Following testimony from a former al-Qaeda operative alleging that members of the Saudi Arabian government both financed and assisted the terrorist organization in planning attacks against the United States, the White House reconfirmed its alliance with the oil-rich monarchy, and refused to embrace transparency that could shed more light on the matter.
“The United State and Saudi Arabia maintain a strong counter terrorism relationship as a key element of our broad and strategic partnership,” spokesman Josh Earnest told reporters on Thursday.
Earlier this week, the New York Times reported on testimony given by convicted al-Qaeda member Zacarias Moussaoui in a civil case brought against the government of Saudi Arabia by families of 9/11 victims.
As the paper reports, Moussaoui “described prominent members of Saudi Arabia’s royal family as major donors to the terrorist network in the late 1990s and claimed that he discussed a plan to shoot down Air Force One with a Stinger missile with a staff member at the Saudi Embassy in Washington.”
The Saudi Embassy responded to the allegations, saying, “Moussaoui is a deranged criminal.”
Earnest made similar claims on Thursday.
“I’m not gonna comment on those assertions from somebody who’s been convicted on very serious terrorism charges,” he said.
But according to at least one official who helped investigate the worst terrorist attack on American soil in US history, Moussaoui shouldn’t necessarily be dismissed outright. As The Sentinel previously noted, the co-chair of the 9/11 commission, former Senator Bob Graham (D-Fla.) said that Saudi involvement in the attacks has been “purposefully tamped down.”
He and current lawmakers like Reps. Walter Jones (R-N.C.) and Stephen Lynch (D-Mass.), have repeatedly called for 28 pages of the 9/11 report that allegedly reveal Saudi ties to the attacks of that day to be declassified.
When asked by reporters on Thursday if the White House supports declassifying that section of the report, Earnest referred to an “ongoing process.”
He said that in response to congressional requests, the administered asked the intelligence community last year to conduct a “classification review of the material.”
Earnest refused to give details on when that process may be completed. He also declined to provide further comment on if President Obama “in principle” supports declassification, saying, “There is a process in place for evaluating whether or not it is possible to release this information without harming national security.”
“I’m confident that he president, while being a stalwart advocate for transparency, would not be in support of releasing information that could harm our national security,” he said.
