11th Attacks” documents the names of individuals both Lesemann and Jacobson believe merit investigation.
The authors began with the names central to the well-reported San Diego cell, which included future hijackers Nawaf al-Hazmi and Khalid al-Midhar, purported Saudi government operative Omar al-Bayoumi, Saudi diplomat Fahad al-Thumairy and Osama Bassnan — a former employee at a Saudi mission in Washington, D.C. who received “considerable funding from Prince ‘Bandar Bush’ and Princess Haifa to supposedly pay for his wife’s medical treatments.”
McGlinchey emphasized that any given association described in Document 17 may well be benign, and that witness statements aren’t always accurate, and that a previous government assertion of a fact may have already proven or may yet be proven wrong.
Individuals of Interest:
Omar Al-Bayoumi: Al-Bayoumi, a Saudi national, provided September 11 hijackers Nawaf al-Hazmi and Khalid al-Mihdhar with considerable assistance after the hijackers arrived in San Diego in February 2000. He helped them locate an apartment, co-signed their lease, and ordered Mohdhar Abdullah (discussed below) to provide them with whatever assistance they needed in acclimating to the United States. The FBI now believes that in January 2000 al-Bayoumi met with Fahad al-Thumairy, a Saudi diplomat and cleric, at the Saudi Consulate in Los Angeles before going to the restaurant where he met the hijackers and engaged them in conversation. Whether or not al-Bayoumi ‘s meeting with the hijackers was accidental or arranged is still the subject of debate. During his conversation with the hijackers, Al-Bayoumi invited them to move to San Diego, which they did shortly thereafter. Al-Bayoumi has extensive ties to the Saudi Government and many in the local Muslim community in San Diego believed that he was a Saudi intelligence officer. The FBI believes it is possible that he was an agent of the Saudi Government and that he may have been reporting on the local community to Saudi Government officials. In addition, during its investigation, the FBI discovered that al-Bayoumi has ties to terrorist elements as well.
Osama Bassnan: Bassnan was a very close associate of al-Bayoumi’s, and was in frequent contact with him while the hijackers were in San Diego. Bassnan, a vocal supporter of Usama Bin Ladin, admitted to an FBI asset that he met al-Hazmi and al-Mihdhar while the hijackers were in San Diego, but denied this in a later conversation. There is some circumstantial evidence that he may have had closer ties to the hijackers, but the FBI has been unable to corroborate this additional reporting. Bassnan received considerable funding from Prince Bandar and Princess Haifa, supposedly for his wife’s medical treatments. According to FBI documents, Bassnan is a former employee of the Saudi Government’s Educational Mission in Washington, D.C.
Fahad Al-Thumairy: Until recently al-Thumairy was an accredited Saudi diplomat and imam at the King Fahad Mosque in Culver City, California. The news media reported that the U.S. Government revoked al-Thumairy’s visa in May 2003 ; the diplomat subsequently returned to Saudi Arabia. The FBI now believes that Omar al-Bayoumi met with al-Thumairy at the Saudi Consulate in Los Angeles before al-Bayoumi went to the restaurant where he met the hijackers. According to witness reporting, al-Hazmi and al-Mihdhar were also taken to the King Fahad Mosque while they were in the United States.
Mohdhar Abdullah: Abdullah was tasked by Omar al-Bayoumi to provide al-Hazmi and al-Mihdhar with whatever assistance they needed while in San Diego. Abdullah, who became one of the hijackers’ closest associates in San Diego, translated for them, helped them open bank accounts, contacted flight schools for the hijackers, and helped them otherwise acclimate to life in the United States.
Osama Nooh and Lafi al-Harbi: Al-Harbi and Nooh are Saudi naval officers who were posted to San Diego while hijackers al-Mihdhar and al-Hazmi were living there. After the September 11th attacks, the FBI determined that al-Hazmi had telephonic contact with both Nooh and al-Harbi while al-Hazmi was in the United States.
Mohammed Quadir-Harunani: Quadir-Harunani has been the subject of an FBI counterterrorism investigation since 1999 and the FBI is currently investigating whether he had contact with the September 11th hijackers. In June 2000 a call was placed from Transcom International, a company owned by Quadir-Harunani, to a number subscribed to by Said Bahaji, one of the key members of the Hamburg cell. Quadir-Harunani is also a close associate of Usama bin Ladin’s half-brother, Abdullah Bin Ladin (discussed below), who was assigned to the Saudi Embassy in Washington, D.C.-E87 2.
Abdullah Bin Ladin: Abdullah bin Ladin (ABL) is reportedly Usama bin Ladin’s half-brother. He is the President and Director of the World Arab Muslim Youth Association (WAMY) and the Institute of Islamic and Arabic Studies in America. Both organizations are local branches of nongovernmental organizations based in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. According to the FBI, there is reason to believe that WAMY is “closely associated with the funding and financing of international terrorist activities and in the past has provided logistical support to individuals wishing to fight in the Afghan War.” ABL has been assigned to the Saudi Embassy in Washington, D.C. as an administrative officer. He is a close associate of Mohammed Quadir Harunani’s and has provided funding for Transcom International.
Fahad Abdullah Saleh Bakala: According to an FBI document, Bakala was close friends with two of the September 11th hijackers. The document also notes that Bakala has worked as a pilot for the Saudi Royal Family, flying Usama Bin Ladin between Afghanistan and Saudi Arabia during UBL’s exile.
Hamad Alotaibi: Alotaibi was assigned to the Saudi Embassy Military Division in Washington, D.C. According to an eyewitness report, one of the September 11th hijackers may have visited Alotaibi at his residence; another FBI document notes that a second hijacker may have also visited this address.
Hamid Al-Rashid: Al-Rashid is an employee of the Saudi Civil Aviation Authority and was apparently responsible for approving the salary of Omar al-Bayoumi. Hamid al-Rashid is also the father of Saud al-Rashid, whose photo was found in a raid of an al-Qa’ida safehouse in Karachi and who has admitted to being in Afghanistan between May 2000 and May 2001.
Ghassan al-Sharbi: Al-Sharbi is a Saudi student who was taking flight lessons in the Phoenix area before the September 11 attacks and is mentioned in the “Phoenix EC.” The U.S. government captured al-Sharbi in the same location where Abu Zubaida was discovered in early 2002. After Al-Sharbi was captured, the FBI discovered that he had buried a cache of documents nearby, including an envelope from the Saudi embassy in Washington that contained al-Sharbi’s flight certificate.
Saleh Al-Hussayen: According to FBI documents, Saleh Al-Hussayen is a Saudi Interior Ministry employee/official and may also be a prominent Saudi cleric. According to one news article, Saleh Al-Hussayen is the Chief Administrator of the Holy Mosques in Mecca and Medina. An FBI affidavit notes that Saleh Al-Hussayen stayed in the same hotel as three of the hijackers on September 10, 2001. He told the FBI that he did not know the hijackers . The FBI agents interviewing him, however, believed he was being deceptive. The interview was terminated when al-Hussayen either passed out or feigned a seizure and was taken to the hospital; he then departed the country before the FBI could reinterview him. Saleh Al-Hussayen is ‘also the uncle of Sami Al -Hussayen (discussed below).
Mohammed Fakihi: Fakihi is a Saudi diplomat. Until recently he was assigned to the Islamic Affairs Section of the Saudi Embassy in Berlin, Germany. Soon after the September 11th attacks, German authorities searched SECRET 3 SECRET 10 the apartment of Munir Motassadeq, an associate of the hijackers in Hamburg , and found Fakihi’s business card. According to press reports , the Saudis did not respond to German requests for information on Fakihi. More recently, German authorities discovered that Fakihi had contacts with other terrorists; Fakihi was subsequently recalled to Saudi Arabia.
Salah Bedaiwi: Bedaiwi is a Saudi Naval officer who was posted to a U .S. Navy base in Pensacola, Florida. He visited the Middle Eastern Market in Miami, a location frequented by several of the hijackers, and was in contact with at least one of the hijackers’ possible associates. The FBI has been investigating these connections, as well as his ties to other terrorist elements.
Mohammed Al-Qudhaeein and Hamdan Al-Shalawi: Al-Qudhaeein and Al-Shalawi were both Saudi students living in the Phoenix area. Qudhaeein was receiving funding from the Saudi Government during his time in Phoenix. Qudhaeein and Al-Shalawi were involved in a 1999 incident aboard an America West flight that the FBI’s Phoenix Office now believes may have been a “dry run” for the September 11th attacks. Al-Qudhaeein and Al-Shalawi were traveling to Washington, D.C. to attend a party at the Saudi Embassy; the Saudi Embassy paid for their airfare. According to FBI documents, during the flight they engaged in suspicious behavior, including several attempts to gain access to the cockpit. The plane made an emergency landing in Ohio, but no charges were filed against either individual. The FBI subsequently received information in November 2000 that Al-Shalawi had been trained at the terrorist camps in Afghanistan to conduct Khobar Towertype attacks and the FBI has also developed information tying Al-Qudhaeein to terrorist elements as well.
Ali Hafiz Al-Marri and Maha Al-Marri: Ali Al-Marri was indicted for lying to the FBI about his contact with Mustafa Al-Hasawi, one of the September 11th financiers. Ali Al-Marri, who arrived in the United States shortly before the September 11th attacks, attempted to call Al-Hasawi a number of times from the United States. The FBI has recently received reporting that he may also have been an al:.Qa’ida “sleeper agent.” According to FBI documents, Ali Al-Marri has connections to the Saudi Royal Family. The Saudi Government provided financial support to his wife, Maha Al-Marri, after Ali Al-Marri was detained and assisted her in departing the United States before the FBI could interview her.
The post Document 17: The smoking gun which links Saudi Arabia to 9/11 appeared first on TRUNEWS with Rick Wiles.
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