9/11 Families Tell Pres. Joe Biden Not To Come To Any 20th Anniversary Events
A group of 9/11 families, whose loved ones were directly affected by the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, were against President Joe Biden attending the 20th anniversary events next month.
NBC News reported that the families' decisions could change if the president declassifies government documents that they believe will show Saudi Arabian leaders supported the attacks or acts of terrorism.
The 20th-anniversary events are expected to take place in New York; Shanksville, Pennsylvania; and at the Pentagon. As a presidential hopeful, the group noted that Joe Biden vowed to be more transparent and release as much information as possible regarding the 9/11 attacks. However, his administration has since ignored their letters and requests.
In a statement, the 9/11 families said they could not in good faith welcome Joe Biden to their hallowed grounds until he upholds his promise.
The statement also said that after the 9/11 Commission ended in 2004, much investigative evidence has been found connecting Saudi government officials in supporting the attacks.
The group added that there's simply no reason to keep the information secret 20 years later, The Denver Channel reported. The letter was signed by about 2,000 people directly affected by the 9/11 attacks.
9/11 Attack Documents
Family members of 9/11 victims have long sought government documents connected to whether Saudi Arabia helped or financed any of the 19 people connected with terrorist group Al-Qaida, who crashed a passenger jet into New York's World Trade Center.
The 9/11 attacks had killed around 3,000 people, including those aboard the planes. Fifteen of the 19 hijackers were also from Saudi Arabia. But the U.S. government commission did not find any evidence that the Saudi Arabia government directly supported or financed the Al-Qaida, The Guardian reported.
That leaves the possibility that individual officials from Saudi Arabia might have. Former Saudi officials were questioned about their alleged connection to 9/11 in court by the families' lawyers last June.
The families wanted to prove that Saudi nationals had helped support two of the 9/11 hijackers, namely Khalid al-Mihdhar and Nawaf al-Hazmi. Both were in southern California in the months prior to the attacks.
The families also wanted to establish that a diplomat coordinated the support in the Saudi embassy in Washington.
In addition, the families are also calling the U.S. government to make the evidence and documents public against Riyadh. They also wanted to see the results of the investigation. The Saudi embassy has yet to comment on the matter.
September 11, 2001 Attacks
Nineteen militants linked to the Islamic extremist group Al-Qaida hijacked four airplanes and conducted suicide attacks against targets in the U.S.
Two planes had hit the twin towers of the World Trade Center in New York City. The Pentagon, on the other hand, had seen the third plane crashed on its site. The last plane had crashed in a field of Shanksville, Pennsylvania, according to the History website.
Osama bin Laden has reportedly financed the attack as retaliation for the U.S.'s support for Israel and its involvement in the Persian Gulf War and its continued military presence in the Middle East.
Some of the terrorists reportedly lived in the U.S. for more than a year and had taken flying lessons at American commercial flight schools.
This article is owned by Latin Post
Written by: Mary Webber
WATCH: 9/11 Families Want Biden to Declassify Documents or Stay Away From 20-Year Memorials - From CNBC Television
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