US set to mark anniversary of 9/11 attacks amid Trump Saudi cover-up

Events are scheduled across the United States to mark 19 years since the September 11 attacks, which killed almost 3,000 people in New York, and led the US to launch its so-called war on terror across the globe.

Thousands of people will gather for rallies in large US cities, including New York City, Washington DC, Shanksville and Pennsylvania on Friday to remember the victims of the attacks, which occurred when hijacked jetliners crashed into the World Trade Center on September 11, 2001.

An event will be held in New York City, at the 9/11 Memorial, where mourners gather as they have every year since the attack, for the annual reading of victims' names from both the 1993 and 2001 attacks on the World Trade Center.

Participants will also observe citywide moments of silence to remember the time American Airlines Flight 11 crashed into the North Tower, and the moment that United Airlines Flight 175 struck the South Tower.

Further moments of silence will be observed at 9:37 am, when American Airlines Flight 77 hit the Pentagon; at 9:59 am when the South Tower fell; at 10:03 am when United Flight 93 hit the ground near Shanksville, Pennsylvania; and at 10:28 am, when the North Tower collapsed.

Saudi Arabia’s name came to the fore soon after the attacks, as investigators concluded that 15 of the 19 hijackers involved in the raids were of Saudi origin.

The kingdom, the spiritual heartland of Wahhabism, has since managed to avoid any liability due to Washington’s attempts to shield Riyadh from any comeuppance.

In a development, earlier this year, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) accidentally revealed, in a court filing, the identity of a Saudi diplomat, who is suspected of having directed support for two of the attacks.

The diplomat was identified as Mussaed Ahmed al-Jarrah, a Saudi Foreign Ministry official, who was assigned to the Saudi Embassy in Washington, DC, in 1999 and 2000.

The FBI’s accidental disclosure of the name prompted families and lawyers of the victims to call on President Donald Trump to release documents about the embassy official.

FBI accidentally names Saudi official suspected of supporting 9/11 hijackers: Yahoo News

An FBI mistake reveals the identity of a Saudi diplomat, who is suspected of directing support for two of the 9/11 attacks

The families seeking to sue Saudi Arabia for alleged involvement in the terror attacks, have long sought information about the diplomat.

But the Trump administration said since it was an erroneous disclosure, the name is still subject to a protective order and neither side is allowed to discuss it publicly.

The administration has also withheld the underlying evidence gathered by the FBI officials regarding al-Jarrah’s potential involvement.

It said the information is extremely sensitive and has cited various other objections to its release as it sought to protect Saudi Arabia, its close ally.

Some analysts say, based on known evidence, informed people have concluded that 9/11 was an inside job organized by then US Vice President Dick Cheney, his stable of neoconservatives, and Israel for the purpose of reconstructing the Middle East in Israel’s interest and enriching the US military/security complex in the process.

9/11 after 18 years

"What have we learned in these 18 years?  We have learned that thousands of experts with hard evidence cannot prevail over a transparent official lie," Paul Craig Roberts writes.

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