FBI Declassifies Investigation Document on 20th Anniversary of 9/11 Attacks

The FBI on Saturday, the 20th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks, released a newly declassified document regarding its investigation into the terror attack that claimed the lives of nearly 3,000 people in the United States. It is the first such document to be released since the attack in 2001 and deals with the alleged role of the Saudi Arabian government in the planning of the attacks. The publishing of the document, following an executive order by US President Joe Biden directing its release, comes after families of the victims told Biden that he would not be welcome at memorial events on 9/11 unless he declassified documents from the investigation. The 16-page document shows that there were contacts between the attackers and Saudi terrorists, but does not provide a direct link to the Saudi government. Saudi Arabia has said that it had not involvement in the attacks, and its embassy in Washington said the kingdom welcomes the release of the document. Fifteen of the 19 hijackers were from Saudi Arabia. Former US Presidents Bill Clinton and Barack Obama joined Biden at the National September 11 Memorial and Museum at Ground Zero in New York for the official memorial ceremony; President George W. Bush, who was president at the time of the attacks, attended the memorial service at the Flight 93 Memorial in Shanksville, Pennsylvania, along with Vice President Kamala Harris. “There’s little cultural overlap between violent extremists abroad and violent extremists at home. But in their disdain for pluralism, in their disregard of human life, in their determination to defile national symbols, they are children of the same foul spirit, and it is our continuing duty to confront them,” Bush said.