What to Know About Classified Pages of the 9/11 Report That May Be Released

— -- President Barack Obama’s trip to Saudi Arabia this week is putting renewed focus on the United States' relationship with the country -- in particular the continuing allegations that it played more of a role in the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks than publicly acknowledged.

This tension is evident both in the ongoing debate over whether to declassify parts of a 2002 congressional investigation into the attacks and in legislation introduced in the Senate that would allow Saudi Arabia to be sued in U.S. courts over its alleged role in the attacks.

On Monday, Obama said the White House is almost finished with its review of a confidential 28-page section of the congressional report and could soon determine whether it will be declassified.

"This has been a process which we generally deal with through the intelligence community," Obama said during an interview Monday with Charlie Rose that aired on the "CBS Evening News." He added that Jim Clapper, the director of national intelligence, is "about to complete" that declassification review process.

Former Sen. Bob Graham (D-Fla.), who was a co-chairman of the 2002 joint congressional inquiry into the attacks, has pushed for the full report to be made public. He has suggested it will show ties between Saudi officials living in the United States and the hijackers.

"I think it is implausible to believe that 19 people, most of whom didn't speak English, most of whom had never been in the United States before, many of whom didn't have a high school education, could've carried out such a complicated task without some support from within the United States," he said in an interview with "60 Minutes" earlier this month.

Meanwhile, a bipartisan group of senators is pushing legislation opposed by the White House that would allow families of September 11 victims to sue Saudi Arabia in U.S. courts, further exacerbating tensions ahead of the president’s trip.

Why Are the 28 Pages Classified?

The 28 pages in question are a section of an 838-page report released in 2002 following a joint investigation of the attacks by the House and Senate intelligence committees.

The introduction to this redacted portion states that the 28 pages cover the congressional inquiry’s development of information "suggesting specific sources of foreign support for some of the September 11 hijackers while they were in the United States."

The Bush administration first had the section classified. Obama told CBS that, before it is declassified, the White House wants to make sure that none of the information it contains would threaten the United States’ national security interests.

Is There a Chance the Pages Will Be Declassified?