According to Zacarias Moussaoui who is now in prison on a life sentence for his role in the 09/11 attacks on New York City, certain members of the Saudi royal family provided support to the Islamic militant group in order for the terrorists to carry out their deeds.
The information was stated yesterday as part of his testimony in front of attorneys for victims of September 11. Many victims have long accused Saudi Arabia of being responsible for supplying Al-Qaida with material and it appears that Moussaoui agrees.
In his statement, Moussaoui said that from the late 1990s, there was a list of donors who had been “drafted” while Osama bin Laden was still leader of Al-Qaida. Included on the list were names of extremely famous officials in Saudi Arabia to include former intelligence chief Prince Turki al-Faisal Al Saud.
Moussaoui who is a 46-year-old native of France added that Shaykh Osama wanted to maintain records of who provided financial support to jihad, specifically the people who could be listened to and those who actually made contributions. For his role in 09/11, Moussaoui pled guilty to terrorism in 2005.
The testimony also showed that Moussaoui met with a Saudi Arabia official from Washington’s embassy in Kandahar and that the two were to travel to Washington on a mission to locate a suitable location for a “stinger attack” on Air Force One, the US Presidential plane.
In response to Moussaoui’s claims, the Saudi embassy stated that he is trying to undermine relations between Saudi Arabia and the United States. The official also stated that 2004 findings of the 09/11 Commission different from what Moussaoui is stating and that there is absolutely zero evidence that Al-Qaida had received any financial support from his country.
The official went on to say that Moussaoui is nothing more than a criminal with a deranged mind. In fact, his own attorneys provided solid evidence that he is mentally incompetent so his words are not creditworthy.
Moussaoui’s testimony in federal court was in opposition of the most recent bids by Saudi Arabia to have lawsuits that started over 10 years ago dismissed.
Reportedly, Moussaoui offered to testify for the victims of 09/11 last October where he has been held in Florence, Colorado’s maximum security prison. The accusation from the victims’ families is that Saudi Arabia along with an affiliated government charity knowingly and willfully offered financial aid, as well as materials to help Al-Qaeda carry out their attacks.
Involved in the lawsuit are family members of the roughly 3,000 people who horrifically died on 09/11 in addition to those who suffered significant injuries and losses to businesses. Of the 19 terrorists, 19 were Saudi nationals.