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Citing national interests, US President George W. Bush on Tuesday defended a White House decision not to declassify part of an intelligence report on possible links between Riyadh and some of the terrorists in the Sept. 11 attack.
"I absolutely have no qualms at all because there's an ongoing investigation into the 9/11 attacks, and we don't want to compromise that investigation," Bush said at a news conference with Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon in the Rose Garden.
White House spokesman Scott McClellan, rejecting a request by some members of Congress and the Saudi Arabian government, announced earlier Tuesday that 28 pages of the 900-page congressional report on the performance of US intelligence agencies before the Sept. 11 attack would not be declassified.
"We cannot agree to that request at this time because of ongoing investigations and our national security interests," McClellan said.
Before the House and Senate members released the report Thursday, congressional officials had fought hard to declassify the pages dealing with Saudi Arabia, especially Senators Bob Grahams, a Democrat from Florida, and Richard C. Shelby, a Republican from Alaska. Graham sent a letter to Bush on Monday to repeat his request.
Saudi officials, furious over reports that the classified part of the intelligence report alleged that individuals in the Saudi government had contacted with two of the 19 hijackers and provided funds for them, also have requested that this part be declassified.
Saudi Foreign Minister Saud al-Faisal has been granted a meeting later Tuesday with Bush. He is widely expected to ask Bush to declassify those 28 pages.
The hastily scheduled meeting is believed to demonstrate the level of Saudi anger and the kingdom's clout with the Bush administration.
The Saudi ambassador to the United States, Prince Bandar bin Sultan, who will also attend the meeting with Bush, said last week that the material was classified most likely because it could not be substantiated.
"Saudi Arabia has nothing to hide," he said. "We can deal with questions in public, but we cannot respond to blank pages."
US officials said the information has remained classified for several reasons, including the sensitivity of the foreign government, the likelihood of revealing sources and methods used to gather the information and the fact that there may be ongoing criminal investigations that would be compromised were they to be made public.
Fifteen of the 19 hijackers in the Sept. 11 attacks were Saudis, and the report cited a CIA memorandum that said connections between some hijackers and some Saudis living in the United States amounted to "incontrovertible evidence that there is support for these terrorists" from Saudi officials, according to The Washington Post.
The report made no accusation that it was ever the policy of the Saudi government to support terrorism. Rather, the questionable activity involved Saudi citizens, some of whom worked for the Saudi government.
Much of the new allegations is the result of brief investigations conducted by the Sept. 11 inquiry staff. House and Senate members of the inquiry have repeatedly said they do not know whether they are true or not.
(Xinhua News Agency July 30, 2003)
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