Loved ones of 9/11 victims locked in a legal battle over the terrorist attacks are appealing to President Biden to not go soft on the Saudis as he heads to the kingdom.
The tireless group of wives, sons, daughters and other kin remains determined to hold Saudi Arabia accountable in court for the slaughter of nearly 3,000 on 9/11. That’s the message they are appealing to Biden to bring as he seeks more oil production.
“It is imperative that you prioritize accountability for 9/11 in any conversations between members of your administration and Saudi officials up to and including your own with the Crown Prince or any other members of the Saudi royal family,” the letter shared with the Herald states.
That letter is signed by Terry Strada, national chair of “9/11 Families United.”
Biden said Friday that his administration’s praise of Saudi Arabia for getting key oil producers to step up production shouldn’t be interpreted as a lack of resolve over human rights.
“Look, I’m not going to change my view on human rights,” Biden told reporters after his remarks on the May jobs report, according to the Associated Press. But he said nothing about the 9/11 letter.
“Please stand where no other President since 9/11 has stood, with the September 11 community in our pursuit for justice, and prioritize a full and complete discussion of the Saudis’ continued denial of their complicity in the attacks,” Strada writes.
“We strongly suspect that you recognize the wisdom and justice in this request, and that you understand and support our efforts, but we need to see the actions, not just the words,” she adds.
Strada’s husband, Tom, was killed in the attacks on the World Trade Center in Manhattan.
As the Herald has reported, the 9/11 families — made up of about 10,000 who lost loved ones in the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks or suffered from the toxic fallout from the toppling of the Twin Towers — are suing the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. That is happening now as the case continues to move ahead in a Manhattan federal court.
The group — including some from Massachusetts and New England — is using declassified documents as the basis to sue the Saudi government for supporting charities that propped up al-Qaeda terrorists who attacked the U.S. on 9/11, killing 2,977 people.
They are pushing ahead with a case alleging the Saudis supported the first two hijackers who came to Southern California on Jan. 15, 2000.
Of all the 19 hijackers, 15 of them were Saudi citizens — all affiliated with al-Qaeda — and hijacked four jets on 9/11, including American Airlines Flight 11 and United Airlines Flight 175 out of Boston.
“The historic failure to hold the Kingdom to account for aiding and abetting al Qaeda and the 9/11 hijackers is the original sin in the U.S.-Saudi relationship,” Strada wrote this past week in her letter to Biden. “No reset of our nation’s relationship with Saudi Arabia can or should be possible without proper reconciliation for the attacks on September 11, 2001.”
Biden has said he’s not sure whether he was going to Saudi Arabia and has “no direct plans at the moment” to visit the kingdom. But the AP says a trip appears imminent.
Bandar Aljaloud/Saudi Royal Palace via AP, File
In this Sunday, Nov. 22, 2020, file photo, Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman attends a virtual G-20 summit held over video conferencing, in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. (Bandar Aljaloud/Saudi Royal Palace via AP, File)"soft" - Google News
June 05, 2022 at 01:21AM
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9/11 families urge Biden to not go soft on Saudi Arabia over oil - Boston Herald
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