Thursday, July 29, 2004
Contacts:
Scott McLarty, Media Coordinator, 202-518-5624, cell 202-487-0693, mclarty@greens.org
Nancy Allen, Media Coordinator, 207-326-4576, nallen@acadia.net
GREENS CITE REASONS FOR A NEW, INDEPENDENT 9/11
PROBE
More investigation needed: Bush conflicts of interest; who paid for
the 9/11 hijackings; the role of US foreign policy; exploitation of 9/11
to justify war on Iraq.
WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Leaders of the Green Party called
the results of the 9/11 Commission a valuable first step in the probe of
the September 11, 2001 attacks on the U.S., but called for more
far-reaching investigation into the failure to discover and prevent the
attacks and into the White House's response to the attacks.
"Instead of merely extending the current
commission, which Sen. Kerry favors, we need to see a new, independent
Commission to continue to the investigation into the 9/11 attacks, with
family members of 9/11 victims given a prominent role," said
Patrick Driscoll, Green candidate for Congress in California (5th
District).
Greens note that, contrary to President Bush's claims
that Americans are now safer, the U.S. response to 9/11 has increased
the risk of terrorism throughout the world. At home, the response
has included curtailment of civil liberties, including the detention of
thousands of Americans without being charged with any crime.
"There has been little discussion of how U.S.
policy in the Middle East may have motivated the attacks and may lead to
possible future terrorism," said Peggy Lewis, co-chair of the Green
Party of the United States. "These policies include Bush's
support for Sharon's occupation of Palestine and apartheid in Israel, as
well as the the invasion of Iraq based on fraudulent claims that Saddam
Hussein was an immediate threat to the U.S. These policies are
turning Arabs and Muslims against the U.S. Bush rhetoric about
'evil-doers' acting on their own blind hatred of the West has
aggravated, not clarified, the causes of terrorism."
The 9/11 Commission's report documented the failure
of intelligence, incompetence of the Bush White House in responding to
warnings, and role of both the Clinton and Bush administrations in
failing to take threats seriously. But Greens cite a list of other
points that have not been adequately investigated:
-
The role played by Saudi Arabia and Pakistan: as
John O'Neill, the FBI's former top bin Laden investigator, said
shortly before his death in the World Trade Center, "All the
answers, everything needed to dismantle Osama bin Laden's
organization can be found in Saudi Arabia"; O'Neill also said
that America's failure to stop bin Laden could be traced to oil.
-
How and why Bush officials exploited 9/11 to
justify invasion of Iraq, which, as the 9/11 Commission noted, had
no participation in the attacks and only marginal contact with al-Qaeda.
-
The influence of the Saudi ruling family on U.S.
policy: the House of Saud has been a major source of funding for
both terrorists and for Bush family investments ($1.4 billion); both
the Clinton and Bush administration impeded FBI investigations into
Saudi Arabia.
-
The role of the Pakistani Intelligence Service:
why did Mahmood Ahmed, Director of Pakistan's secret service, order
$100,000 to be wired to lead hijacker Momahmed Atta?
-
How the CIA trained and armed al-Qaeda and other
terrorists before 9/11, especially in the Afghan war against the
Soviet Union; how Pakistan and the U.S. enabled the Taliban, a
totalitarian theocracy, to come to power.
-
Details of negotiations that took place between
the US government and the Taliban before 9/11 relating to the
construction of a pipeline through Afghanistan.
-
The extent of FBI and CIA surveillance on the
hijackers before 9/11: Several were apparently closely monitored,
especially Mohammed Atta.
-
Which organizations, governments, or individuals
financed and supported the hijackings: pinning the attacks on 'bin
Laden' is as vague as calling 'the Mob' responsible for organized
crime, especially given the role of Atta, an Egyptian citizen, in
planning the attacks.
MORE INFORMATION
The Green Party of the United States
http://www.gp.org
1711 18th Street NW
Washington, DC 20009.
202-319-7191, 866-41GREEN
Fax 202-319-7193
Cobb/LaMarche 2004
http://www.votecobb.org
