by Robert Lacey
187 “strengthen the ties”: Off-the-record interview, September 19, 2006.
187 “don’t change the curtains”: Adviser to King Abdullah.
188 “leader of the opposition”: This remark by the late Abdul Aziz Al-Tuwayjri was reported to the author by one of his close associates.
188 “minister without portfolio”: Weston, p. 375.
188 beloved elder brother: Recollection by a European ambassador to Riyadh.
188 “to bring him his shoes”: Recollection to the author, Jeddah, November 30, 2008.
188 sink to nine dollars: Niblock and Malik, table 4.1, p. 100.
189 “different way of life”: BBC News Room, January 19, 1999.
189 stringent austerity budget: Ibid.
189 “could not provide”: Dr. Ahmad Gabbani, interview with author, Jeddah, July 11, 2006.
189 “money in the past”: Businessman, interview with author, Jeddah, February 12, 2006.
189 “not enough lines”: Ali Al-Johani, interview with author, Riyadh, November 24, 2006.
189 “Just six?”: Ali Al-Johani, interview with author, Riyadh, November 24, 2006.
190 “sneaking an extra photocopy”: Ibid.
191 “impossible to privatize”: Ali Al-Johani, telephone conversation, May 13, 2008.
191 “outdated information”: Ibid.
191 “wanted my job”: Ibid.
191 not work with Al-Johani: Interview with a member of the board who submitted his resignation, December 2006.
191 been liberated: When Ali Al-Johani took over the PTT in 1995, there were 1.8 million landlines, with 360,000 mobile numbers. Privatization was completed early in 1998, and ten years later there are 4 million landlines in the Kingdom with more than 20 million mobile numbers on two competing cellular networks and a third network just getting started.
192 “as a pretext”: Author interview with economic adviser to King Abdullah, November 18, 2008.
Chapter 21: The Students
193 “orders to shell Kabul”: Ahmed Badeeb, interview with author, Jeddah, July 26, 2006.
194 “alternative to fighting”: Ahmed Badeeb, interview with author, May 11, 2008.
194 “joint U.S.-Saudi project”: Off-the-record interview, Jeddah, November 26, 2008.
194 “allocated $300 million”: Ahmed Badeeb, interview with author, May 11, 2008.
195 “an incentive”: Turki Al-Faisal, interview with author, Jeddah, September 9, 2008.
195 “working with Allah”: Rashid, p. 22.
195 Taliban: In Arabic the plural of talib is tullab.
195 shot them dead: Coll, Ghost Wars, p. 283.
195 “time of the Prophet”: Rashid, p. 43.
196 willingly paid: Ibid., pp. 22 and 29.
196 “These are my boys”: Turki Al-Faisal, interview with author, Jeddah, September 9, 2008.
196 “a country boy”: Ibid.
197 “lost an eye”: Ahmed Badeeb, interview with author, May 11, 2008.
197 cut out his right eye: Coll, Ghost Wars, p. 288.
197 “laws of God on earth”: Ibid.
197 restoring some order: Ahmed Badeeb, interview with author, May 11, 2008.
197 “I will do”: Coll, Ghost Wars, p. 295.
198 “hundreds of new pickups”: Rashid, p. 45.
198 “may have been Saudis”: Turki Al-Faisal, interview with author, Jeddah, September 9, 2008.
199 “Saudi aid”: Ahmed Rashid, e-mail to author, September 24, 2008.
199 Chevrolets: According to an American diplomat who has studied the battle of Sibillah, a number of the Saudi vehicles were Chevrolets.
200 “cursed by the Islamic sharia”: “A Sample of Taliban Decrees,” Appendix 1 in Rashid, Taliban, p. 217.
200 fundamentalist vigilantes: Nawaf Obaid, “Improving U.S. Intelligence Analysis on the Saudi Arabian Decision Making Process,” Harvard University, 1998.
200 “training and salaries”: Ahmed Rashid, e-mail to author, September 24, 2008.
201 led between the goalposts: Rashid, Taliban, pp. 1-4.
201 his protection: Bergen, The Osama Bin Laden I Know, p. 164.
201 singled out Bin Laden: Coll, Ghost Wars, p. 342.
202 “young, misguided kid”: Ottaway, p. 157.
202 “offered him sanctuary”: Turki Al-Faisal, interview with author, Jeddah, September 9, 2008.
202 “keeping his mouth shut”: Coll, Ghost Wars, p. 342, quoting an interview Prince Turki gave to Nightline, December 10, 2001.
202 the lone Saudi exile: Bergen, The Osama Bin Laden I Know, pp. 160ff.
203 “only killing and neck-smiting”: Burke, p. 163, and Wright, p. 234.
Chapter 22: Infinite Reach
204 “It was genocide”: Khaled Al-Hubayshi, interview with author, Jeddah, April 19, 2008.
205 detainee’s Basic Course: Summary of Evidence for Combatant Status Review Tribunal—Al-Hubayshi, Khaled Sulayman Jaydh, September 24, 2004, no. 000156, unclassified.
205 “explosives instructor”: Khaled Al-Hubayshi, interview with author, Jeddah, May 12, 2008.
206 “come to die”: Khaled Al-Hubayshi, interview with author, Jeddah, April 19, 2008.
206 “the U.S. visa automatically”: Off-the-record interview.
206 “for the elite”: Khaled Al-Hubayshi, interview with author, Jeddah, April 19, 2008.
207 “kill you for a hundred dollars”: Ibid.
207 “to scare people”: Khaled Al-Hubayshi, interview with author, Jeddah, May 12, 2008.
207 “videos in our lessons”: Ibid.
207 eight thousand non-Afghans: This number included charity workers, according to a Saudi defense analyst. The Saudi Ministry of the Interior estimated more.
207 “Jihad Against Jews and Crusaders”: Bergen, The Osama Bin Laden I Know, p. 195.
208 “they are all targets”: National Commission on Terrorist Attacks, p. 47.
208 “like locusts”: Bergen, The Osama Bin Laden I Know, p. 195.
208 “humiliating its people”: Ibid.
208 followers with missiles: Coll, Ghost Wars, p. 397.
208 U.S. consulate in Jeddah: Thomas Hegghammer, “Islamist Violence and Regime Stability in Saudi Arabia,” International Affairs 84, no. 4 (July 2008), p. 708.
208 “fieldwork at home”: Turki Al-Faisal, interview with author, Jeddah, September 9, 2008.
209 “give us Bin Laden”: Wright, p. 268.
209 the talibs’ Gulf sponsors: Ahmed Rashid, e-mail to author, September 24, 2008.
209 ghastly reprisals: Rashid, p. 72.
210 baked alive: Ibid., pp. 73-74.
210 suicide bombers: Figures from Steve Coll, Ghost Wars, and Lawrence Wright, The Looming Tower.
210 wired into the dashboard: Wright, p. 272.
210 extramarital affair: Off-the-record interviews with Saudi and U.S. diplomats who were present at the meeting.
210 “not swayed by the breeze”: Off-the-record interview with a diplomat present at the meeting.
211 “I am alive!”: Wright, p. 285.
211 “martyr on CNN”: Interview with Mustapha Mutabaqani, Jeddah, July 15, 2006.
212 “gave us your word”: Coll, Ghost Wars, p. 414.
212 tea with his fellow spymaster: Turki Al-Faisal, interview with author, Jeddah, September 9, 2008.
212 “a translator’s mistake”: Wright, pp. 288-289.
212 “courageous, valiant Muslim”: Coll, Ghost Wars, p. 414.
213 the Tomahawk missiles: Rashid, Taliban, p. 134.
213 “back on his word”: Turki Al-Faisal, interview with author, Jeddah, September 9, 2008.
213 reverence for God: Craig Whitlock, “In Hunt for Bin Laden, a New Approach,” Washington Post, September 10, 2008.
213 “an occupied country”: Wright, p. 289.
213 directly to Omar: Turki Al-Faisal, interview with author, Jeddah, September 9, 2008.
213 “harm to the Afghan people”: Wright, p. 289.
Chapter 23: New Ce
ntury
214 ignoring each other: Ottaway, p. 115.
214 diplomatic corps: Ibid., p. 127.
215 “hit Abdullah up”: Freeh, My FBI, p. 25, cited in Ottaway, p. 121.
215 about $10 million: John Solomon and Jeffrey H. Birnbaum, “Clinton Library Got Funds from Abroad,” Washington Post, December 15, 2007.
215 “no such request”: Wyche Fowler, interview with author, October 30, 2008.
215 “special relationship”: Ottaway, p. 126.
216 bouts of . . . depression: Information from a member of the Saudi embassy in Washington in the 1990s.
216 “the invisible dean”: David Ottaway documents this difficult period well in “Midlife Crisis,” chapter 8 of his book The King’s Messenger. Prince Bandar’s office acknowledges that the prince gave numerous interviews and briefings to Ottaway over the years, but say that the prince did not collaborate with the book. They also state that he would not willingly miss the celebration of Saudi National Day.
216 “more pro-Saudi than us”: Ottaway, p. 143.
216 “too good to be true”: Ibid.
217 “success of Zionism”: Eddy, p. 37.
217 three times that: Ancestry information beyond “Mother Tongue” was not collected in those days. I am grateful to Yasmeen Shaheen-McConnell of the Arab-American Institute for providing these figures.
217 6.4 million U.S. Jews: There are numerous estimates that set the Jewish population of the US in the range of 5-7 million. This figure is from the American Jewish Yearbook population survey of 2006.
217 “to stand against Israel”: Shindler, Colin, “Likud and the Christian Dispensational ists,” Israel Studies, Vol. 5, no. 1, Spring 2000, pp. 153-182.
217 Israeli attempts to assassinate: Ottaway, p. 148.
218 “Turning Friends into Enemies”: Ibid.
218 “found him a writer”: Author interview with a senior official familiar with the exchange, November 30, 2008. Confirmed by a second Saudi official who processed the U.S. official protest.
218 “the ultimate insult”: Interview with a senior Saudi official, Jeddah, October 31, 2006.
219 “Palestinian children”: Robert G. Kaiser and David Ottaway, “Saudi Leader’s Anger Revealed Shaky Ties,” Washington Post, February 10, 2002.
219 “a terrorist act”: Ibid.
219 “he can do a better job”: Remarks by the president, 10.44 CDT, August 24, 2001, www.whitehouse.gov/news.
219 disingenuous simplification: Interview with a senior Saudi official, Riyadh, April 3, 2006.
220 particular buttons: This description of how Bandar would develop and amplify his instructions from Riyadh comes from a Saudi official who has worked with him for many years.
220 “our own interests”: Interview with a senior Saudi official, Jeddah, October 31, 2006.
220 Powell to Bandar: Reported by a high-level Saudi official familiar with the exchange, December 2008.
220 “We scared ourselves”: Robert G. Kaiser and David Ottaway, “Saudi Leader’s Anger Revealed Shaky Ties,” Washington Post, February 10, 2002.
221 “last chance”: Confirmed by a high-level Saudi official, Jeddah, November 2008.
222 “kisses and licks”: Off-the-record interview, Riyadh, November 24, 2006.
222 “taking the day off”: Confirmed by a high-level Saudi official, Jeddah, November 2008.
Chapter 24: Fifteen Flying Saudis
225 “hit the twin towers”: Prince Khaled Al-Faisal, interview with author, Jeddah, September 25, 2007.
226 “come after us”: Khaled Al-Hubayshi, interview with author, Jeddah, May 12, 2008.
226 “end up with wackos”: Fouad Al-Farhan, interview with author, Jeddah, December 2, 2007.
227 an outpoken columnist: Al-Nogaidan was told to stop for a time, but after September 11 he took up his pen again. He wrote two full-page articles in Al-Watan condemning Bin Laden—the first in a Saudi newspaper by someone who had once been in the Islamist camp.
227 “defied human thinking”: Mansour Al-Nogaidan, interview with author, Ajman, November 10, 2007.
227 “Us versus Them”: Cited in Unger, p. 197.
228 “a huge, dangerous enemy”: “Try the Gores, You Won’t Get a War,” Nathan Gardels interview with Gore Vidal, Saudi Gazette, December 13, 2006, p. 13.
228 God brought it: Ahmed Al-Ajaji, interview with author, Riyadh, February 9, 2008.
228 “refuse to believe”: Interview with Khaled Al-Maeena, July 10, 2006.
229 “disempowering ourselves”: Interview with Somaya Jabarti, Jeddah, July 12 and 14, 2006.
229 “daring people”: Prince Amr Al-Faisal, interview with author, Jeddah, July 11, 2006, and e-mail to author, November 24, 2008.
229 “The jihad has started”: Mohammed Al-Harbi, interview with author, Riyadh, February 13, 2007.
230 “were helpless”: Ibid.
231 “invalid as its king”: Robert Jordan, interview with author, Washington, DC, May 1, 2007.
231 flattery that was required: Ahmad Sabri, interview with author, Jeddah, September 16, 2007.
231 “congressmen wearing Jewish yarmulkes”: Prince Sultan made this remark to Al-Sharq Al-Awsat (“Middle East,” Saudi daily published in London) following a ceremony at the Saudi Public Institution for Military Industries. Al-Sharq Al-Awsat, June 23, 2002.
231 “protagonists of such attacks”: Prince Nayef interview, reported by Alaa Shahine, Associated Press, December 5, 2002, cited in Bronson, p. 236.
232 “conflicting advice”: Robert Jordan, interview with author, Washington, DC, May 1, 2007.
234 sued the bureau: Legal action confirmed by U.S. diplomat to author, November 2008.
235 approval of the Sheikh: Rentz, p. 116.
235 “totally wrong!”: Prince Turki Al-Faisal, interview with author, Riyadh, March 3, 2007.
235 “those who govern”: Abdullah Muallimi, interview with author, Jeddah, September 25, 2006.
Chapter 25: Fire
237 directorate practice: Some informed Saudi accounts of the tragedy maintain that the fatalities stemmed simply from the school gates being kept locked.
237 guardians of their morality: Arab News, March 14, 2002, cited on BBC News website, March 15, 2002. 238 “hands to beat us”: Ibid.
238 “Directorate of Girls’ Education”: Qenan Al-Ghamdi, interview with author, Jeddah, September 12, 2006.
238 “get revenge”: Said Al-Surehi, interview with author, Jeddah, October 31, 2006.
239 Norah Al-Fayez: Arab News, February 15, 2009.
239 dangerous “atheist”: Mohammed Al-Rasheed, interview with author, Riyadh, September 20, 2006.
240 “no ethics”: Ibid.
240 “girls educated”: Abdullah Obaid, interview with author, Riyadh, February 26, 2006.
240 University of Oklahoma: Mohammed Al-Rasheed had studied in Indiana to gain his Ph.D.
240 Al-Aghar: Prince Faisal bin Abdullah’s think tank took its title from its first meeting in the Riyadh equestrian club of that name. It has produced a number of cultural and economic reports in addition to its work on the knowledge-based society. Author conversation with Fahd Abu-Alnasr, February 17, 2009.
241 poisonous text messages: Mansour Al-Nogaidan, interview with author, Ajman, November 10, 2007.
241 “seventy-five lashes”: Mansour Al-Nogaidan, e-mail to author, September 22, 2008.
242 “humiliating punishment”: http://www.nytimes.com/2003/11/28/opinion/28MANS.html.
242 “price of reforms”: Ibid.
Chapter 26: Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula
244 “come to kill you!”: Gardner, p. 271.
244 death toll that night: New York Times, May 14, 2003. Also Saudi Press Agency, June 7, 2003.
245 battle to the Al-Saud: Thomas Hegghammer, “Islamist Violence and Regime Stability in Saudi Arabia,” International Affairs 84, no, 4 (July 2008), p. 709.
245 Riyadh black market: Douglas Baldwin, interview with author, Riyadh, March 5, 20
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