Saudi Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir holds a press conference in Washington, D.C, on July 15, 2016, following the release of 28 pages of a 9/11 Congressional report. | Getty Letter To The Editor Saudi Government Denies Funding 9/11 Attacks

Nail Al-Jubeir is director of the information office of the Royal Embassy of Saudi Arabia.

I was disappointed to see that POLITICO Magazine had given cover-story treatment to the discredited charge that the government of Saudi Arabia had played a role in the 9/11 terrorist attacks. Several now declassified U.S. government investigations, whose reports are all available online, have concluded that there is no evidence to support these charges.

Writer Caleb Hannan cites the previously classified 28 pages of a congressional report that were released last year as if they contained some evidence of Saudi Arabia’s involvement. In fact, they only contained leads, questions and theories, all of which were investigated and dismissed by the official 9/11 Commission, the CIA and FBI. The joint CIA-FBI report, in fact, concluded, “There is no evidence that either the Saudi Government or members of the Saudi royal family knowingly provided support for the attacks of 11 September 2001 or that they had foreknowledge of terrorist operations in the Kingdom or elsewhere.”


Our government expected this outcome and had urged repeatedly since the congressional report was issued that the information in the 28 pages be released for the world to see.

In an attempt to make sense of tragedy, people often cling to far-fetched theories rather than accept simple truths. We understand that the involvement of Saudi citizens in the 9/11 attacks makes those conspiracy theories attractive to some. But it is important to remember as well that Saudi Arabia has been the victim of scores of terror attacks over the last 20 years. Al-Qaeda, in effect, declared war long ago on the Kingdom, yet we are accused of supporting its attack on the United States, our most important ally. On the contrary, Saudi Arabia has committed itself to destroying these terrorist organizations and the mindset that leads people to embrace terrorism.

We have the deepest sympathy and respect for the victims and families of terrible attack on September 11, 2001, and every other act of terrorism. But grief cannot substitute for facts, and the Saudi government will continue to vigorously defend its name and its integrity against these kinds of charges.