FBI releases declassified document on 20th anniversary of 9/11
The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) released a recently declassified document on the 9/11 attacks on Saturday 11th September, which disclosed the details of the logistical support that two Saudi hijackers received prior to the terrorist attacks in 2001.
Nadine Hosny 
This 16-page document is the first piece of information released since President Joe Biden issued an order for the declassification of 9/11 documents last week. The largely redacted report contains a review of a 2015 interview conducted by the FBI with an anonymous man who had frequent contact with Saudi citizens who lived in the United States. The man assisted the citizens, Nawaf al-Hazmi and Khalid al-Mihdhar, who were the first hijackers to arrive in the U.S, posing as students.
In February 2000, shortly after they arrived in Southern California, they met a Saudi citizen named Omar al-Bayoumi in a halal restaurant. He helped them find and rent an apartment in San Diego. Al-Bayoumi had ties to the Saudi Arabian government and had been under FBI investigation.
The document was released shortly after President Biden commemorated the 20th anniversary of the terrorist attack, and former Presidents Barack Obama, Bill Clinton and George W. Bush joined him to show solidarity. The families of the victims published a statement last month saying that President Biden would not be welcome to the memorial service while the documents are kept confidential.
Two days before the document was released, the Saudi Embassy in Washington stated that it encouraged the full declassification of records to "end the baseless allegations against the Kingdom once and for all." It further stated that any information linking the Saudi Arabian government to the attacks is absolutely wrong. The 9/11 Committee report found no evidence of Saudi leaders’ involvement in the attacks.
The document was released during a politically sensitive period for the United States and Saudi Arabia. The two countries have formed a strategic alliance despite the difficulties, especially on the issue of counterterrorism. When it was reported that 15 of the 19 hijackers were Saudi citizens, speculation from officials that the Saudi Arabian government was linked to the attacks arose. Osama bin Laden, the former leader of al-Qaeda, came from a renowned family in Saudi Arabia. It is said that his organization received money from wealthy Saudis in the early 1990s.
All of this raised questions about whether there were any officials involved in the attacks and whether there were several US administrations that covered up the matter to protect allies. The report, however, did not provide any evidence that major Saudi government officials were involved in the attacks.
With President Biden instructing the Department of Justice and other agencies to review which documents can be released in the next six months, more information about the attack may soon come to light.
