Verum had a furrow between her two eyebrows as she world-gazed today. Her crystal ball had brought forth a rather complex piece of news. And she was doing her best to understand it.
Looking at her expression, Scorch said, “What is the news, and why are you annoyed?”
Verum looked up with a startled expression. With wide eyes, she said, “Not annoyed, just focusing. Something monumental is happening in the United States (US).”
“What is it?” said a curious Orak.
“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),” said Verum, “At least 3000 lives were lost.”
“Yeah, 20 years have passed since the attack,” said Felix.
Verum said, “But out of the 19 plane hijackers, 15 were from Saudi Arabia, a powerful and oil-rich country in the Middle East.”
“Oh, what about it?” said Scorch.
“The families of those who lost their lives in the attack claim that the Saudi officials knew about the attack in advance. But they did nothing to stop it,” said Verum, “The families have even sued the Saudi Arabian government. But it denies being involved.”
“So, 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 it no longer a secret. These people think the documents are protecting the Saudi government.”
And what if he fails to do so?” said Orak, “From what I know, the George Bush, Barack Obama, and Donald Trump administrations also refused to declassify the documents.”
“If he fails to do so, then the families have asked him to stay away from the memorial events that will take place in New York, Virginia, and Pennsylvania,” replied Verum.
She added, “But that might not be the case. According to the latest update, the US Justice Department is taking a fresh look at these secret documents. The plan is to release the information to the public.”