Biden to visit all three sites of Sept 11 attacks

WASHINGTON: US President Joe Biden will visit all three sites of the Sept. 11, 2001, hijacking attacks next week to honour the nearly 3,000 people killed and mark the 20th anniversary of the most lethal terrorist assault on US soil, the White House said.

On Saturday, Biden and first lady Jill Biden will visit New York City, where two airliners destroyed the World Trade Center and killed 2,753 people; the Pentagon in Arlington, Virginia, where a third airliner crashed; and Shanksville, Pennsylvania, where passengers forced down a fourth aircraft believed to have been headed to the US Capitol or White House.

Vice President Kamala Harris and her husband Douglas Emhoff will travel to Shanksville for a separate event, then join the Bidens at the Pentagon, the White House said.

Biden on Friday ordered the Department of Justice to review documents from the FBI’s probe into the attacks for declassification and release. “When I ran for president, I made a commitment to ensuring transparency regarding the declassification of documents on the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks on America,” Biden said in a statement. “As we approach the 20th anniversary of that tragic day, I am honouring that commitment.”

The order requires US Attorney General Merrick Garland to make the declassified documents public over the next six months as it oversees “a declassification review of documents” related to the Federal Bureau of Investigation probe.

Family members of victims of the Sept. 11 attacks asked a US government watchdog on Thursday to investigate their suspicions that the FBI lied about or destroyed evidence linking Saudi Arabia to the hijackers.

Saudi Arabia has said it had no role in the hijacked plane attacks. Last month, many families asked Biden to skip 20-year memorial events unless he declassified documents they contend will show Saudi Arabian leaders supported the attacks.

Three days later, the Justice Department said in a court filing that it had decided to review earlier claims of privilege it had made about why it could not release some information requested by families.

Biden said he will commemorate the anniversary of the attacks next week. “My heart continues to be with the 9/11 families who are suffering, and my Administration will continue to engage respectfully with members of this community,” Biden said in the statement. “I welcome their voices and insight as we chart a way forward.”

Representative Adam Schiff, chairman of the US House of Representatives’ Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, said he supported Biden’s move.

“As we near the 20th anniversary of that terrible day, the families of those who were killed, and all Americans, have a right to know the full story, and the passage of time has mitigated concerns over sources and methods,” he said in a statement.