U.S. Wants to Probe Saudi Linked to 9/11

[NNN0LHI]

Better late than never I guess?

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=544&ncid=716&e=1&u=/ap/20030730/ap_on_go_pr_wh/attacks_intelligence

WASHINGTON - President Bush refused on Tuesday to release classified passages from a congressional report on possible links between Saudi Arabian government officials and the Sept. 11 hijackers. Saudi Foreign Minister Saud al-Faisal agreed to let U.S. investigators question a suspected Saudi agent who befriended the hijackers. snip

After the White House meeting, Prince Saud spoke for about an hour with national security adviser Condoleezza Rice. He said later she told him U.S. authorities want to question Omar al-Bayoumi, an employee of the Saudi aviation authority who befriended two of the Saudi hijackers on their arrival in California.

Unclassified sections of the report released last week said that al-Bayoumi paid many of the expenses of two hijackers, "had access to seemingly unlimited funding from Saudi Arabia" and was suspected of being an agent for Saudi Arabia "or another foreign power."

The White House took pains to keep Bush's meeting with the Saudis as low-profile as possible. It did not list the session on Bush's schedule for Tuesday, acknowledging it only after news reports disclosed it. The White House refused to allow reporters or photographers into the meeting and rejected requests for an official photo shot by Bush's photographers.

more

[trotsky]

1. Something stinks.

And it ain't just *.

This has gotten extensive airtime - how the * administration won't release parts of the report, but the Saudis want them to. Another poster mentioned this could be a "good cop, bad cop" setup. The Bushies hide Saudi involvement, Saudis DEMAND they release "the truth", (thus implying they have nothing to hide), but * holds fast, protecting his daddy's business partners from scrutiny. Win-win.

But what if there's another Rovian plot here? True, it's too early for the "new product," but what could take root in this classified report?

Will they eventually relent and publish the report? Who and what countries will it implicate? How will it be harvested into political hay for *?

[Lostnote03]

2. ???

....I wonder if the Saudi airline employee made secret tape recordings of conversations as did the Egyptian military officer involved covertly in the first WTC bombing (working w/the FBI)....I wonder if we'll end up marching into S.A. while at the same time dumping Bush for his business association w/the "royals".....This is all so screwed up and the cowardly GOP in charge of all branches of Govt assure that there will be no consequences for those responsible anytime soon.....

[short bus president]

3. If I was the cynical kind,

I might think that this was leaked to give the appearance of an "ongoing investigation," which the administration claims would be hindered by declassification of the however-many pages in question. Wonder what the non-OSP intelligence agencies know about this "ongoing investigation?"

[9215]

4. This is good

steady pressure. Now wait until the talking heads start asking: is Bush's secrecy about national security or personal embarassment for his long and close association to the Bin Laden's?

Hee, Hee, I likes it!

[alfredo]

5. bush is bushshitting us.