The 28 pages redacted from the Joint Congressional Committee report on 9/11 doesn't contain any "bombshells," as almost all the information relating to the Saudi government's potential involvement in the attack had been leaked earlier.

But the hints and whispers of the culpability of the Saudi government are not the whole story.  What emerges from the redacted documents is a picture of U.S. intelligence backing down from fully investigating Saudi links to the attacks as well as possible Saudi intelligence links to Osama bin Laden.

Daily Caller points out the highlights from the documents:

Perhaps most damning, the report found senior al-Qaida operative Abu Zubaida, who was captured in the U.S. in 2002, had phone numbers tied to the same company which managed a Colorado residence of the Saudi ambassador the U.S. Zubaida also had a phone number for a bodyguard at the Saudi Embassy in Washington, D.C.

The finding found the intelligence community did not adequately focus on the Saudi connection to al-Qaida and called this lapse “unacceptable, given the magnitude and immediacy of the potential risk to U.S. National Security.”

“While in the United States, some of the September 11 hijackers were in contact with, and received support or assistance from, individuals who may be connected to the Saudi government,” the report says. The report found two of the 9/11 hijackers, al-Midhar and al-Hazmi, received financial assistance from a man named Omar Al-Bayoumi.

The report found “the FBI received numerous reports from individuals in the Muslim community….alleging that al-Bayoumi may be a Saudi Intelligence officer.” Baymoumi was found to have received a salary from a company connected to the Saudi Ministry of Defense and that “reportedly had ties to Usama bin Laden and Al Qaida.”

Hazmi and Midar also reportedly received support from a man named Osama Bassan. Bassan lived across the street from the hijackers “and made a comment to an FBI asset that he did more than al-Bayoumi for the Hijackers.” Furthermore, “according to a CIA memo Bassan reportedly received funding and possibly a fake passport from Saudi Government officials.”

Beyond direct ties to the hijackers, the report also found that “individuals associated with the Saudi Government in the United States may have other ties to Al Qaida and other terrorist groups.” These connections included a mosque in Culver City that acted as a money laundering front for al-Qaida and the Saudi government.

No doubt the Saudis are alarmed that their dirty laundry has been aired for all to see.  At the very least, there is a faction in Saudi intelligence that supports al-Qaeda and is anti-American.  At worst, Saudi intel has been giving "plausible deniability" to the Saudi leadership to play both ends against the middle; working closely with the U.S. to eradicate extremism (which most intelligence sources say they have been doing since 9/11) while supporting terrorists out to damage U.S. interests and citizens.

It would be interesting to see if the Bush White House was involved in limiting the investigation into Saudi Arabia's role in 9/11.  There's history there that needs to be clarified.  So far, there's no evidence of any interference by administration officials.  But the speculation cannot be dismissed.

A slew of lawsuits against the Saudis are now expected from the families of 9/11 victims.  But it's hard to see how any information in these missing 28 pages of documents will lead to a successful prosecution of those suits.  There just isn't any definitive proof of Saudi government involvement in the 9/11 attacks – at least, proof that could stand up in court.