9/11, Saudi Arabia, and the War on Terror: Who's Really to Blame?

 New evidence has surfaced that questions what many thought they knew about the September 11th attacks.  A video showing the Capitol building in Washington, D.C., along with other landmarks, and a voice speaking Arabic detailing the layout of the building, security checkpoints, and noting the airport being a short distance away.  This evidence is coming to light amid a lawsuit levied against the Saudi government by families of 9/11 victims, alleging the Saudi government was involved in aiding and abetting the hijackers.  The outcome of the lawsuit is yet to be seen, however it seems that it will be difficult to force the Saudi government to pay any amount of money.  The United States government is unlikely to coerce them into paying the families compensation, as Saudi Arabia is an important strategic ally of the United States in the Middle East.

This new evidence is yet another example of bureaucratic incompetence.  The video was seized at an apartment in the United Kingdom, belonging to Omar al-Bayoumi, the man seen and heard in the footage.  British authorities mailed the tape to the FBI, but was one way or another, misplaced.  None of the main investigators at the FBI had ever seen the footage until very recently, since it is being used against the Saudi government in federal court.  The flaws within the American bureaucratic system are glaringly seen in this instance.  If this video was viewed when it was received, around a month after the attacks, al-Bayoumi may have been charged with assisting the planning of 9/11.  However, al-Bayoumi has since moved back to Saudi Arabia, where he is originally from, and getting him to the United States to face charges is essentially impossible since the U.S. and Saudi Arabia do not have an extradition treaty signed.

Other vital pieces of evidence were found in al-Bayoumi's apartment, including multiple other tapes, as well as written evidence, including a diagram of an airplane and an equation that may have been used to calculate a target for the plane to hit.  Among the other tapes is footage of al-Bayoumi hosting a party, where one of the hijackers is shown in attendance.  al-Bayoumi also helped the hijackers in other facets, including helping them get into English classes, moving them to San Diego, and accessing government identification.  The Saudi government has claimed that this is a coincidence, and al-Bayoumi has claimed himself that although the sketch is his, he can't remember where it came from.  There is obvious skepticism in these claims, and one must wonder if Mr. al-Bayoumi got away with being a conspirator in the deadliest terror attack in American history.

The most obvious consequence of 9/11 was the so called "war on terror," which President George W. Bush claimed would root out and destroy terrorist networks all over the world.  The United States then proceeded to invade Iraq and Afghanistan, despite no evidence of their involvement in the attacks.  None of the hijackers were from either country.  The Bush Administration said it would be "liberating" the Iraqi people from Saddam Hussein's tyrannical government.  It's impossible to say for certain what the actual motivating factor behind the Iraq war was.  It's possible that George W. Bush wanted Hussein dead for personal grievances, that being Hussein's ordered assassination attempt on his father, George H.W. Bush.  Regardless of what the motive was, the war on terror fundamentally changed the geopolitical dynamics in the Middle East.  It created a power vacuum in Iraq, and in a twisted irony, made it easier for terror groups to proliferate, such as ISIS' rise in the early 2010's.

The blame for 9/11 has been tossed around for over two decades now.  The American government claimed that Iraq harbored terrorists, and that they posed a significant threat to the world.  There were also the claims of Iraq possessing weapons of mass destruction, which were false.  The Saudi Arabian link to 9/11 cannot be dismissed, as the main leader of al-Qaeda, Osama bin Laden, was Saudi himself.  15 of the 19 hijackers were Saudi, as is Omar al-Bayoumi.  It is difficult to assert the Saudi government was involved simply because many of the hijackers and planners of the attacks happened to be Saudi.  The most likely theory is that al-Qaeda was proficient in recruiting men who shared their anger towards the west, especially the United States.  Since they are a militia like organization, they are harder to track, and they can be based and operate inside multiple countries at the same time.  Squarely blaming Saudi Arabia or Iraq for 9/11 misses the bigger picture.  Terrorist organizations operate like ghosts, they shift locations and can even plan from inside the country they are targeting.

It cannot be said for certain who is to blame for 9/11 besides al-Qaeda.  The Saudi government could very well have been complicit in the planning of the attacks.  al-Bayoumi may have helped plan them, and aided and abetted two of the hijackers.  The war on terror only intensified these issues, and has destabilized the Middle East as we know it today.  The true answers are likely not as black and white as many wish them to be.  There are many complexities and nuances to address.  We may never know all of them, and we must accept that.  The sooner we do, the sooner we may be able to properly make the world a safer place for all.

Source:

Vega, Cecilia. “Recently Surfaced 9/11 Evidence Was Not Shared with FBI Field Agents or Top Intelligence Officials.” CBS News, April 27, 2025. https://www.cbsnews.com/news/recently-surfaced-september-11-evidence-60-minutes-transcript/.