Posted on 07/20/2005 2:04:14 PM PDT by Stephen Schwartz
Good Riddance . . . But Not Much Improvement Prince Bandar, Saudi Arabia's ambassador to the United States, is out. Prince Turki is in. by Stephen Schwartz 07/20/2005 3:45:00 PM
AS ANNOUNCED ON Wednesday, July 20, Saudi Arabia's long-serving ambassador to the United States, Prince Bandar bin Sultan bin Abdul-Aziz, is leaving town. Allegedly, he resigned. The dean of the foreign diplomatic corps in Washington will be replaced by Prince Turki al Faisal, the former intelligence chief of the kingdom.
Seeing the last of the unctuous Bandar will be viscerally pleasing to many Americans and to Saudi liberal dissidents. The now-former ambassador was disliked by embassy staff for his personal corruption, favoritism, and arbitrary cruelties. And questions about the role of his wife, Princess Haifa, in sending money to participants in the September 11 conspiracy have never been answered.
But is his replacement by Turki an improvement? Not at first glance. Turki is sophisticated and charming. But he also has stains on his résumé. He recently served as Saudi ambassador in London, but before that was the kingdom's intelligence chief until August 2001. He has never denied his association with Osama bin Laden in the 1980s, although he disclaims any knowledge or involvement with al Qaeda.
Why shuffle the diplomatic cards? To begin with, Bandar and Turki represent differing factions in the House of Saud. Bandar is the son of defense minister Prince Sultan, who has made millions doing business with the United States, and whose adherence to Wahhabism, the extremist Saudi brand of Islam, is said to be nominal. But Sultan and Bandar are Sudairis, offspring of Hussa bint Ahmad Al Sudairi, a favorite wife of the Saudi patriarch, Ibn Saud. They have always been known as hard-liners, even when they are more concerned with finance than with faith. The incapacitated but reigning King Fahd is a Sudairi, as is Bandar's uncle, and the Sultan's brother, Prince Nayef, the Saudi interior minister. Nayef is the most extreme Wahhabi at the top of the heap and is considered the Darth Vader of global Islam.
Turki, notwithstanding his questionable associations, is a son of the late King Faisal, and therefore a member of a different faction, the Faisalids. The children of Faisal have always had a reputation as moderates being open to reform. Meanwhile, the figurehead ruler, Crown Prince Abdullah, represents a separate line altogether--these things are common in polygamous families--and is believed to harbor a real distaste for Islamist extremism, which he believes divides Muslims and Arabs. One thing is certain: the radical Sudairis, to which Bandar belonged, hate him.
What does it mean--especially since this momentous event coincides with a new warning against terror attacks on Americans residing in the kingdom?
It could mean that something exceptionally compromising is about to be revealed about Bandar and his activities in the United States, although it is said he offered his resignation some time ago.
It could mean that the highest circles of the monarchical caste are preparing for the death of King Fahd (who recently went into a hospital) by placing men in key positions who are not necessarily beholden to Fahd and his Sudairi gang.
It could mean that the kingdom's rulers are seriously concerned about their image at home and abroad, and simply prefer more experienced and more capable man like Turki, to the brash Bandar, especially in dealing with the United States.
It could even mean the beginning of a political upheaval in one of the world's most authoritarian, backward, and repressive, countries.
Either way, keep watching. Events in the kingdom may well speed up, soon.
Stephen Schwartz is a frequent contributor to The Weekly Standard.
© Copyright 2005, News Corporation, Weekly Standard, All Rights Reserved.
Who cares, he's still a muzzie. Expect lies with a smile.
That's 6:20 a.m. Eastern Daylight Time.
They were just discussing this on Gibson's show on FNC a while ago. A gentleman named Loftus, IIRC, waqs providing the skinny on Turki. Holy moly.
FYI ping :)
Thank you, Miss mewzilla- I've been ripping out some rotted decking on the porch today ( yes, it's 96 degrees here, and by the exaust of the window AC that rotted it ) and haven't checked in as often as I like.
You're welcome :) Good luck with the porch. Oh, and this Turki, BTW, sounds like a very bad egg.
From what I've read about al Turki, I wish we could just disallow his entrance into the US. He's the former head of Intelligence. Aren't all embassies filled with spies anyway? Why would they want a spy chief for an ambassador? To better coordinate their espionage activities? I don't trust the Saudis anyway, but it seems to me they are up to even less good than they used to be.
I hope he brings his crazy wife, Hind.
Washington could use some great parties, which is what she does best.
To say she's 'colorful' is an understatement.
She's been under house arrest in Cairo holed up in a hotel.
Also, he pretty much grew up in America.
Prince Turki bin Faisal ibn Abdul Aziz Al Saud
HRH Prince Turki Al Faisal was born on the 15th of February, 1945 in Makkah, Saudi Arabia, the eighth and last son of the late Saudi King Faisal. He began his schooling at the Taif Model Elementary and Intermediate School. When he was fourteen, he was sent by his father to study at Lawrenceville School, a prep school in New Jersey. He then graduated in 1963 from Lawrenceville School in New Jersey. Subsequently, he pursued his undergraduate studies at Georgetown (Class of ’68). After he left Georgetown, he did some studies in Britain, and then went back to work in the Kingdom.
HRH Prince Turki was appointed an Advisor in the Royal Court in 1973. From 1977 to 2001, he served as the Director General of the General Intelligence Directorate (GID), the Kingdom’s main Foreign intelligence service [aka Istakhbarat].
Usama Bin Ladin met the head of the Saudi security service, Prince Turki Ibn Faisal Ibn Abdelaziz in 1978. Bin Laden had begun to associate with Islamic radicals who played on his feelings of inner religious crisis and growing isolation from his family to lead him towards becoming an extremist. He was introduced to local members of the Muslim Brotherhood, who only drove Usama further towards extremism. In 1979 Usama Bin Ladin went to Prince Turki for advice after he became infuriated by the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan. Following Prince Turki's suggestion that Bin Ladin use his financial assets to aid the Afghan resistance, Usama traveled to neighboring Pakistan to wage jihad on the Soviet Union.
Speaking in 2002, he recalled that "In 1976, after the Watergate matters took place here, [the American] intelligence community was literally tied up by Congress. It could not do anything. It could not send spies it could not write reports, and it could not pay money. In order to compensate for that, a group of countries got together in the hope of fighting communism and established what was called the Safari Club. The Safari Club included France, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Morocco, and Iran. The principle aim of this club was that we would share information with each other and help each other in countering Soviet influence ... The main concern of everybody was that the spread of communism was taking place while the main country that would oppose communism was tied up. Congress had literally paralyzed the work of not only of the US intelligence community, but of its foreign service as well. And so, the Kingdom, with these countries, helped in some way, I believe, to keep the world safe at the time when the United States was not able to do that. ..... In 1980, when the Soviets invaded Afghanistan, we in the Kingdom, with the United States, initiated a program of countering the Soviet invasion and helping the Mujahideen to repel the Soviets. I was directly involved in that situation ... if you read the Wall Street Journal, you would think that I invented Bin Laden, and it’s not true. When I met him in these functions, he seemed to be a relatively pleasant man, very shy, soft spoken, and, as a matter of fact, he didn’t speak much at all. ...[in 1998] I was sent to Afghanistan by King Fahd and Crown Prince Abdullah to try to get Mullah Omar to hand bin Laden to us.... "
In early 1996 Sudan had offered to extradite bin Laden to Saudi Arabia. President Clinton, hoping the Saudis would take bin Laden and swiftly execute him, called Prince Turki bin Faisal, to consider the plan. The Saudis said no, but Bin Laden soon left Sudan for Afghanistan.
Prince Turki followed up in meetings during the summer of 1998 with Mullah Omar and other Taliban leaders. Employing a mixture of possible bribes and threats, he received a commitment that Bin Ladin would be handed over.
By some accounts a moderate group within the Taleban wanted to get rid of Osama bin Laden and establish relations with the United States. Under their pressure, Mullah Omar made a secret agreement to send the al-Qaida leader to Saudi Arabia to stand trial for treason. Prince Turki bin Faisal, then head of Saudi intelligence, says it was a done deal - soon to be undone.
After the Embassy bombings in August 1998, Vice President Gore called Riyadh again to underscore the urgency of bringing the Saudi ultimatum to a final conclusion. After the al-Qaida bombing of two US embassies in Africa, the Clinton administration retaliated with a missile attack on a pharmaceutical plant in Sudan and alleged terrorist camps in Afghanistan. That put an end to Taleban moderation.
In September 1998 Prince Turki, joined by Pakistan's intelligence chief, had a climactic meeting with Mullah Omar in Kandahar. Omar reneged on his promise to expel Bin Ladin. When Turki angrily confronted him, Omar lost his temper and denounced the Saudi government. The Saudis and Pakistanis walked out.
On 31 August 2001 Prince Turki departed from the Saudi Intelligence Services. The official announcement stated that "Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Fahd bin Abdulaziz yesterday relieved Prince Turki Al-Faisal bin Abdulaziz, upon his own request, from his post as Chief of General Intelligence." The resignation came to some as a surprise, though others familiar with the Minister's situation expected the resignation eventually, after a quarter of a century on the job. The precise timing was said to derive from [unstated] circumstances in the Minister's immediate family. The surprise departure came only four months after King Fahd had issued a Royal Decree reconfirming him in the post for four more years. His close ties to Crown Prince Abdallah made him a useful ally and a bulwark against Prince Sultan’s influence.
Other speculation focused on the fact that his departure came a few days before September 11th. One conjecture suggested that Turki had found out about the planned attacks and was trying to dissuade bin Laden. His failure to do so, or his failure to report his prior knowledge, could have precipitated his dismissal as intelligence chief.
A few days after 9-11, an aircraft carrying 31 Saudi nationals departed the United States. Some reports claim that among the passengers was Prince Turki bin Faisal. One of Prince Turki's brother was also said to be on board the flight.
In November 2001 the Arab station MBC carried an unusual hourlong interview with Prince Turki bin Faisal. The prince voiced support for the American effort in Afghanistan. "America is not there to occupy Afghanistan," he said. "It is there to fulfill a certain purpose stemming from the events that occurred over a month ago."
In November 2001 Prince Turki bin Faisal told the New York Times that while Saudi Arabia country regarded Saddam Hussein as one of the world's most active terrorists, it would not support any attack on Iraq by coalition forces. "You target Saddam Hussein, and no one will object. But bombings like the ones we saw against Iraq in 1998, or like the ones we've seen now in Afghanistan, with so-called collateral bombings, when bombs hit innocent people, will have very bad implications," he said.
On 15 August 2002, he was one of three Saudi princes sued for allegedly helping to finance the terrorist attacks of 11th September 2001, the other two being Prince Sultan bin Abdul Aziz and Prince Mohammed bin Faisal. The lawsuit sought damages from members of the Saudi royal family, Saudi banks and Saudi corporations, who had extensive financial holdings in the US. Among the defendants were two prominent members of the Saudi royal family, Prince Sultan bin Abdelaziz al-Saud, the defense minister, and Prince Turki bin Faisal, Saudi ambassador to Britain. The suit alleges that Prince Sultan "publicly supported and funded several Islamic charities that were sponsoring Osama bin Laden" and that Prince Turki negotiated a deal in which Al Qaeda agreed to end efforts to subvert the Saudi monarchy in exchange for a Saudi promise not to extradite terrorist leaders.
During the consultations with official agencies investigating 11 September attacks, Sheikh Dr Abdullah bin Abdul Mohsin Al Turki [no relation], secretary general of the World Islamic League and former Saudi religious affairs minister, stated that "those in authority (the wulat al-amr) are the ulema and the political leaders", appearing to equate the royal family and the religious establishment.
Prince Turki Al Faisal responded that " ... the Sheikh’s comment struck me as strange. Never before has such an opinion been expressed in our country. In the Shi’ite world this is the equivalent of Imam Khomeini’s questionable teachings about velayat-e faqih. But I do not subscribe to this view, since power resides in the political leadership, and the ulema serve solely in an advisory capacity."
Prince Turki commented in the independent, pro-government, English-language, Arab News (18 September 2002): "Saudi Arabia has worked with the United States for the past 70 years. Both countries have benefited from this enduring partnership. Remember that we face the same threat: Bin Ladin targeted Saudi Arabia before he targeted America. Al-Qa'ida has thousands of followers from more than 60 countries, including those of many U.S. allies. That he chose 15 Saudis for his murderous gang, many of whom, he boasted, did not even know the ultimate goal of their mission, can only be explained as an attempt to disrupt the close relationship between our two countries.... There are those in America who condemn all Saudi Arabians as uncivilized, close-minded and barbaric. But such blanket accusations are not worthy of the American people.... Let us deny extremists the victory of undermining our partnership. Instead, let us remain strong, and, whatever shortcomings we see in each other, let us confront them and overcome them together in a spirit of mutual respect and openness."
In 2002, he was appointed the Ambassador of The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and took up his post on 28 January 2003.
In March 2004 it was reported that information assembled by German intelligence analysts revealed that a pair of private Saudi companies linked with suspected Al Qaeda cells in Germany and in Indonesia also had connections to the Saudi Arabian intelligence agency and its longtime chief, Prince Turki bin Faisal.
On 19 January 2005 a US federal judge dismissed Saudi Arabia from 9/11 suits. Richard Casey ruled that Saudi Arabia, Saudi Defense Minister Prince Sultan Prince Turki al-Faisal, and the country's ambassador to Britain HRH Prince Turki Al-Faisal, all had immunity from the litigation.
On 20 July 2005 the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques issued his orders to start the process of nominating HRH Prince Turki Al-Faisal for the post of Ambassador of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to the United States of America.
His Royal Highness is involved in a number of cultural and social activities. He is one of the founders of the King Faisal foundation and is the Chairman of the King Faisal Centre for Research and Islamic Studies, a group founded in 1983 to promote an expanded dialogue within Islam and between Islamic and Christian and Jewish groups. Some accounts claim that Prince Turki is affiliated with the fundamentalist and anti-American wing of the royal family, with sympathies to Osama bin Laden, but these seem to be in error. Indeed, he must be considered one of the most Westernized of the Saudi leaders.
He is Chairman of the board of The Prince Charles Visual Islamic and Traditional Arts Centre as well as the co-chair of the C100 Group which is affiliated with the World Economic Forum since 2003.
Among those frequently mentioned to succeed the current generation of kings are Prince Saud bin Faisal, a grandson of Abdelaziz and son of the late King Faisal who has been foreign minister since 1975; and his brother, Prince Turki bin Faisal.
The Saudi royal family has a distressingly limited number of favoriate names, distributed across a distressingly large number of men. It is thus neccessary to consider the full string of patronymics to disambiguate among the thousands of royal princes. This should not be confused with Prince Turki bin Faisal bin Saad bin Abdul Rahman Al Saud, who died on 23 December 2002 in a Swiss hospital. He was 50 years old, and had been suffering from an illness for a long time. Nor should he be confused with Prince Turki bin Abdulaziz Al-Saud, one of the immediate sons of Ibn Saud so-called Sudairi Seven.
-Eric
Good info, thanks.
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