9/11 Families United Statement on President Biden’s Upcoming Visit to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia

In light of newly declassified documents, President Biden must ensure that renewed U.S. engagement with the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia prioritizes transparency and accountability for its role in the 9/11 terrorist attacks

Washington, D.C. – Now that the White House has announced President Biden will visit the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia next month to discuss “a range of bilateral, regional, and global issues,” families and survivors of the worst-ever terrorist attacks on American soil said today that the President must ensure that his administration’s engagement does not neglect long-overdue accountability for the Saudi role in the rise of al Qaeda and 9/11 attacks, particularly in light of recently declassified documents that confirm an even more extensive Saudi government role.

Today’s statement follows a letter sent to President Biden on June 2nd demanding that 9/11 be part of any discussions with the Kingdom. In an interview on CNN this morning, Biden’s White House spokesman, John Kirby, made clear that President Biden’s sympathies lie with the 9/11 families and said he would do “everything he can to support the families of the victims of 9/11,” while declining to detail the exact nature of upcoming conversations with Saudi government officials. Watch here.

“We appreciate the President’s commitment to do everything he can to support the 9/11 family community, but empathy is not enough.  President Biden must do what past Presidents have not, which is to demand transparency from Saudi Arabia and accountability for those who supported al Qaeda and the hijackers who murdered our loved ones,” said Terry Strada, National Chair of 9/11 Families United. 

President Biden’s visit to the Kingdom will take place just weeks after thousands of pages of new evidence against the Kingdom were released from President Biden’s own declassification order last year. Those documents were kept secret by the U.S. government for years.  The majority of these documents were not available to the 9/11 Commission. CBS News reported in late April that the documents reveal how a Saudi intelligence operative – who was on the payroll of then-Ambassador Prince Bandar bin Sultan and who is still living freely in the Kingdom – was a key part of the hijackers’ U.S-based support network.

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About 9/11 Families United: 9/11 Families United is 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. More background and contact information can be found at www.911familiesunited.org