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Intelligence committee not to seek declassification of 9/11 report section
Washington, Sept 13: Rejecting a request from other senators and the Saudi government, leaders of the US Senate intelligence committee said they would not seek to declassify a secret section of a report dealing with foreign support for the September 11 hijackers.
Washington, Sept 13: Rejecting a request from other senators and the Saudi government, leaders of the US Senate intelligence committee said they would not seek to declassify a secret section of a report dealing with foreign support for the September 11 hijackers.
Releasing the information ``could adversely affect ongoing counter-terrorism efforts,'' committee chairman Pat Roberts and Sen. Jay Rockefeller said in a letter this week to Sen. Bob Graham.
Graham asked the committee in July to start procedures to declassify the material. Graham, a presidential candidate, was co-chairman of the September 11 inquiry and a former chairman of the intelligence committee. ``This is a serious disappointment from the current leadership of the senate intelligence committee,'' said Graham's spokesman Paul Anderson. He noted that both Graham and Sen. Richard Shelby, the inquiry's top Senate Republican, have said that most of the section could be released without harming national security.
There was no immediate comment from Roberts' and Rockefeller's offices. In their letter, they said they based their decision on their own review of the documents and a September 4 closed-door hearing with FBI director Robert Mueller and CIA deputy director John McLaughlin.
``We will continue to monitor the intelligence community's efforts to uncover any foreign links to the September 11 hijackers and will work with the administration to make information available to the public as appropriate,'' they wrote. Bureau Report
Graham asked the committee in July to start procedures to declassify the material. Graham, a presidential candidate, was co-chairman of the September 11 inquiry and a former chairman of the intelligence committee. ``This is a serious disappointment from the current leadership of the senate intelligence committee,'' said Graham's spokesman Paul Anderson. He noted that both Graham and Sen. Richard Shelby, the inquiry's top Senate Republican, have said that most of the section could be released without harming national security.
There was no immediate comment from Roberts' and Rockefeller's offices. In their letter, they said they based their decision on their own review of the documents and a September 4 closed-door hearing with FBI director Robert Mueller and CIA deputy director John McLaughlin.
``We will continue to monitor the intelligence community's efforts to uncover any foreign links to the September 11 hijackers and will work with the administration to make information available to the public as appropriate,'' they wrote. Bureau Report