9/11 Families Still Waiting for Full Transparency, Accountability

By: Terry Strada | RealClear World

When President Trump stood last fall at the September 11 Memorial in lower Manhattan, joined by members of his family and leaders who would join his cabinet, the symbolism was powerful. But symbolism is not justice. Justice requires action. And twenty-three years after the worst terrorist attack in our history, the families of the victims are still fighting for the one thing that should never have been denied to us—truth.

Nearly 3,000 Americans were murdered on that Tuesday morning and thousands more injured. Spouses, parents, children and siblings never came home. The attack required funding, planning, shelter, and support beyond al-Qaeda’s capabilities. In recent years, thanks to declassified documents the 9/11 community has fought for in its ongoing civil litigation against the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, a growing body of evidence has been revealed that points to agents of the Kingdom having provided all four to the nineteen terrorist hijackers.

Last month, 60 Minutes reported on yet another set of documents collected by Britain’s Metropolitan Police Service three weeks after the deadly attack and given to the Federal Bureau of Investigation in 2001. That trove of evidence – hidden from the American public by the FBI and withheld from the 9/11 Commission – showed that a Saudi intelligence agent directly supported and helped coordinate the activities of two of the hijackers in California and filmed a casing video of the U.S. Capitol. That Saudi government agent was not acting alone.

Court filings against the Kingdom now describe in detail the broader network that included at least five other Saudi officials. These individuals worked in coordination, using diplomatic cover from Saudi embassies and consulates, to provide material support to known al-Qaeda operatives inside the United States.

This is not conjecture. It is not rumor or theory. It is sworn testimony and government documents filed in U.S. federal court. The Kingdom has known the identities of these individuals from the beginning but has never admitted the truth. Instead, it has spent decades denying, deflecting, and deliberately interfering with the U.S. Congress – for example, by sending the Saudi ambassador to pressure Members of Congress to block counter-terrorism legislation that would ensure the rights of American victims of state-sponsored terrorism.

That is not how an ally behaves.

Yet, instead of helping American victims of terrorism hold the Kingdom accountable, past Administrations have been unwilling to support the 9/11 families’ quest for justice and instead have looked the other way.

When President Trump traveled to Saudi Arabia this month, he promised a new era of prosperity. He celebrated defense contracts and business deals. And in remarks to regional leaders, he stated that it was not his role to “dispense justice” for the sins of others. That, he said, is God’s job. Perhaps, but defending America and ensuring justice for American citizens killed by foreign terrorists is his job. It is not justice to remember the dead one day a year and then court their killers the other 364.

Our community is not asking for revenge. We are asking for truth, accountability, and the opportunity to pursue justice unobstructed by the Kingdom’s army of lobbyists, government officials, and public relations firms. And we are asking our elected officials to take three simple steps.

First, complete the declassification of all records related to Saudi involvement. President Biden’s 2022 executive order was a critical first step but more remains hidden. The American people deserve to know the full story. Second, hold the FBI accountable for years of stone walling and obstruction. Agents sat on key evidence, refused to cooperate with our legal team, and in some cases misled members of Congress and the 9/11 Commission. That betrayal cannot go unanswered. Third, instruct the Kingdom to stop interfering with Congress and allow it to strengthen the law – the Justice Against Sponsors of Terrorism Act (JASTA) – that allows American victims of a terrorist attack on U.S. soil to seek justice through our courts.

The Kingdom has tried to rebrand itself as a modernizing force. Its leaders have poured billions into public relations, sports leagues, golf tours, and Hollywood studios. They have used soft power to sanitize their image and distance themselves from the terrorism they helped to unleash. But no amount of money can bury the truth.

The question is whether the United States will stand with the victims of terrorism or with those who financed and enabled it. Never forget cannot mean never confront. We must not let diplomatic convenience or economics override justice.

Twenty-three years later, our grief has not faded. Neither has our determination. We will not accept selective memory or performative sympathy, and we will not be silent, because without accountability our national security is weakened, and our country is more vulnerable to a recurrence of past threats.

Terry Strada’s husband, Tom, died in the World Trade Center’s North Tower during the 9/11 Attacks and left behind three children who were seven, four, and four days old. She is the National Chair of 9/11 Families United, an organization of family members of those murdered in the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, as well as many of those who survived, were injured in, or sickened from the attacks—a community of more than 10,000 people.