Censored 911 Report: Saudis and Bush will meet

posted by ewing2001 on Monday July 28, @08:30PM

Saudis and Bush To Meet Over 9/11 Allegations

WP -Tuesday, July 29, 2003

Update: WH rejects Saudi Request on 9/11 Report (Reuters)

Photo: Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Saud Faisal

Saudi officials, furious over a congressional report issued last week alleging possible links between individuals in the Saudi government and some of the Sept. 11, 2001, hijackers, have requested and been granted a meeting today between Foreign Minister Prince Saud Faisal and President Bush.

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The hastily scheduled White House visit, which will take place shortly after Bush meets with Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, demonstrates the level of Saudi anger and the kingdom's clout with the Bush administration.

A key issue in the dispute is that 28 pages of the 900-page report, in a section dealing with allegations about Saudi Arabia, were entirely classified -- but well-publicized -- and some U.S. officials said it appeared the Saudi government was moving toward asking the president to declassify those pages.

A Saudi official said Saud is coming to Washington to meet with the president to discuss "issues of mutual concern." A U.S. official said the request for a presidential meeting came late last week.

Before the report was released, congressional officials had fought hard to declassify the pages dealing with Saudi Arabia, especially Sens. Bob Graham (D-Fla.) and Richard C. Shelby (R-Ala.).

The Saudi ambassador to the United States, Prince Bandar bin Sultan, who will also attend the meeting with Bush, said last week that the material was classified most likely because it could not be substantiated. "Saudi Arabia has nothing to hide," he said. "We can deal with questions in public, but we cannot respond to blank pages."

White House Rejects Saudi Request on 9/11 Report

Reuters

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The White House rejected a request by the Saudi government on Tuesday to declassify sections of a Sept. 11, 2001, report dealing with Saudi Arabia, saying it could compromise intelligence sources and methods.

"We cannot agree to that request at this time because of ongoing investigations and our national security interests," said White House spokesman Scott McClellan.

USA Today -7/29/2003 "...Bush said, "declassification of that part of a 900-page document would reveal sources and methods that would make it harder for us to win the war on terror. ... It would help the enemy if they knew our sources and methods."

...The top Republican senator on the 9-11 inquiry, Richard Shelby, said Sunday that 95% of the classified pages could be released without jeopardizing national security. Bush ignored a reporter's question Tuesday on Shelby's assessment.

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