Saudi Blackmail Obama over 9/11

[Michael Barwell]

I gather the US is exporting oil. I wonder if any of the nations hit by the fall in oil prices are US allies, on balance. I get loads of "oil" refs, almost as if they're boasting regards the mind machine.

[David Guyatt]

I gather the US is exporting oil. I wonder if any of the nations hit by the fall in oil prices are US allies, on balance. I get loads of "oil" refs, almost as if they're boasting regards the mind machine.

The US exports less oil than we do, Michael. And on balance I think we probably export more Scotch than oil. Probably more scotch eggs too... :hock::

[Tracy Riddle]

Breitbart has a bunch of articles promoting this story.

http://www.breitbart.com/radio/2016/04/1...e-america/
http://www.breitbart.com/radio/2016/04/1...di-arabia/

Frank Gaffney wants to target the Saudis next. And also:

Sperry, author of Infiltration: How Muslim Spies and Subversives Have Penetrated Washington, published an article in the New York Post this weekend about "how the U.S. covered up the Saudi role in 9/11." In that article, Sperry discusses many interviews with intelligence and law-enforcement officers who say "virtually every road" from the 9/11 attacks "led back to the Saudi Embassy in Washington, as well as the Saudi Consulate in Los Angeles" but investigators were constantly told to back off from pursuing those leads.
On Breitbart News Daily, Sperry said his book Infiltration documents "how the Saudi machine has financed a number of front organizations," including but not limited to radical mosques. He expected the infamous "28 Pages" to fit neatly with the many other classified documents he reviewed when writing the book.
He thought the Saudis probably shared that expectation, given their surprisingly blunt threats to wage economic warfare against the United States if the documents are declassified.

"We're still sharing intel with them, at this moment, in our so-called War on Terrorism, that Obama won't even call it that any more," he pointed out. "We're still arming them, sending weapon systems, JDAMs. We're still rubber-stamping their student visas, to the tune of tens of thousands of these young Saudi men are still flooding our shores here, and supposedly going to our campuses the ones that, you know, we can track. But yet the Saudis, they're still funding jihadists, all around the globe, and they're still building radical mosques here."
"We've got to stop this madness. The Saudis are operating a massive counter-intelligence program against us, right here in America," Sperry warned. "And we're letting it happen."

[Drew Phipps]

I thought the Saudis were blackmailing Obama to not allow litigation against them to proceed...not anything to do with declassifying the 28 pages. Maybe I read that wrong.

[Peter Lemkin]

I've not seen an clarity on WHAT might come out [truth or otherwise] about Saudi involvement in and around 9-11 should this legislation go forward. I don't think anyone to my knowledge has hinted. I certainly DO believe the Saudi's were involved...but no more and likely less than a lot of other countries: US, Israel, Pakistan, UK, others. I would NOT expect that the USA would ever allow anything negative about the Saudis that would 'blowback' at them about the USG involvement [some persons within the government to be more accurate]. My guess is this is just a way to put pressure on the Saudis - we can tell X if you don't do Z for us....without the release of any real information at all...all behind the scenes blackmail most likely....but the US is playing a deadly game in that regard, as the Saudis certainly know the details of all the nations I listed roles - including the USA...so could retaliate in devastating fashion.....in fact, this would be the best outcome.

[Lauren Johnson]

I've not seen an clarity on WHAT might come out [truth or otherwise] about Saudi involvement in and around 9-11 should this legislation go forward. I don't think anyone to my knowledge has hinted. I certainly DO believe the Saudi's were involved...but no more and likely less than a lot of other countries: US, Israel, Pakistan, UK, others. I would NOT expect that the USA would ever allow anything negative about the Saudis that would 'blowback' at them about the USG involvement [some persons within the government to be more accurate]. My guess is this is just a way to put pressure on the Saudis - we can tell X if you don't do Z for us....without the release of any real information at all...all behind the scenes blackmail most likely....but the US is playing a deadly game in that regard, as the Saudis certainly know the details of all the nations I listed roles - including the USA...so could retaliate in devastating fashion.....in fact, this would be the best outcome.

Totally agree. This is some kind of gamesmanship and nothing more. BTW Bernie Sanders, the alleged hero of the left, even says he has not read them and doesn't plan to. ::fear::

[Peter Lemkin]

What we REALLY need is a Bill in Congress mandating the various persons [current and former] and Agencies tell and show what they REALLY know and did before/during/after 9-11...but I'd not hold my breath...there will no more be a real investigation of 911 than there was about Dallas [and a whole host of other false-flag/black-bag 'jobs'] IMHO.

As for the pages redacted from the 911 Omission Report regarding S.A., my guess is that they were deleted/censored more to protect the USA from 'embarrassment' than as a favor to S.A. Some select few within the USA were the main players and conductors of the 911 orchestra....although others played in that orchestra their various roles and instrumentalities.

There are many good books on who was involved now, but I think if you've not yet read it, Another Nineteen by Ryan is a great place to start. He names names, and while he may not have gotten a perfect 'score', not one he mentions is IMHO innocent; others certainly were involved. In fact, his book names many more than 19 persons!

As for who is blackmailing whom, my informed guess would be that while some parties/governments have more to hide and pressure others with, each involved have enough information to suppress release from others of their own involvement [an information standoff] - though I hope I'm wrong. While we DO know a lot about the structure of 911 now, there are still elements that are unknown or incompletely known/documented. To date, it is worth noting that ALL of the progress in knowledge about what happened has come from unofficial sources and researchers [exactly as with Dallas]. Official sources have ONLY tried to cover-up, confuse, conceal, misdirect, propagandize, lie, and other such ordinary modes of behavior regarding secret operations. Sadly, even those NOT involved in the original act work hard to cover up who was and what happened....to not bring down the hidden [and visible] parts of the government[s], and how the structures are really set up for a powerful and rich few to regularly overrule/manipulate/control the will and lives of the many.

[David Guyatt]

Well,

9/11 Commission Didn't Clear Saudis

April 27, 2016

As the Obama administration belatedly weighs releasing the 28 pages on the Saudi role in 9/11, Americans should not be fooled by claims minimizing the Saudi involvement, writes 9/11 widow Kristen Breitweiser.
By Kristen Breitweiser
Americans are not used to reading investigative pieces of journalism. We like to tweet and text in small bites. But here's the thing. Sometimes, the most important things can't be explained in 15 bites or less. Sometimes, it takes more space and time. And so I ask everyone who is reading this blog to please read it in its entirety especially the bold parts.
And, if you care about our country, if you care about peace, and keeping American lives safe from terrorists, pay attention to what is being said here and never forget it.

Prince Bandar bin Sultan, then Saudi ambassador to the United States, meeting with President George W. Bush in Crawford, Texas, on Aug. 27, 2002. (White House photo)

The time has come to clarify some inaccuracies and misleading statements being made in the media regarding the 28 pages, the 9/11 attacks, the investigation of the 9/11 attacks, and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA). In doing so, perhaps the American public will come to understand the importance of passing JASTA (Justice Against Sponsors of Terrorism Act) and releasing the 28 pages in their entirety.
The 9/11 Commission's mandate was to not replicate, but rather to expand upon the investigation of the JICI. The JICI was the Joint Intelligence Committee's Inquiry into the 9/11 attacks, headed by Sen. Bob Graham and Rep. Porter Goss. The JICI is where the 28 pages originated. Furthermore, the JICI made a finding of fact and final recommendation that further investigation into the role of KSA and the 9/11 attacks needed to be done, immediately.
Therefore, the 9/11 Commission should have carried out this further investigation of the KSA and 9/11. But, they did not. It is only the 9/11 families and intrepid journalists who have continued to investigate the Saudi role for the past 12 years.
As reported and documented in The New York Time's national security correspondent Philip Shenon's book, "The Commission," Staff Director of the 9/11 Commission, Phil Zelikow, actively worked against any thorough investigation into the KSA and its role in the 9/11 attacks.
So, when two JICI staffers were brought over to the 9/11 Commission to continue their work on the links between the KSA and the 9/11 attacks, they were blocked by Zelikow. Zelikow fired one investigator when she tried to access the 28 pages as part of her further investigation and work for the commission. And, the second staffer (who was the person responsible for writing the 28 pages in the first place when he worked on the JICI) was actively thwarted from his investigation by Zelikow, as well.
In fact, once the 9/11 Commission report was in its final draft form, Zelikow "re-wrote" the entire section that dealt with the Saudis leaving out vital, highly pertinent, and extremely damning information.

King Salman greets the President and First Lady during a state visit to Saudi Arabia on Jan. 27, 2015. (Official White House Photo by Pete Souza)

Thus, when a person says the 9/11 Commission, "found no evidence linking the Saudis," be wary of the cute context of the words. The 9/11 Commission "found no evidence" because they were either never allowed to look for any evidence or whatever evidence they did find was conveniently written out of the final report, compliments of Phil Zelikow.
Why would Zelikow block his own investigation? No one knows for sure, but for starters, Zelikow was taking regular phone calls from White House political adviser Karl Rove whose job at the time was to ramp up the drumbeat for the war in Iraq not a war with Saudi Arabia.
In addition, Zelikow was part of George W. Bush's transition team and good friends with Bush's National Security Advisor Condoleeza Rice. In fact, it was Zelikow's job to brief the incoming Bush Administration about national security issues. It's safe to say that the pre-9/11 "sleeper cells" living inside the U.S., and the other facets of the Saudi nexus of help for the 9/11 hijackers, which was occurring while Zelikow was on the transition team, was not something Zelikow was eager to delve into as Staff Director of the 9/11 Commission.
Had the information regarding the Saudis and 9/11 been properly and fully investigated by the 9/11 Commission, and had that investigation continued thereafter, the facts surrounding the FBI and CIA and their collective failure to prevent the 9/11 attacks, would have certainly come to further light. Let's not forget the Director of the FBI's unacceptable "handling" and "covering up" of several Saudi accomplices before and after the 9/11 attacks by permitting them to leave the country, evade arrest, and prosecution.
Suffice it to say, both the JICI and the 9/11 Commission clearly document that prior to the 9/11 attacks, the KSA was not as helpful as it could be with regard to providing access to Al Qaeda prisoners, stopping the flow of money to UBL, and/or sharing information with regard to UBL.
But most importantly, both the JICI and the 9/11 Commission provide plenty of statements, facts and findings that show KSA aided, abetted and had roots and connections to the 9/11 hijackers. In short, there's likely a very good reason that the name "Saudi Arabia" appears more often in both reports than names like Iran, Syria and Iraq.
The JICI Finding #15 states, "Regarding Saudi Arabia, the Committee heard testimony from U.S. government personnel that Saudi officials had been uncooperative and often did not act on information implicating Saudi nationals. According to a U.S. government official, it was clear from about 1996 that the Saudi government would not cooperate with the United States on matters relating to Osama bin Laden … a number of U.S. government officials complained to the Joint Inquiry about a lack of Saudi cooperation in terrorism investigations both before and after the September 11th attacks."
The JICI Finding #20 states, "Through its investigation, the Joint Inquiry developed information suggesting specific sources of foreign support for some of the September 11 hijackers while they were in the U.S. The Joint Inquiry's review confirmed that the Intelligence Community also has information, much of which has yet to be independently verified, concerning these potential sources of support. In their testimony, neither CIA nor FBI officials were able to address definitively the extent of such support for the hijackers globally or within the U.S. or the extent to which such support, if it exists, is knowing or inadvertent in nature. … This gap in U.S. intelligence coverage is unacceptable, given the magnitude and immediacy of the potential risk to U.S. national security. The Intelligence Community needs to address this area of concern as aggressively and quickly as possible."

President George W. Bush in a flight suit after landing on the USS Abraham Lincoln to give his "Mission Accomplished" speech about the Iraq War.

The JICI's Final Recommendation # 19, "The Intelligence Community and particularly the FBI and the CIA should aggressively address the possibility that foreign governments are providing support to or are involved in terrorist activity targeting the U.S. and U.S. interests. State sponsored terrorism substantially increases the likelihood of successful and more lethal attacks within the U.S.
"This issue must be addressed from a national standpoint and should not be limited in focus by the geographical and factual boundaries of individual cases. The FBI and CIA should aggressively and thoroughly pursue related matters developed through this Joint Inquiry that have been referred to them for further investigation by these Committees."
Commission Staff Statement #5, "Diplomacy" states, "the Saudis were reluctant or unable to provide much help." The Staff Statement concludes, "before 9/11 the Saudi and U.S. governments did not achieve full sharing of important intelligence information or develop an adequate joint effort to track and disrupt the finances of the al Qaeda organization."
Commission Staff Statement #8, "National Policy Coordination" states, "in June 1999, National Security Adviser Berger and Clarke summarized for President Clinton what had been accomplished against bin Laden. An active program to disrupt al Qaeda cells around the world was underway and recording some success. The efforts to track bin Laden's finances with help from Saudi Arabia had not yet been successful."?
Bush's National Security Advisor Condoleeza Rice's testimony before the commission states, "Under [Bush's] leadership, the U.S. and our allies are disrupting terrorist operations, cutting off their funding and hunting down terrorists one by one. Their world is getting smaller. The terrorists have lost a home base and training camps in Afghanistan. The governments of Pakistan and Saudi Arabia now pursue them with energy and force."
Upon questioning by 9/11 Commissioner John Lehman, Condoleeza Rice was asked, "Were you aware of the activities of the Saudi Ministry of Religious Affairs here in the United States during the transition? And Rice replied, "I believe that only after September 11th did the full extent of what was going on with the Ministry of Religious Affairs become evident."
Lehman continued, "Were you aware of the extensive activities of the Saudi government in supporting over 300 radical teaching schools and mosques around the country, including right here in the United States?" Rice replied, "I believe we've learned a great deal more about this and addressed it with the Saudi government since 9/11."
Staff Statement #9, "Law Enforcement, Counterterrorism, and Intelligence Collection in the United States Prior to 9/11" in its "Terrorist Financing" section states, "Prior to September 11, these FBI offices had been able to gain a basic understanding of some of the largest and most problematic terrorist financing conspiracies that have since been identified. The agents understood that there was a network of extremist organizations operating within the U.S. supporting a global Islamic jihad movement. They did not know the degree to which these extremist groups were associated with al Qaeda. …

The World Trade Center's Twin Towers burning on 9/11. (Photo credit: National Park Service)

"The FBI operated a web of informants, conducted electronic surveillance, and had opened investigations in a number of field offices. Numerous field offices including New York, San Diego, Minneapolis, Chicago, and Detroit had significant intelligence investigations into groups that appeared to be raising money for Islamic extremist groups. Many of these groups appeared to the FBI to have some connection to either al Qaeda or Osama bin Laden."
The 9/11 Commission's Final Report states, "When Bin Laden arrived in Afghanistan, he relied on the Taliban until he was able to reinvigorate his fund-raising efforts drawing on ties to wealthy Saudi individuals. … Al Qaeda appears to have relied on a core group of financial facilitators who raised money from a variety of donors … particularly in Saudi Arabia. Some surely knew the ultimate destination of their donations.
"It does not appear that any government other than the Taliban financially supported al Qaeda before 9/11, although some governments may have contained al Qaeda sympathizers who turned a blind eye to al Qaeda's fundraising activities. Saudi Arabia has long been considered the primary source of al Qaeda funding but we have found no evidence that the Saudi government individually funded the organization.
"This conclusion does not exclude the likelihood that charities with significant Saudi government sponsorship diverted funds to al Qaeda. Al Qaeda found fertile fund-raising ground in Saudi Arabia, where extreme religious views are common and charitable giving was both essential to the culture and subject to very limited oversight. To date, the U.S. government has not been able to determine the origin of the money used for the 9/11 attacks." (170-172)
Of particular note is footnote #86 from Chapter 6, "From Threat to Threat" that states, "CIA analytic reports, "Usama Bin Ladin: Some Saudi Financial Ties Probably Intact," OTI IR 99-005CX, Jan 11, 1999, "How Bin Ladin Commands a Global Terrorist Network," CTC 99-40003, Jan 27, 1999, "Islamic Terrorists: Using Nongovernmental Organizations Extensively," CTC 99-40007, April 9, 1999.
Also of note, footnote #29 from Chapter 7, "The Attack Looms," that details a description of the two San Diego hijackers Hazmi and al Mihdhar stating, "He recalled Hazmi and al Mihdar arriving at the mosque on their own and describing themselves as clerks employed by the Saudi Arabian government. The two said they needed help finding a school where they could study English which neither spoke well enough. The mosque administrator suspected that Mihdar might have been an intelligence agent of the Saudi government. … We have no evidence contradicting the administrator's account."
From these statements, it can be seen that there was clearly a "network of extremist organizations operating within the U.S. supporting a global Islamic Jihad movement." In addition, it seems crystal clear that at least one foreign government was supporting these networks of extremist organizations.
As stated by former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, the world's largest source of funds for Islamist militant groups is Saudi Arabia. Clinton stated, "More needs to be done since Saudi Arabia remains a critical financial support base for al Qaeda, the Taliban, and other terrorist groups."
It's my opinion that the 28 pages will clarify the network of Saudis that supported the 9/11 hijackers. This network will likely have links to the Saudi Islamic Affair Ministry "well known in intelligence circles to be the Saudi's fifth column in support of Muslim extremists."
In addition, clarification of the roles and connections to the 9/11 hijackers of several people will also likely happen with the release of the 28 pages. These people include: Fahad al Thumairy, Omar al Bayoumi, Osama Bassnan, Anwar Awlaki, and Eyad al Rababah. Go ahead and google them. The damning facts are plain to see.
More notably, the 28 pages will likely reveal that the FBI and CIA had open investigations with several of the aforementioned people both before and after the 9/11 attacks. This fact, alone, will prove to be uncomfortable since it will be difficult to explain why the 9/11 attacks were not prevented.
Furthermore, it will be difficult to understand why certain facts involving the aforementioned individuals were conveniently ignored and not fully investigated after the 9/11 attacks by the FBI, CIA, and the 9/11 Commission.

President George W. Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney receive an Oval Office briefing from CIA Director George Tenet. Also present is Chief of Staff Andy Card (on right). (White House photo)

So, please do me a favor: when you hear someone shrieking about all the dangerous reciprocal lawsuits being created as a result of the 9/11 families wanting to hold funders of mass murder accountable, look carefully into those good people's involvement with the Saudis or less than successful intelligence policies.
And when you hear about certain Senators who outright or secretly oppose legislation that would ensure nations like the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia are held accountable for their funding of mass terrorism attacks, check to see what their involvement with the KSA has been for the past 15 years.
Finally, when you notice a person speaking out against ordinary citizens' undeniable right to hold mass murderers accountable, look ever so closely and carefully because most likely there's a reason they're worried and it's got nothing to do with this nation's well-being.
President Obama tells us we will have to wait another 60 days for the release of the 28 pages. I certainly hope that the President recognizes that anything less than the release of the full 28 pages will be seen as further proof of this government's cover-up of Saudi Arabia's role in the 9/11 attacks.
The clock is ticking …and the 9/11 families, along with the rest of America, are paying close attention.

Source

[Peter Lemkin]

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[TD="width: 84%"]28 Pages Later

By Michael Springmann [/TD]
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Declassify the '28 Pages'
(image by larouchepac.org) DMCA

28PAGES LATER...J. Michael Springmann & Barbara Honegger*

In 2002, a JointHouse-Senate Intelligence Committee investigated U.S. intelligence servicefailures leading to the September 11, 2001 "terrorist" attacks. The Congressional report totaled 836 pages,of which the final chapter -- 28 pages in length -- was and still is completelyclassified.
Forover a decade, family members of the 9/11 victims, the co-chair of the JointIntelligence Committee investigation itself former Senator Bob Graham (D-Fla.),a majority of the members of the9/11 Commission and other individuals and organizations have urged declassificationof these pages, arguing that what is known about them from members of Congresswho have read them and gone public indicates that the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and possibly also Israel are named ashaving been involved in organizing, financing and protecting at least some ofthe "hijackers" of the September 11 plot. High level calls for the declassification and release ofthe 28 pages took a quantum leap on April 10, 2016, with a special edition of CBSNews' award-winning investigative journalism program 60 Minutes dedicated to the topic as well as Nancy Pelosi(D-Calif.), the longest-serving Democrat on the House of Representatives'Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, calling for their release in an officialstatement.
However,no American politician wants to bell the cat. And few influential citizens do, either. The cries we hear are for President Barack Obama to "declassify"the 28 Pages, and before leaving for his recent trip to Saudi Arabia he did saythat he "favored" their release. Unspoken in this statement, however, are two important facts: 1) if the pages from anexecutive branch document, President Obama himself is the highestdeclassification authority in the executive branch and could -- and should --declassify and release them immediately; but 2) the pages are part of a Congressional branch document and soare "owned" by Congress, which has the sole authority to declassify and releasethem, which has been unequivocally stated in writing on CIA letterhead; and as Congress as a body hasdelegated such decisions tothe House and Senate Intelligence Committees, the very Committees who wrote the report containing the 28Pages have the sole authority to declassify and release them at any time -- and the president, as the head of theexecutive branch, doesnot. The executive and congressional branches aretherefore playing a cynical game of 'good fed, bad fed' with the 9/11 victims' family membersand the American people.
Buteven if President Obama had the authority to declassify and release the 28pages, we don't believe hewould do so. Campaigning on ending thewar in Iraq, he has, instead, continued it. He has also warred against Libya, Syria, Pakistan, and, by Saudi proxy,Yemen. So, there is little reason toexpect that he will let American citizens and the world see how he and the George W. Bushadministration have protected countries which have supported internationalterrorism.
BUT" There really is a better way, and one that Congress has used before.
1. Senators and Representatives can read thecontents of the 28 Pages in camera inthe House and Senate Intelligence Committees' Secure Compartmented InformationFacility (SCIF) and then openly recite from memory and discus their contents andmeaning on the floor of either House. In 1971, then-Senator Mike Gravel (D-Alaska) placed4,100 of the 7,000 pages of The PentagonPapers into the Congressional Record, partially by reading from some of themon the Senate Floor and, later, by inserting the remainder through an aide intothe record of a meeting of hisSenate Subcommittee on Buildings and Grounds. (The Pentagon Papers was the informal name givento a secret Department of Defense study of U.S. political and militaryinvolvement in Vietnam from 1945 to 1967.)
Thereis constitutional and legal justification for this.
2. Article 1, Section 6 of the U.S. Constitution states:
The Senators andRepresentatives...shall in all Cases, except Treason, Felony and Breach of thePeace, be privileged from Arrest during their Attendance at the Session oftheir respective Houses, and in going to and returning from the same; and forany Speech or Debate in either House, they shall not be questioned in any otherPlace. [emphasis added]
3. In Gravel v. United States, 408 US606 (1972), the U. S. Supreme Court rejected the executive branch's argument and thoseof lower courts that Senator Gravel and his aides had broken the law. In upholding the immunity of members of Congressunder the Speech or DebateClause, the court clearly stated that the clause "... wasdesigned to assure a co-equal branch of the government wide freedom of speech,debate, and deliberation without intimidation or threats from the ExecutiveBranch. It thus protects Members against prosecutions that directly impingeupon or threaten the legislative process. We have no doubt that Senator Gravel maynot be made to answer --either interms of questions or in terms of defending himself from prosecution--for theevents that occurred at the subcommittee meeting."
And, in fact, for almost a year nowformer Senator Mike Gravel has been calling for just one courageous member of Congressto step forward and become "The Mike Gravel for the 28 Pages." He has personally met withRepresentatives and Senators who have already read the pages asking them to step forward and do what he did, andhas sent a law review articledetailing how Gravel v. United States and the multiple subsequent courtrulings upholding it continue to ensure members of Congress near-absoluteimmunity should they recite from memory what they have read of the28 pages on the floor of the House or the Senate.
It's time to end the "good fed, badfed" game that's been going for almost 15 years over whether to, and who can,declassify the 28 pages of the Joint House-Senate Intelligence Committee Reporton the Sept. 11attacks. Let's not hear any more calls to "Let George do it" -- for the Presidentto declassify the pages which he doesn't have the authority to do. Let's have Rep. Nancy Pelosi or Sen. RandPaul or any other member of Congress read the 28 Pages and summarize them from memory onthe floor of either House into the Congressional Record. Let's finally hear somecommon sense, truth and wisdom from the courageous member of Congress who stepsforward to be "The Mike Gravel for the 28 Pages".

www.springmannslaw.com

[David Guyatt]

My sense is that Obama is using the threat of releasing the pages to batter and blackmail the Saudi's for something - as yet unclear - and for no other reason, and I don't think they'll be released. Why destroy your leverage?