It was the middle of the week and Verum had homework to do. But all she wanted to do was watch cat videos on social media. From tiny kittens to chunky cats, she loved seeing them all! Her favorite video was of a cat chasing its tail.
Just when Verum had lost herself into this internet hole, her crystal ball began making its familiar humming sound. It was time to world-gaze! Verum now focused on understanding the news.
She announced, “Mysticals! The United States (US) Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) has declassified a document about the 9/11 attacks!”
“Verum, could you please give some context?” requested Felix.
Verum nodded and said, “On 11th September 2001, a group called Al Qaeda hijacked (to seize control by force) four planes and launched a series of attacks on important buildings like the World Trade Center and the Pentagon (headquarters of the US Department of Defense). At least 3,000 lives were lost.”
“But out of the 19 plane hijackers, 15 were from Saudi Arabia, a powerful and oil-rich country in the Middle East,” continued Verum, “That’s why some families of those who lost their lives feel the Saudi government was involved in the attacks. But it has denied this.”
“What happened then?” said Orak.
“Almost 1,800 people signed a letter calling upon US President Joe Biden to declassify US government documents about the 9/11 attack,” said Verum, “To declassify is to reveal certain confidential political or military information, making a secret known to the public. These people think the documents are protecting the Saudi government.”
“Oh, so, this document was declassified,” said Scorch, “That, too, on the 20th anniversary of the devastating attacks. But what did it say, Verum?”
“The document has interviews of a source whose identity has been kept a secret,” said Verum, “Two of the hijackers, Nawaf al-Hazmi and Khalid al-Midhar, were in contact with some Saudi nationals. They posed as students to enter the US in 2000. Omar al-Bayoumi, an influential man, and Fahad al-Thumairy, a conservative imam (a person who leads prayers in mosques) have allegedly helped the hijackers. But they both left the US weeks before the attacks.”
She concluded, “But ultimately, the document provides no proof that the Saudi government was involved in the 9/11 attacks.”