Here's the CIA's Just-Released Top Secret File on Saudi Ties to 9/11 (over 500 pages)

[JonLP24]

Last edited Tue Jun 30, 2015, 09:57 AM - Edit history (9)

True to form, the CIA waited until 4:16 p.m. EDT this afternoon to release a trove of documents related to the September 11 attacks. Deep within one of those documents is a section on everything the agency learned after 9/11 about “Issues Relating to Saudi Arabia.” We can now share it here for the first time.

The Saudi Arabia findings comprise literally the final section, the last 30 pages, of the CIA’s massive, 495-page master report—completed in 2005 and never revealed before—on who was accountable for what intelligence failures in the September 11 attacks in New York, Washington and Pennsylvania. High-level Saudi involvement in the attacks has long been suggested by many parties in the know; several members of Congress and the 9/11 Commission have urged the release of a still-secret 28-page excerpt of a joint congressional inquiry on the attacks*, believed to detail connections between the House of Saud and the Al Qaeda hijackers. But the U.S.’s special security relationship with the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, and its reliance on foreign oil, give the federal government incentives to keep that knowledge under wraps.

Here is the only unredacted text in the entire section, filling up slightly less than one of its 30 pages:

The report emphasized that the JI had made “no final determinations as to the reliability or sufficiency of the information” regarding Saudi Issues raised by its inquiry.

Assessment of the finding

Many of the points of this finding relate to the investigative efforts on the Saudi intelligence presence in the United States and of Saudi officials’ contacts with terrorists in the country, and, as such, the Office of Inspector General (OIG) 9/11 Review Team defers consideration of these to the Department of Justice and the FBI. The Team lacks access to the full range of investigative materials in FBI possession and is therefore unable to either concur or dissent on those points. In addition, the Team encountered no evidence that the Saudi Government knowingly and willingly supported al-Qa’ida terrorists. Individuals in both the Near East Division (NE) and the Counterterrorist Center [REDACTED] told the Team they had not seen any reliable reporting confirming Saudi Government involvement with and financial support for terrorism prior to 9/11, although a few also speculated that dissident sympathizers within the government may have aided al-Qa’ida. A January 1999 Directorate of Intelligence (DI) Office of Transnational Issues Intelligence Report on Bin Ladin’s finances indicated that “limited” reporting suggested that “a few Saudi Government officials” may support Usama Bin Ladin (UBL) but added that the reporting was “too sparse to determine with any accuracy” such support. None of the Saudi Government officials named in that report was a member of a [REDACTED FOR 26 MORE PAGES]

Read the entire document on “Issues Relating to Saudi Arabia” below, and consider yourself fortunate to live in a nation that is so transparent with the citizenry about its shortcomings and its ill-advised strategic arrangements.
Document -- https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/2100191-cia-911-report-issues-relating-to-saudi-arabia.html

Correction: This story initially misidentified the infamous missing “28 pages” as part of the 9/11 Commission’s report. Those pages are actually from Congress’ “Joint Inquiry into Intelligence Community Activities Before and After the Terrorist Attacks of September 11, 2001.” The error was mine.

http://gawker.com/heres-the-cias-just-released-top-secret-file-on-saudi-t-1710986289

Declassified CIA files
http://www.foia.cia.gov/sites/default/files/document_conversions/89801/DOC_0001525482.pdf)

FOIA
INSPECTION REPORT OF THE DCI COUNTERTERRORIST CENTER DIRECTORATE OF OPERATIONS AUGUST 2001
http://www.foia.cia.gov/sites/default/files/document_conversions/89801/DOC_0001525482.pdf (a LOT of white out)

JOINT RESPONSE TO OIG REPORT - "ACCOUNTABILITY REGARDING FINDINGS AND CONCLUSIONS OF THE JOINT
http://www.foia.cia.gov/sites/default/files/DOC_0001229684_0.pdf

MEMORANDUM TO INSPECTOR GENERAL HELGERSON FROM GEORGE J. TENET REGARDING ASSESSMENT OF PERFORMANCE
http://www.foia.cia.gov/sites/default/files/DOC_0006297294.pdf

OFFICE OF INSPECTOR GENERAL REPORT ON CENTRAL INTELLIGENCE AGENCY ACCOUNTABILITY REGARDING FINDINGS
http://www.foia.cia.gov/sites/default/files/DOC_0006184107.pdf

RESPONSE TO INSPECTOR GENERAL'S 9/11 ACCOUNTABILITY FINAL DRAFT REPORT
http://www.foia.cia.gov/sites/default/files/DOC_0006220800.pdf

The Response to the OIG Report is what they are responding too


OIG Special Report -- A Review of the FBI's Handling of the Intelligence Related to 9/11
https://oig.justice.gov/special/s0606/final.pdf

on edit the CIA Accountability Report is addressing the one above.
OIG Report on CIA Accountability
https://www.cia.gov/library/reports/Executive%20Summary_OIG%20Report.pdf

[Octafish]

1. Sounds like Saudi Arabia financed a lot of secret stuff.

It's good to be the king.

[JonLP24]

2. Did you see this one? -- Leaks allege assassination plot hatched by Egypt and Sudan

gypt and Sudan collaborated in a plot to assassinate the president of South Sudan after the country secured independence in 2011, according to a document allegedly leaked from Saudi Arabia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

A document released on Friday by WikiLeaks, part of the first batch of 500,000 set to be published in the coming weeks, appears to show that the Saudi Foreign Minister, Saud al-Faisal, wrote to the Saudi king, who also serves as the prime minister, about the plan to kill Salva Kiir Mayardit.

Kiir led the government of southern Sudan until the secession of South Sudan from the north in 2011, when he became president – the leaked letter is not dated, but refers to the statesman as “the president of South Sudan”.

According to the document text, Egypt’s intelligence apparatus sent “three of its most dangerous agents” to stay in the upmarket Khartoum district of Garden City.

<snip>

The letter, which is not marked as confidential, ends with a plea for the Saudi prime minister to “examine” the contents of the document. - See more at: http://www.middleeasteye.net/news/leaks-allege-assassination-plot-hatched-egypt-and-sudan-594848713#sthash.wwdMCj7w.dpuf

[Octafish]

6. Assassination and mass suffering to prevent Sudan from becoming allies with Iran?

Iran was getting set to open a navy base in South Sudan, so tighten the screws and kill anybody who doesn't object.

But Khartoum may have decided to appease the Arab Gulf state by abruptly shutting down the Iranian cultural center late last year under the pretext of spreading Shiite doctrine. Sudan also joined the Saudi-led military campaign in Yemen after meeting with King Salman in Riyadh last March.

"The conclusion of this last paragraph is certainly true, and reflects the utter desperation of the Sudanese economy, which is now functioning without any foreign exchange currency (Forex)—and thus is unable to import crucial commodities. This has created bread lines and shortages, as well as shortages of cooking fuel and automotive fuel. Food prices are skyrocketing, especially because of the beginning of Ramadan. Many in Darfur are unable to produce food and thus must buy food in markets, driving up prices yet further—for many, to unaffordable levels. The annual “hunger gap” between spring planting and fall harvest has only just begun."

—Eric Reeves

http://sudanreeves.org/2015/06/20/the-view-of-khartoum-from-saudi-arabia-revealing-cables-published-by-wikileaks-june-20-2015/

Thank you for the heads-up, JonLP24. Petrodollars have bought a lot of skullduggery, including the political demise of President Jimmy Carter. We could have bought all the oil we could ever use for less than what these idiotic wars have cost.

[JonLP24]

9. The CIA is either incompent or corrupt -- I can't tell from the OIG reports

So many times they could have got Bin Laden in the late 90s but were lax due to "ambiguities in the the law). "handling of materials concerning individuals who were to become the 9/11 hijaclers". They could have got this hijackers here. They failed to notify FBI of hijackers entering here.

DCI used these authorities to transfer ----------- funds to the CIA for a number of important purposes-------------------------------------------one of these transfers helped fund a Middle East program that was terrorism related, but none supported programs designed to counter Al-Qaerda.

CIA dropped the ball whatever they were doing. "Dirty assets" -- I wonder what that means (in the OIG report)

[stevenleser]

5. Well, it was known some time before 9/11 that the Saudi's policy for dealing with dangerous groups

was to pay them off and tell them that if they want to continue getting semi-regular money, they need to focus their attentions somewhere else, anywhere but the kingdom.

The old fashioned "Pay tribute" stuff.

I've always believed that if there was a tie between the Saudis and Al-Qaeda, it was this kind of deal.

[JonLP24]

3. All info is above -- took awhile to find it all

[R. P. McMurphy]

4. Thanks for posting. Bookmarking for later read. nt

[JonLP24]

7. The 2nd the OIG response is interesting

It seems like there is some involvement or awareness something about offices and officers being held accountable. It goes on to make a whole bunch of excuses but I did a search so this is what the CIA is making a whole bunch of excuses for -- I haven't read yet.

OIG Report on CIA Accountability
https://www.cia.gov/library/reports/Executive%20Summary_OIG%20Report.pdf

The OIG response is I image to that one. I was right the first time (I think) but the FBI one is at the top

[Baitball Blogger]

8. Stephen Colbert was right.

Our country was under the direction of a leader who was relying on truthism.

Per Wikipedia:

Truthiness is a quality characterizing a "truth" that a person making an argument or assertion claims to know intuitively "from the gut" or because it "feels right" without regard to evidence, logic, intellectual examination, or facts.[1]

[JonLP24]

10. Kick for the evening crowd

CIA probably let the hijackers in. They failed to notify the FBI they were entering the country. They said they tried to send the message or something like it must have not gone through but never checked to see if they got it or otherwise let them know.

There is more on the CIA encounter from a FOIA request which isn't included above


EXCLUSIVE: New Documents Claim Intelligence on Bin Laden, al-Qaeda Targets Withheld From Congress' 9/11 Probe



Five years ago, Iron Man, who requested Truthout conceal his true identity out of concern for his family's privacy, lodged a formal complaint with the Department of Defense's Office of Inspector General after he was accused of improperly handling classified material.

Iron Man filed a FOIA request in September 2006, seeking a declassified copy of the six-page complaint he filed with the inspector general's office. He finally received a copy on April 8, just a few weeks prior to the raid on Bin Laden's compound.

What he revealed in that letter, portions of which were redacted by the government because the information is classified, is the inner workings of an elite intelligence unit he headed at one point: the Asymmetric Threats Division, formed in 1999, and "charged with reporting on asymmetric threats, especially terrorism."

The unit worked with Joint Task Force-Civil Support (JTF-CS), also set up in 1999. According to the Defense Department (DoD), JTF-CS was charged with supporting "terrorist response operations in the continental US" and providing "military assistance to civil authorities."

The Asymmetric Threats Division is referred to as DO5, a branch of the Joint Forces Intelligence Command (JFIC), whose responsibilities included, among other things, vetting human intelligence sources on behalf of the Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA). From 1998 to 2001, Iron Man was working as a counterterrorism/counterintelligence analyst for the Naval Criminal Investigative Service (NCIS), assigned to JFIC.

The JFIC falls under the authority of the United States Joint Forces Command (USJFCOM) and "had a direct and assigned purview on international terrorism against the US, to include the operations of al-Qa'ida and the 9/11 attackers."

http://www.truth-out.org/news/item/1607:exclusive-new-documents-claim-intelligence-on-bin-laden-alqaeda-targets-withheld-from-congress-911-probe

Former Counterterrorism Czar Accuses Tenet, Other CIA Officials of Cover-Up

http://www.truth-out.org/news/item/2614:former-counterterrorism-czar-accuses-tenet-other-cia-officials-of-coverup