'It's in interest of the American people to know who helped perpetrate 9/11 attacks'
If the United States decides not to release the 28 pages, if they don’t make it public then I think there will be internal bickering among the officials, Saeed Shehabi, Bahrain Freedom Movement, told RT. He added that it is vital for the American people to know what happened on 9/11.
The Saudi Arabia government was deeply involved in supporting the 9/11 attacker, according to a former member of an independent commission set up to investigate the terror attacks.
RT: US President Barack Obama says the declassification of this report might affect US national security. Maybe the report should not be made public?
Saeed Shehabi: It is clear that there is a problem within the US administration, whether to release the report or not to release it. If they don’t do that, then it will cause more problems to the White House and the Administration than good. People are wondering; we are talking about high stakes there. We are talking about 3,000 people killed by terrorists who might have been supported by the Saudis, according to the report. So if they don’t release it, if they don’t talk about this 28 pages, if they don’t make it public then I think there will be internal bickering among the officials. I am sure there will be ramifications for that. It is in the interest of the US citizens to know who had perpetrated those crimes.
RT: What reaction do you expect from the Saudis over this?
SS: Well, the Saudis had threatened earlier, a few weeks ago, that they may withdraw their assets there – about $750 billion dollars’ worth of assets – they think they may be able to withdraw their assets, their investments. But the Americans can also stop that happening. So the Saudis are not happy to be implicated.
Although, until now those who are part of the ISIS: Saudi Arabia provided around 3,000 of the ISIS fighters until today, so they are part of that terrorist picture… Whether the report is released or not, the Saudis are there in full combat participating in those and supporting those groups in Syria and Iraq. It is not a secret… The Saudis will not be happy to see their name appearing in an official report and implicating some of their officials in what had happened on September 11, 2001.
RT: What about timing? Why reveal this information now?
SS: It’s been 14 years. I think sooner better than later, because people are wondering. Even for the Saudis it is becoming even more embarrassing – the longer it remains, because one day it will be released. Whether now or in ten years’ time, and one day somebody has to pay for what they have done… The report is written by professional investigators and researchers. So I think it has some weight in it and the Saudis have to be prepared to explain the situation.
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