Former U.S. Senator Bob Graham of Florida and his allies won a 13-year battle Friday when the federal government finally declassified 28 pages of the 2002 congressional inquiry into the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks.
Graham was co-chair of the inquiry and lobbied to make the classified information public even after he left office.
He said the declassified material points to extensive Saudi government contact with some of the hijackers. And he called for continued investigation because most of the report only focused on the three hijackers from southern California.
“In fact most of the hijackers, two-thirds, lived in Florida,” Graham said Monday from his office in Miami Lakes. “We know almost nothing other than a few pieces of evidence from Sarasota as to what they did while they were in Florida.”
Graham believes the country is only dealing with the symptoms of terrorism right now.
He said the U.S. must address the Saudi Arabia connection to get to the root of the global terrorism that has persisted for the past decade.
”And in the case of terrorism,” Graham said. “A significant cause of terrorism both financial and in terms of the indoctrination of new jihad recruits - is coming out of Saudi Arabia.”
The White House said the 28 pages released on Friday do not show a direct link between senior Saudi officials and the hijackers.
When asked about the administration's comments, Graham retorted then why did they keep the 28 pages secret for 13 years.
