Posted on Thu, Dec. 24, 2009
Specter looks to revive 9/11 suits against Saudis

By Chris Mondics
Inquirer Staff Writer

In a sign that the bitter litigation between victims of the 9/11 attacks and the government of Saudi Arabia is far from over, Sen. Arlen Specter yesterday introduced legislation that would overturn court rulings barring lawsuits that contend the desert kingdom helped cause the terrorism.

Specter (D., Pa.) said the legislation would clarify that lawsuits by U.S. citizens could go forward without a sign-off from the State Department.

A federal appeals court in Manhattan last year dismissed claims against the Saudi government, saying such litigation can proceed only if the State Department finds that the Saudis provided financial aid and other assistance to terrorist groups.

Besides clarifying the law, the bill would reinstate those lawsuits.

Jon Gold
7/11/2009

A long time ago, I spent some time looking into the flights that took members of the Saudi Royals, as well as members of the Bin Laden family out of the country in the days, and weeks after 9/11. Here is what I found.

According to Richard Clarke during his testimony (yea, yea, call me lazy for linking to Michael Moore's site) at both the Senate Judiciary Committee, and the 9/11 Commission Hearings, he stated the following:

Source: news.yahoo.com

WASHINGTON – The Supreme Court has refused to allow victims of the Sept. 11 attacks to pursue lawsuits against Saudi Arabia and four of its princes over charitable donations that were allegedly funneled to al-Qaida.

The court, in an order Monday, is leaving in place the ruling of a federal appeals court that the country and the princes are protected by sovereign immunity, which generally means that foreign countries can't be sued in American courts.

The Obama administration had angered some victims and families by urging the justices to pass up the case.

In their appeal, the more than 6,000 plaintiffs said the government's court brief filed in early June was an "apparent effort to appease a sometime ally" just before President Barack Obama's visit to Saudi Arabia.

At issue were obstacles in American law to suing foreign governments and their officials as well as the extent to which people can be held financially responsible for acts of terrorism committed by others.

Source: washingtontimes.com

By Tom LoBianco | Tuesday, June 23, 2009

Family members of the victims of the Sept. 11 attacks say they have been blindsided by the Obama administration's opposition to their lawsuit seeking damages from top members of the Saudi Arabian government over suspected financial links to the 9/11 attackers.

A series of closed-door meetings between the relatives' groups and Justice Department officials, arranged as an update on Mr. Obama's plan to close the detention facility at the U.S. Naval Base Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, turned instead into a sharp clash over the Saudi legal action, The Washington Times has learned.

"Physically, President Obama has done what previous presidents have done for a long time, which is bow down," said Debra Burlingame, co-founder of 9/11 Families for a Safe and Strong America.

The relatives of the victims have signed onto a lawsuit seeking damages from four Saudi princes, saying they have been financing al Qaeda and thus are responsible in large part for the attacks that killed their loved ones.

http://www.motherjones.com/mojo/2009/06/von-brunns-anti-semitic-conspira...

Crime and Justice

Von Brunn's Anti-Semitic Conspiracies: from 9/11 to Google

By David Corn | Thu June 11, 2009 9:55 AM PST

James von Brunn, the white supremacist arrested for the murder of a security guard at the Holocaust Museum, held numerous extremist views, as has been widely reported.

He maintained that 9/11 was the product of a Jewish conspiracy. In one posting, he claimed that only one Jewish person was killed at the World Trade Center--even though the "WTC was the nexus for international Jew trade, located in the largest Jew city in the world." He added, "It is revealing that 3 Jews laughing with glee, pointing at the exploding WTC, were caught by a neighbor on video-tape."

Like many anti-Semitics, von Brunn believed Jews controlled the world financial system, and he used the traditional data points and rhetoric of such hate-mongers: "From this cess-pool of Jews and traitors came the FTAA which in 1994, with Congressional blessings, changed its name to WTO (World Trade Organization)."

I refer you to Fact #35. - Jon

Source: www.philly.com

By Chris Mondics
Inquirer Staff Writer

At the moment the north tower of the World Trade Center collapsed at 10:28 a.m. on Sept. 11, 2001, Sharon Premoli was scrambling up an escalator from the below-ground concourse toward the street with dozens of other office workers in a desperate bid to escape.

She looked behind her and saw two things that are burned forever in her memory: A human chain of evacuees riding the escalator and a boiling cloud of dust and debris racing toward them.

The force of that swirling storm picked her up and threw her into nearby storefront. After she awoke, she said, she soon realized she was lying on the lifeless body of a man and that she was covered with his blood.

http://news.prnewswire.com/DisplayReleaseContent.aspx?ACCT=104&STORY=/ww...

Statement On Behalf of the 9/11 Families United to Bankrupt Terrorism In Response to the Solicitor General's Refusal to Support The 9/11 Families' Petition for Writ of Certiorari with the Supreme Court

(In Re: Thomas E. Burnett, Sr., et al. v. Al Baraka Investment & Development Corp., et al., Case No. 03-CV-9849 (RCC)In Re: Terrorist Attacks on September 11, 2001, MDL 1570)

WASHINGTON, May 29 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The following is a statement of 9/11 Family Members: Mike Low, Father of Sara Elizabeth Low, AA Flight 11; Bill Doyle, Father of Joseph M. Doyle, WTC North Tower; Tom & Beverly Burnett, Sr., Parents of Thomas E. Burnett, Jr., UA Flight 93; and Terry Strada, Wife of Thomas Strada, WTC North Tower on Behalf of the 9/11 Families United to Bankrupt Terrorism in Response to the Solicitor General's Refusal to Support The 9/11 Families' Petition for Writ of Certiorari with the Supreme Court:

Phila. firm appeals 9/11 suit to U.S. high court By Chris Mondics INQUIRER STAFF WRITER
http://www.philly.com/inquirer/breaking/business_breaking/20081112_Phila...

Thousands of victims of the 9/11 attacks appealed to the Supreme Court today, asking it to overturn a lower court decision barring lawsuits against Saudi Arabia for supporting acts of terrorism.

The petition contended that U.S. intelligence agencies had unearthed ample evidence of the Saudi Arabia government's providing tens of millions of dollars to Islamist charities that in turn funded Osama bin Laden and his al-Qaeda organization.

U.S. government officials had repeatedly warned Saudi officials in the 1990s that government-backed charities were providing money and logistical support to bin Laden, but they failed to do anything about it, the petition said.

All the new entries this week are about tracking of terrorists, in particular the 9/11 hijackers, as they moved between countries. Until the early 1990s, the CIA produced a Redbook that instructed immigration inspectors on how to spot terrorists by examining their passports. However, publication+ceased just before the 1993 World Trade Center bombing, which was unfortunate because some of the 9/11 hijackers had the same indicators of terrorist affiliation in their passports as three of the WTC bombers. When a top al-Qaeda support site in Europe was raided in Italy in 1995, two copies+of+the+Redbook+were+found+there.

This is from last year on Bill Maher's show, during an "Overtime" segment. I amended Bill Maher's question about Saudi involvement in terrorism and the Iraq insurgency after he mentioned that most of the 9/11 hijackers were Saudi. The word "patsies" seemed to clarify the matter quickly. Listen to Emanuel's response to the word "patsies." Sounds like an uncomfortable laugh. It happens a little after the 3 minute mark. Why did one word, "patsies," make Rahmbo jumpy enough to mistakenly call the House of Saud a "Shiite government"?

This is from the previous blog entry Bill Maher Interrupted in Real Time Overtime while Pushing Big Lie

"The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, ruling in Manhattan, said Saudi Arabia and members of its royal family were protected from being sued because the State Department had not officially designated the desert kingdom as a supporter of terrorism."

"In their lawsuits, the victims alleged that over a period of a decade or more, officials of the government of Saudi Arabia had financed Islamic charities that, in turn, had become the sources of funding for Islamic terrorists, first in Afghanistan and then later in Bosnia Herzegovina and, ultimately, in the Sept. 11 attacks.

The victims offered as evidence testimony by senior U.S. Treasury and State Department officials and other U.S. government findings that the charities had become conduits for terrorist financing, beginning in the mid-1990s. U.S. officials have said that although the Saudis have taken some steps to crack down on the charities, they remained concerned that some charities continue to be sources of funding for al-Qaeda."

"From Glenn Beck (replacement propagandist) on 6/19/08."

Glenn Beck asks Ron Paul why he has so many supporters in the 9/11 truth movement.
YouTube Video:

The Bush story about 9/11 takes a hit from their ally the Washington Times- exposure of Saudi involvement in 9/11 is exposure of Bush family/administration involvement in 9/11.

http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2008/jun/17/foes-not-friends/

Foes, Not Friends
By Frank J. Gaffney Jr.
The Washington Times | Tuesday, June 17, 2008

The United States is in mortal period from a false friend: the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. The peril emanates from the totalitarian legal-religious-military-political code the Saudis call Shariah and their assiduous efforts to impose it worldwide. The danger is enormously exacerbated by the almost-complete failure of American officials at every level of government to acknowledge, let alone act to prevent, the Saudis' true agenda.

Three examples are instructive:

It's nice to see some right-wing media supporting public disclosure and truth regarding 9/11; the Cozen O'Connor Saudi lawsuit is getting attention. I find it hard to believe, with 7 years of research and millions invested by this lawfirm, that they didn't also uncover links to US, Pakistani and Israeli principals, if not direct evidence of responsibility, foreknowledge, negligence, complicity, etc., if they think they have enough evidence to prove to a jury that the govt of Saudi Arabia "intended" the 9/11 attacks to happen. Of course, he's got his career and fortunes riding on this, so he'll just target the Saudis; the right-wing will also target the Saudis; and the 9/11 truth movement will use whatever facts are brought to light by this case about Saudi Arabia's involvement to continue making the case to America and the World that the official 9/11 story isn't true and that full investigations with the power of the law and public oversight behind them are called for before another decision is made based on the belief that 9/11 was exclusively an Al Qaeda operation, before 9/11 is used to justify any policy or to rouse fear or patriotic fervor.

Source: The Philadelphia Inquirer

By Chris Mondics
Inquirer Staff Writer
6/2/2008

Second of two parts.

On the morning of Sept. 11, 2001, Stephen Cozen huddled with expert witnesses in a seventh-floor conference room of his Center City law firm preparing for what promised to be a bare-knuckle trial over a string of soured movie deals.

Hundreds of millions of dollars were at stake in a dispute over proceeds from Hollywood films including The Truman Show, Runaway Bride, and The General's Daughter. But Cozen's attention was soon diverted by a call from his wife, Sandy.

The World Trade Center had been attacked. Cozen and his associates switched on a TV and with astonishment watched the towers burning and then collapsing.

Like Americans everywhere, Cozen, 67, a hyperactive trial lawyer and onetime college basketball player, was torn between anger at the perpetrators and compassion for the victims.

But there was little time for reflection.

Lots of html links in the article; follow the link to to the original for working links:

http://www.philly.com/inquirer/hot_topics/19374964.html

Posted on Thu, May. 29, 2008

Sept. 11 Lawsuit

The lawsuit

An epic lawsuit filed by Philadelphia firm Cozen O'Connor looks to place direct blame for the 9/11 terrorist attacks on the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and a host of individuals, banks and groups so that it can recover billions of dollars in damages.

The following excerpts from the lawsuit are in the form of .pdfs, and vary in length from 12 to 61 pages. There is some overlap, in instances where a section ended in the middle of the page; the excerpt that follows picks up on that same page.

1. The list of plaintiffs and defendants. Read the document

2. Background on the actions leading to the lawsuit, and beginning of the allegations against each defendant. Read the document

3. More background on the actions leading to the lawsuit. This section presents allegations against the defendant banks and other financial institutions. Read the document

Related to the Cozen 9/11 Saudi victim's family lawsuit:

http://www.philly.com/philly/business/20080531_A_former_al-Qaeda_fighter...

Posted on Sat, May. 31, 2008

Special Report

A former al-Qaeda fighter accuses a Saudi charity

By Chris Mondics
INQUIRER STAFF WRITER

DOBOJ, Bosnia - For years, Saudi Arabia flatly denied it had provided money and logistical support for Islamist militant groups that attacked Western targets.

But that assertion is disputed by a former al-Qaeda commander who testified in a United Nations war-crimes trial that his unit was funded by the Saudi High Commission for Relief of Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Ali Ahmed Ali Hamad, the former al-Qaeda fighter, gave the same account to The Inquirer in an interview in this struggling city in the central Balkans.

"Because it was the biggest charity, [the commission] helped the mujaheddin the most," Hamad said, adding that it had provided "everything a person needed to exist."

New lawsuit over Saudi 9/11 involvement, based in part on warnings and info from the US government!!!

"With a ruling from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit imminent, Cozen and his partners have unearthed facts and made connections missed not only by the 9/11 Commission but also by Congress in its investigations.

At the heart of the suit, the biggest and most complex legal action ever undertaken by the law firm, are warnings from U.S. and European officials that the charities were serving as terror fronts.

Among the suit's key assertions:

Senior Saudi officials and members of the royal family or their representatives served as executives or board members of the suspect charities when they were financing al-Qaeda operations. Overall, the Saudi government substantially controlled and financed the charities, the lawsuit alleges.

The charities laundered millions of dollars, some from the Saudi government, into al-Qaeda and other terrorist groups and provided weapons, false travel and employment documents, and safe houses.

Regional offices of the charities employed, in senior positions, al-Qaeda operatives who helped coordinate support for terror cells.

Since "officially" 15 of the 19 9/11 hijackers came from Saudi Arabia, shouldn't Bush be thrown in a FEMA camp for negotiating with terrorists?

- Either you're with us, or you're with the terrorists

I guess the president is with the terrorists:

http://money.canoe.ca/News/Other/2008/05/16/5588781-ap.html

Saudis reject Bush's call to raise oil production

RIYADH, Saudi Arabia - Saudi Arabia's leaders made clear Friday they see no reason to increase oil production until customers demand it, apparently rebuffing U.S. President George W. Bush amid soaring gasoline prices.

It was Bush's second personal appeal this year to King Abdullah, head of the monarchy that rules this desert kingdom that is a longtime prime U.S. ally and home to the world's largest oil reserves. But Saudi officials stuck to their position that they will only pump more oil into the system when asked to by buyers, something they say is not happening now, the president's national security adviser told reporters.

Most entries added to the 9/11 Timeline this week deal with terrorism finance in general and the criminal Bank of Credit and Commerce International (BCCI) in particular. Between 1979 and 1991, the US government received over+700+tips about criminal activities by BCCI, which repeatedly+saved+Pakistan+from+financial+ruin and funneled money to A.+Q.+Khan's+nuclear+program, but essentially ignored all 700 of them. BCCI dominated the supply chain of CIA+supplies+and+weapons+for+the+Afghan+mujaheddin and was also used by the CIA to pay 500+British+informants and for another slush+fund, of which the CIA failed to notify US customs. The NSC gained a clear+picture of BCCI's criminal activities from CIA reports, but a US+senator+was+kept+in+the+dark+about+them. The Pakistani government allowed drug+traffickers to use BCCI, which was linked to Osama+bin+Laden, and a huge+munitions+explosion towards the end of the Soviet-Afghan war hid the fact that that money for the mujaheddin was being diverted to A. Q. Khan.

Elsewhere in terrorism finance, an address book recovered in a raid linked an al-Qaeda operative to a Saudi+billionaire, the IIRO and the Muslim World League are part of the Saudi+government according to testimony, and Persian+Gulf+sheikhs+ allegedly gave bin Laden US$ 50 million in a handy single transfer in 1999. The government of Saudi Arabia refused to help capture a key Hezboallah figure in 1996, made little+effort to fight terrorism financing before 2002, and was still not properly overseeing+charities in 2007. In addition, militant operatives were told to use a prominent+Saudi+bank and a known terrorism financier was removed from UN and US blacklists when he+promised+not+to+do+it+anymore.

Imam Anwar Al Aulaqi, an associate of Khalid+Almihdhar+and+Nawaf+Alhazmi, was inexplicably+allowed+to+leave+the+US in 2002, and arrested and let+go in Yemen in 2007. The US finally determined he was linked to al-Qaeda in 2008.

Miscellaneous new entries include the US monitoring a "very+important+source" in Sudan around the time of the 1998 embassy bombings, but letting two+of+the+apparent+bombers+escape. A 1994 US intelligence report concluded Islamic+militants+would+take+power+in+Egypt, fighters were not ready to launch on 9/11 from Syracuse+air+base even after 10:00 a.m., the CIA tested an al-Qaeda training camp for chemical+weapons in 2001, and an attack on oil+facilities+in+Yemen was foiled in 2006. Finally, Presidents Reagan and Bush facilitated the Islamic bomb by repeatedly+and+falsely+certifying Pakistan did not have a nuclear weapons program, despite knowing that it did.

Originally posted here. Please also bear in mind that the History Commons is in need of donations.

An article from USA Today dated 2/06/2002, contains compelling statements made by Saudi Arabia's Interior Minister Prince Nayef. He said, Bin Laden was a "tool" of others rather than the mastermind of the attacks against the World Trade Center, Pentagon and in Pennsylvania. He did not say who he thought was the mastermind."

Interestingly enough, I came across this article cited by a debunking website as proof all the 9/11 hi-jackers are dead. Prince Nayef alleges that Saudi leaders were shocked to learn 15 of the hijackers were from Saudi Arabia. "The names that we got confirmed that," Nayef said in an interview. "Their families have been notified." However, the most interesting thing about this article was apparently not noticed by our OCT clinger and instead a rather vague remark about contacting the family members of the 15 Saudi hi-jackers is cited as proof positive they are all dead.

Ex-Saudi ambassador: Kingdom could have helped U.S. prevent 9/11

(CNN) -- Saudi Arabia could have helped the United States prevent al Qaeda's 2001 attacks on New York and Washington if American officials had consulted Saudi authorities in a "credible" way, the kingdom's former ambassador said in a documentary aired Thursday.

The comments by Prince Bandar bin Sultan are similar to the remarks this week by Saudi King Abdullah that suggested Britain could have prevented the July 2005 train bombings in London if it had heeded warnings from Riyadh.

Speaking to the Arabic satellite network Al-Arabiya on Thursday, Bandar -- now Abdullah's national security adviser -- said Saudi intelligence was "actively following" most of the September 11, 2001, plotters "with precision."

"If U.S. security authorities had engaged their Saudi counterparts in a serious and credible manner, in my opinion, we would have avoided what happened," he said.

i was doing a little research on Iridium satellite system.

Iridium was supposed to offer communications to anyone anywhere
even remote areas, because it was a satellite system and not land towers.

As an RF (cellular - radio) engineer for SPINT PCS, i first became interested in 9/11
when i heard about those cell phone calls.
They didnt happen, at least NOT at 35,000ft
We now have a video of Deana Burnette saying that she saw Tom's phone # on her caller ID.
This goes directly against what the GOV said, that only FELT, and CeeCee Lyles
were using cell phones.
Ill post more about cell phones later,
but now, back to Iridium...

This is pretty old, i think FEMA already does use them.
---------
"DOD reserves gateway to Iridium's global satellite service; other agencies mayfollow
The Defense Department is the largest single customer for Iridium LLC’s financially troubled global satellite communications service.
DOD has reserved one of the consortium’s 12 ground gateways capable of serving up to 120,000 users and 1,000 simultaneous calls. The Army, Navy and Air Force are testing ways to integrate the Iridium satellite network into their communications plans.

Thanks to www.cooperativeresearch.org

Late 1990s: CIA Director Tenet Has Direct, Private Channels to Saudi Leaders
George Tenet, appointed as CIA director in 1997, develops close personal relationships with top Saudi officials, especially Prince Bandar, the Saudi ambassador to the US. Tenet develops a habit of meeting with Bandar at his home near Washington about once a month. But CIA officers handling Saudi issues complain that Tenet doesn’t tell them what he discusses with Bandar. Often they are only able to learn about Tenet’s deals with the Saudis later and through Saudi contacts, not from their own boss. Tenet also makes one of his closest aides the chief of the CIA station in Saudi Arabia. This aide often communicates directly with Tenet, avoiding the usual chain of command. Apparently as a favor to the Saudis, CIA analysts are discouraged from writing reports raising questions about the Saudi relationship to Islamic extremists. [Risen, 2006, pp. 185]

April 1998: Hijacker Associate Receives Saudi Money; FBI Fails to Investigate

WTC7 housed the Securities and Exchange Commission, which was investigating Enron. Late 2001 was the time of “the height of the investigation into Enron, so the majority of Enron’s SEC filings were likely destroyed when World Trade Center 7 came down.” [Barry Zwicker, The 9/11 News Special You Never Saw]

How convenient for WTC7 to be totally destroyed and Cliff Baxter, former Enron Vice Chairman, to kill himself. Blame it on the bossa nova, er, I mean al-Qaeda. It's obvious that the financing of 9/11 is one of those intentionally underexamined points in the OTC, where more truth than fiction could be easily shaken out. What say you Sibel?

Madsen: Citibank/Citigroup back channel “Account 98″ financing of Al Qaeda 9/11 terrorists, nearly exposed by Enron’s dead Cliff Baxter. Neat package, eh?

Source: http://www.muckrakerreport.com/id375.html

Bin Laden’s Confession; is that what it is?

March 15, 2007 -- The tape released by the Pentagon on December 13, 2001 in which Osama Bin Laden is seen describing the events of 9/11 to a paraplegic visitor, Khaled Al-Harbi, is as close to a confession of prior knowledge as anyone is going to get at a dinner gathering.

Bin Laden: So if the plane hits the building here [gestures with hands], the portion of the building above will collapse. That was the most we could hope for, the most we expected: that the floors above the point of entry would fall. We were at one of the canyons at the time of the event, and we knew since Thursday that it would be on Tuesday. So we had the radio on.

That is enough for me, still, there are those who doubt and might say, well, the event had already taken place and Bin Laden knew enough detail to make up a story and take credit. Yes, there are those who might say that and for various reasons.

DFrum@aei.org

http://www.davidfrum.com/

This guy was responsible for the term "axis of evil", an evil genius, isn't he?

Yesterday he gave an interview with German newsmagazine Spiegel Online.
(german: http://www.spiegel.de/politik/ausland/0,1518,461225,00.html )
(english: http://www.spiegel.de/politik/ausland/0,1518,461225,00.html )

He admits the biggest mistake back in 2001 was to left Pakistan and Saudi Arabia off the hook for their terror-involvement.

But then he goes on with only bla bla bla about the reason why.

So I decided to sent him an encouraging e-mail to help him onto his feet...

***

Dear David!

I have read your interview in the german news magazine Spiegel Online with reporter Georg Mascolo.

You ask, why Saudi-Arabia and Pakistan were not on the table back in 2001.

What utter nonsense to pretend you do not know the truth.
But we do...and we'll hold you accountable...

http://www.spiegel.de/politik/ausland/0,1518,461225,00.html

***

The US commited an inside job with 911, Pakistan and Saudi Arabia both played roles in setting up the patsies. Under the control of western intelligence...
Eat this:

After the Abrupt Resignation of the Ambassador, Saudi Arabia Names 9/11 PR Man As New Envoy

December 22, 2006 1:01 PM

From Our Sources:

Saudi Arabia has chosen the man who was charged with disassociating the royal family from al Qaeda in the wake of the 9/11 attacks as Riyadh's new ambassador to the U.S.

Adel al-Jubeir, 44, currently a foreign policy advisor to King Abdullah, is well-known in the Capitol for his work following the attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon.

According to U.S. officials, Saudi Arabia has asked the U.S. for its consent to have al-Jubeir serve as the Saudi ambassador. If the U.S. agrees to his appointment, al-Jubeir would fill the vacancy suddenly left by Prince Turki al-Faysal, who resigned 15 months after he started serving, as previously reported by "The Blotter."

According to that report, even close confidantes of Saudi Ambassador Turki al Faysal were surprised by his abrupt resignation and departure from Washington, D.C., yesterday.

Prince Turki, a former head of Saudi intelligence and a powerful player in the Saudi royal family, had only been in Washington for 15 months when he gathered his staff on Friday and announced that he would leave his post....