The Price of Silence: How America Abandoned 9/11 for Saudi Gold

George Cassidy Payne
7 hours ago
2 min read

In 2017, Donald Trump landed in Riyadh and was met with gold medallions, sword dances, and royal fanfare. It was his first trip abroad as president. He didn’t choose Canada or a democracy. He chose Saudi Arabia, a kingdom whose citizens made up the majority of the 9/11 hijackers.

That trip marked the beginning of Trump’s open courtship of the Saudi regime. Now, as he seeks a trillion-dollar investment from the Kingdom, we’re forced to ask again: what price are we willing to put on American grief?

We know that 15 of the 19 hijackers were Saudi nationals. We know that Omar al-Bayoumi, later revealed to be a Saudi intelligence agent, helped two of the hijackers find housing, open bank accounts, and integrate into San Diego. We know that Fahad al-Thumairy, a Saudi official based in Los Angeles, helped funnel support to the 9/11 terrorists.

These facts are not fringe. They are confirmed by the FBI. And yet, for more than two decades, not a single American president has demanded a full public reckoning with Saudi Arabia’s role in the deadliest terror attack in our history.

And here in Rochester, we live with the consequences.

We’ve seen the deep surveillance of local Muslim communities after 9/11, despite no evidence of wrongdoing.

We’ve seen our young people sent to wars built on distorted truths and missing facts. We’ve seen public dollars spent on bombs while our schools close, our trauma goes untreated, and our neighborhoods beg for peace.

Trump’s relationship with Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (MBS) is more than offensive, it’s a betrayal. He shielded MBS after the brutal murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi, greenlit billions in arms sales, and bragged about protecting the prince from American outrage.

But there is a line no president should ever cross: the memory of 2,977 lives extinguished on September 11, 2001.

And that memory still demands justice.

This is not about revenge. It’s about truth, healing, and dignity. Families who lost loved ones on 9/11—some of them right here in Rochester—still wake up every day without answers. Rochester, like many cities, has grieved, sacrificed, and persevered through war, economic struggle, and broken promises. We deserve better.

In the words of author and activist James Baldwin:

“Not everything that is faced can be changed, but nothing can be changed until it is faced.”

We need leaders who will face the truth. We need press that refuses to be silent. And we need communities, especially Black and Brown communities, to demand answers when the powerful think we will forget.

Let the oil flow where it may. But our memory is not for sale.

Sources:

9/11 Commission Report. (2004). National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States. Available: https://www.9-11commission.gov/report/911Report.pdf
FBI, "Declassified Documents on Saudi Arabia’s Alleged Ties to 9/11 Attacks." (2022). Available: https://www.fbi.gov/news/press-releases/declassified-documents
CIA, "Jamal Khashoggi’s Murder and the Role of Mohammed bin Salman." (2018). Available: https://www.cia.gov/news/press-releases

About the Author:

George Cassidy Payne is a freelance journalist, poet, and suicide prevention counselor based in Rochester.