by Robert Lacey
129 “Helping the Palestinians”: Princess Latifa bint Musaed, interview with author, Riyadh, September 17, 2006.
129 “a British colonial fiction”: Ottaway, p. 91.
129 “call me shareef ”: Sultan and Seale, p. 210.
129 weather map: Ahmed Badeeb, interview with author, Jeddah, July 26, 2006.
129 “We’ll be back”: Interview with Dr. Ali Saad Al-Mosa, Abha, June 5, 2006.
129 distanced themselves: Sultan and Seale, pp. 183-184.
129 leaked recording: Rime Allaf, “Success Measured by Attendance,” Bitterlemons 6 edition 12, (March 20, 2008).
130 “the consensus”: Off-the-record interview, Jeddah, June 1, 2006.
130 unanimous No: Nawaf Obaid, “The Power of Saudi Arabia’s Islamic Leaders,” Middle East Quarterly (September 1999), http://www.meforum.org/article/482.
131 wisdom that he delivered: Sheikh Abdul Aziz Ibn Baz Religious Teaching Center, Al-Shumaysi, Riyadh, visit of March 12, 2008.
131 “supports all measures”: Saudi Press Agency, pp. 40-42.
132 “his permission”: Norman Schwarzkopf interview, Tampa, FL, May 11, 2006.
132 “listen to my briefing”: Ibid.
132 U.S. photographs: Ibid.
133 “trespassed on Saudi”: Ibid.
133 “tanks were facing south”: Ibid.
133 “no permanent bases”: Ibid.
133 “hotel rooms in London”: Ambassador Chas Freeman Jr., Diplomatic Oral Histories Project, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.
134 driving their cars: ABC News, London, February 19, 2007.
134 she recalls: Dr. Aisha Al-Mana, interview with author, Al-Khobar, January 27, 2007.
134 Arabia Unified: See Suggested Reading.
135 “piece of the cake”: Dr. Aisha Al-Mana, interview with author, Al-Khobar, January 27, 2007.
135 “ban just melts away”: Ibid.
137 woken from his afternoon nap: Family information.
138 “angry lump of indignation”: Interview with Reem Jarbou, Jeddah, July 12, 2006.
138 without his consent: Dr. Fawzia Bakr, interview with author, Riyadh, February 27, 2006.
139 “control your women”: Dr. Fawzia Bakr and Dr. Fahd Al-Yehya, interview with author, Riyadh, February 27, 2006.
140 “un-Saudi to demonstrate”: Interview with Bassim Alim, Jeddah, July 11, 2006.
140 “falling on the nation”: Raja and Shadia Aalim, interview with author, Jeddah, June 8, 2006.
140 “Communist whores”: Fandy, p. 49.
140 spat on their teachers: Ambassador Chas Freeman Jr., U.S. Diplomatic Oral Histories Project, Library of Congress, Washingont, D.C.
140 “ ‘You are our daughters’ ”: Princess Latifa bint Musaed, interview with author, Riyadh, September 17, 2006.
Chapter 15: Battle for Al-Khafji
141 Al-Khafji stood deserted: These paragraphs on the battle of Al-Khafji are based on a three-day visit to the town in June 2007 and with interviews with soldiers who took part in the battle, including Major General Suleiman Al-Khalifa. I am grateful to Douglas Baldwin for coordinating the trip and to Jan Baldwin for her photographs documenting the town and landscape of the battle. I am also grateful to Prince Khaled bin Sultan for an interview on March 6, 2007, in which he discussed Al-Khafji and the Gulf War.
141 town was undefendable: Sultan and Seale, p. 362.
141 thirty-eight days and nights: Ibid., p. 344.
142 eighteen thousand hospital beds: Ibid., p. 362.
142 Saddam’s crack units: Schwarzkopf and Petre, p. 495.
142 “I am lucky”: Sultan and Seale, p. 377.
142 an Iraqi attack: Morris, p. 10.
142 “I need the Tornados”: Sultan and Seale, p. 374.
143 surrounded by Iraqi troops: Storm on the Horizon, by David J. Morris, recounts the story of Al-Khafji from the point of view of the deep-reconnaissance Marines who were trapped in the town.
143 “get the Marines out”: Sultan and Seale, p. 374.
143 “difficult to bear”: Ibid.
143 “a real war”: Suleiman Al-Khalifa, interview with author, Al-Khafji, June 6, 2007.
144 “keen on looting”: Ibid.
144 more than four hundred prisoners: Sultan and Seale, p. 387.
144 the prince’s jeep: Ibid., p. 388.
145 military refugees: Ibid., p. 389.
145 finest armored units: Schwarzkopf and Petre, p. 496.
145 martyrs: Morris, caption facing p. 153.
145 the only pitched battle: Khaled bin Sultan, interview with author, Riyadh, March 6, 2007.
145 “war aims”: Chas Freeman, interview with author, Washington, DC, May 7, 2007.
145 the question “shocking”: Ibid.
146 “restraining a smile”: Ibid.
146 remained in his palace: Ambassador Chas Freeman Jr., Oral Histories Project, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C., p. 293.
146 “get out fast”: Sultan and Seale, pp. 421 and 426.
146 “dinosaur in the tarpit”: Schwarzkopf and Petre, p. 579.
146 “bitterly hostile land”: Middle East Report, May-June 1992. Cited August 18, 2007, on the Gulf 2000 Project website: Marsha B. Cohen, Florida International University.
147 replied without hesitation: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YENbElb5-xY&NR=1.
147 “additional dead Americans”: Ibid.
Chapter 16: Awakening
148 “He rang me”: Jamal Khashoggi, interview with author, Riyadh, March 28, 2008.
148 “jihad needed fighting”: Ibid.
148 the Salafi cause: Bergen, The Osama Bin Laden I Know, pp. 108-109.
149 “one last shot”: Turki Al-Faisal, interview with author, Riyadh, April 10, 2007.
149 “greatly concerned about security”: Ahmad bin Abdul Aziz, interview with author, Riyadh, February 5, 2009.
149 “eldest brother, Bakr”: Bakr Bin Laden today says he has no particular memory of this encounter, and is happy to accept the recollection of Prince Ahmad as definitive. Meeting with author, Jeddah, February 5, 2009.
150 “black” with anger: Burke, p. 136.
150 “the infidels inside”: Ibid., p. 139.
151 to destroy Islam: Guido Sternberg, “The Wahhabi Ulama and the Saudi State: 1745 to the Present,” in Aarts and Nonneman, p. 31.
151 “remove injustice”: http://ibnbaz.org/mat/8345.
151 “some infidel states”: Ibid.
152 “banner of Islam”: Fandy, p. 95.
152 his real target: Ibid., p. 97.
152 “ ‘working in a shoe store’ ”: David Rundell, interview with author, Riyadh, March 6, 2007.
152 wearing gold: David Rundell, e-mails to author, October 30, 2008.
153 “supporting the women”: Mansour Al-Nogaidan, interview with author, Ajman, November 9, 2007.
154 “tight little group”: Off-the-record interview, Dubai, November 9, 2007.
154 Royal Victorian Chain: Buckingham Palace Press Office, February 9, 2009.
155 “don’t discuss this subject”: Bergen, The Osama Bin Laden I Know, pp. 59, 60.
155 “jihad in Yemen”: Jamal Khashoggi, interview with author, Riyadh, March 28, 2008.
155 “stop making speeches”: Ibid.
155 “stopped talking himself”: Mohammed Saeed Tayeb, interview with author, November 27, 2008.
156 sources differ: I have followed Peter Bergen’s book The Osama Bin Laden I Know as my principal guide to the chronology of these dates in Afghanistan and the Sudan. I am also grateful for the personal insights of Thomas Hegghammer.
Chapter 17: Stopping the Sins
157 new jihadi friends: Mansour Al-Nogaidan, interview with author, Ajman, November 9, 2007.
160 reform in a petition: Stéphane Lacroix, “Islamo-Liberal Politics in Saudi Arabia,” in Aarts and Nonneman, p. 41.
160 elitist and Westernized: Off-the-record interview, April 1, 2006.
160 restoration of Islamic values: F
or a chronological list of major reform petitions since the 1990s, see Abdul Aziz Sager, “Political Opposition in Saudi Arabia,” in Aarts and Nonneman, table 6, p. 268.
161 “kept the radio”: Dr. Ahmad Al-Tuwayjri, interview with author, Riyadh, April 1, 2006.
162 “intervened with the king”: Ibid.
162 “to be patriotic”: Ibid.
162 “received the Memorandum”: Ibid.
164 “advice for the sake of God”: Teitelbaum, p. 40.
164 “better class of jail”: Dr. Ahmad Al-Tuwayjri, interview with author, Riyadh, April 1, 2006.
165 early websites: Andrew Hammond, telephone conversation with author, November 22, 2008.
165 destructive influence of oil: http://www.iiwds.com/said_aburish/index.htm.
165 an official decree: In 1994 Decree 128 banned the private ownership of TV satellite dishes. Mai Yamani, “Saudi Arabia’s Media Mask,” in Madawi Al-Rasheed, ed., Kingdom Without Borders, p. 330.
166 TV business: See Al-Rasheed, ed., Kingdom Without Borders, (Madawi Al-Rasheed, ed.) for the proceeedings of a conference held at King’s College, London, in September 2007 to examine the spread of Saudi media.
166 “control or influence”: A member of Fahd’s private phone call circle, March 2007, Jeddah.
166 telephone think tank: Ibid.
Chapter 18: In from the Cold
167 the Saudi Shias: Hassan Al-Saffar, interview with author, Qateef, June 7, 2007.
167 being recounted: Ibid.
167 “rights and worship”: Ibid.
167 “reformed Saudi Arabia”: Tawfiq Al-Seif, interview with author, Tarut Island, June 8, 2007.
168 “Saudi arrests and scandals”: Ibrahim, pp. 149-52.
168 “our human rights”: Sadiq Al-Jabran, interview with author, Al-Hasa, January 27, 2007.
168 “Saudis demonstrating”: Faiza Ambah, interview with author, Jeddah, February 7, 2007.
169 “nightmare for them”: Off-the-record interview, Al-Khobar, June 2007.
169 “defending the country”: Ibrahim, p. 157.
170 “As for ‘sorry’ ”: Off-the-record interview, London, October 2007.
170 “admit mistakes”: Tawfiq Al-Seif, interview with author, Tarut Island, June 8, 2007.
170 “Islamist state with Sunni rule”: Off the record interview.
171 “bring about change”: Tawfiq Al-Seif, interview with author, Tarut Island, June 8, 2007.
171 “yes to them all”: Sadiq Al-Jabran, interview with author, Al-Hasa, January 27, 2007.
171 telegram to Saudi embassies: Ibrahim, p. 190.
172 “They let us in”: Sadiq Al-Jabran, interview with author, Al-Hasa, January 27, 2007.
172 “Shia are equal citizens”: Ibid.
173 “Playboy magazine”: Author interview with a source familiar with the discussion.
173 Iranian aid: Information from a security adviser to the Saudi government, December 8, 2008.
Chapter 19: Change of Heart
174 found himself at liberty: Mansour Al-Nogaidan, interview with author, Ajman, November 10, 2007.
174 “King Fahd is kafir”: Ibid.
175 “kick out the angels”: Ibid.
175 “take what I want”: Ibid.
176 using the British media: See Al-Rasheed, A History of Saudi Arabia, pp. 177-184.
176 a huge bomb: National Commission on Terrorist Attacks, p. 60.
176 “change things with bombs”: Mansour Al-Nogaidan, interview with author, Ajman, November 10, 2007.
176 eliminate the House of Saud: Wright, p. 246.
176 372 wounded: Ibid.
176 ideas had influenced them: Fandy, p. 3.
176 Iranian involvement: See http://www.fbi.gov/pressrel/pressrel01/khobar.htm for details of the 29-page indictment dated June 21, 2001.
177 farms by the Blue Nile: Bergen, Holy War Inc., p. 80.
177 Luxembourg and Switzerland: Author interview with a Saudi diplomat familiar with the information discovered by the U.S. government.
177 philanthropic Saudi sheikh: “Robert Fisk on Osama Bin Laden at 50,” interview with Amy Goodman, March 5, 2007, www.democracynow.org.
177 “waiting for this road”: Robert Fisk, The Great War for Civilization, p. 5.
177 not all of them successful: Tim Niblock, e-mail to author, November 9, 2008.
178 government’s number one critic: Bin Laden family member, interview with author, Jeddah, September 2007.
178 “condemnation of all acts”: Bergen, The Osama Bin Laden I Know, p. 152.
178 supervised trust for his children: Information from a senior Bin Laden family member.
178 turn homeward: Bergen, The Osama Bin Laden I Know, p. 151.
178 “Osama’s changed”: Jamal Khashoggi, interview with author, Riyadh, March 28, 2008.
178 nostalgically enjoying kabsa: Wright, p. 200.
179 “forget about the flight”: Jamal Khashoggi, interview with author, Riyadh, March 28, 2008.
Chapter 20: Enter the Crown Prince
180 words in a rush: Off-the-record interview, Jeddah, March 7, 2003.
180 cell without light: Off-the-record interviews with several associates of the king, including a former National Guard officer, who say that Abdullah recounted this story to them personally. Family members concur with the tale.
180 “right out of the desert”: Walter Cutler, interview with author, Washington, DC, April 30, 2007.
181 huge communal supper: Ibid.
181 weeping and crying out: Ali Al-Johani, interview with author, November 15, 2008.
181 tap the offending head: Brigadier General Nick Cocking, interview with author, London, November 4, 2008.
181 “groveling on the floor”: Ibid.
181 honest and reform-minded: Fandy, pp. 133, 187.
181 “If Abdullah becomes king”: Wright, p. 199.
182 “rights of the citizen”: DeGaury, p. 104.
183 sniffed at extreme ideas: Family source.
183 “constitution inspired by God”: DeGaury, p. 106.
184 “not his business”: Brigadier General Nick Cocking, interview with author, London, March 5, 2008.
184 “be the very best”: Abdul Rahman Abuhaimid, interview with author, Riyadh, January 25, 2007.
185 “My father, of course”: Brigadier General Nick Cocking, interview with author, London, March 5, 2008.
185 speech therapy lessons: James E. Akins, interview with author, Virginia, May 10, 2007, confirmed by members of the royal circle.
185 “totally fluent”: Brigadier General Nick Cocking, interview with author, London, March 5, 2008.
185 land grants: Information from a Jeddah businessman, October 2008.
185 “lives like a prince”: Off-the-record interview, Jeddah, May 13, 2008.
186 “close the doors and windows”: Abdul Rahman Abuhaimid, interview with author, Riyadh, November 18, 2008.
186 deny the truth: Turki bin Abdullah, interview with author, Paris, September 2005.
186 sat down with his sons: Abdullah is known as “Abu Miteb” (“Father of Miteb”) after his firstborn son, who died in infancy. His next son was named Khaled. The present Miteb was born after the death of his elder brother.
186 “in the business cabin”: Off-the-record interview, March 26, 2008.
186 special flying privileges: These remain for sons and daughters of Abdul Aziz and for all provincial governors. Abdullah has cut free royal travel by 80 percent, according to an informed source inside Saudia. The fleet of planes dedicated to royal travel has been reduced from fourteen to five. Princes may use these planes for private travel, but must pay at market rates.
187 “difficult for Abdullah”: Off-the-record interview, Jeddah, June 6, 2006.
187 wheeled in: The recollection of one of his ministers, March 4, 2007.
187 “sort of pathetic”: Off-the-record interview, January 29, 2007.
