Twenty-five years after the September 11 attacks, the American people deserve the fullest possible truth about what happened—and what governments and intelligence agencies knew before the attacks.
The 9/11 Commission Final Report was released publicly on July 22, 2004. But that does not mean that every record examined by the Commission is public. Classified versions and drafts of the report exist, while additional intelligence, interview records and investigative material remain classified, redacted or withheld.
That continuing secrecy deserves serious scrutiny.
LORD INDARJIT SINGH OF WIMBLEDON recently raised an important question in the House of Lords about the United States helping Saudi Arabia develop nuclear capacity. He pointed to Saudi Arabia's connection to the 9/11 attacks and questioned the wisdom of providing such assistance while raising grave concerns about human rights and U.S. policy toward other countries. (Parallel Parliament)
His intervention highlights a fundamental issue: how can governments demand accountability for terrorism while withholding important information about the circumstances surrounding the world's most consequential terrorist attack?
The public deserves to know what warnings were received before 9/11, what intelligence agencies knew, what failures occurred, and whether any foreign individuals, officials or governments assisted the perpetrators.
Transparency should not be selective or released only decades later in fragments.
The families who lost loved ones—and people everywhere who suffered the consequences of 9/11—deserve the complete truth. Where there is no compelling national-security reason for secrecy, the remaining records should be declassified.
Twenty-five years is long enough. The truth should not remain classified.
This version keeps LORD INDARJIT SINGH’s point prominent without overstating what has been established as fact about Saudi Arabia or the remaining classified records.
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