But he did manage to invade Iraq. Even after it became known that the 9/11 terrorists were Saudis, funded and inspired by the Saudi subsidized Wahhabi and that the 9/11 operation went forward even though Saudi intelligence was aware of the plot. Of course the fact that the Bush family became wealthy dealing with the Saudi royals in the oil business had no bearing on his decision to invade Iraq which even after the Gulf war was still an existential threat to the Saudi royals. Interesting footnote. In 2014 the Saudis were furious that Putin was supporting Assad and thwarting their plans. They informed Putin that if that support continued then they the Saudis could not guarantee that there would not be terrorist attacks at the Sochi, Russia Winter Olympics. Putin responded by not so subtly stationing three Russian nuclear submarines off the coasts of Saudi Arabia and informed the Saudis that if there were attacks, he would not be invading Iraq.
What a different world we would live in if we had let Saddam go all the way to Riyadh in 1990.
“But he did manage to invade Iraq. Even after it became known that the 9/11 terrorists were Saudis, funded and inspired by the Saudi subsidized Wahhabi and that the 9/11 operation went forward even though Saudi intelligence was aware of the plot.”
Actually, 15 of the 19 were Saudis, along with 4 from Egypt, UAE and another country I can’t recall. Also, a Yemeni was replaced with the 15th Saudi, due to not being able to obtain a visa.
Iraq was invaded for WMD, nothing to due with 911. Afghanistan was invaded due to the Taliban allowing AQeada to base and train in their country.
I’ve seen no convincing evidence that Saudi Intel knew specifics on the terror attack. The US has some evidence on a few individuals they suspected, but nothing specific on the 911 attack.
The reason, Bin Laden chose the attackers was because they had good English skills, knew western culture and Saudis obtain visas easier than many other Mid Eastern countries.
The Saudis “did it” myth is just that. The Saudis were also in a long running fight against AQ and Bin Laden.