Saudi Arabia Asks Iran For Son of bin Laden
September 08, 2003
The Dallas Morning News
Scott Farwell
DALLAS _ Saudi Arabia's ambassador to the United States said Sunday his government has asked Iran to extradite Osama bin Laden's eldest son for plotting to assassinate members of the Saudi royal family and overthrow the government.
Prince Bandar bin Sultan said Iran has not acted on his country's request for Saad bin Laden and several other suspected terrorists. Iranian officials were not available for comment.
"My government has been requesting that they hand over any members of al-Qaida that we have information are terrorists or are Saudi citizens," said Prince Bandar, a guest of Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones before Sunday's game at Texas Stadium in Irving. "The general consensus is that there are several (senior) members of al-Qaida in Iran."
He said Saudi Arabia believes Saad bin Laden is among a handful of men directing terrorism in the Middle East and around the world, including the May suicide bombings in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, that killed 23 people, including nine Americans.
Iran, Saudi Arabia and the United States have a common enemy in al-Qaida, Prince Bandar said, because of Osama bin Laden's avowed hatred of Shiites, the predominant branch of Islam in Iran.
"Al-Qaida is more extreme against Shiites," Prince Bandar said. "Iran has no interest in protecting these people, but I think it gets into politics."
Tehran has not rejected Saudi Arabia's request, the prince said.
"They've said they want to finish their investigation first, and then we will share and we will talk about it," he said. "We're handling Iran with sensitivity, but at the same time, we're very serious about extraditing terrorists."
Prince Bandar, who visited former President George H.W. Bush in Maine and later with Vice-President Dick Cheney in Wyoming, said Saudi Arabia will continue to help the United States fight the war on terrorism.
"Al-Qaida is a common enemy," he said. "We will continue to search for the bad guys, and we will continue to cooperate with the U.S. as it searches for bad guys."
Prince Bandar described President Bush as "a man of nails" and said the war on terrorism will eventually be won as long as the United States is willing to lead the fight. He said the upcoming presidential election could give the rest of the world the wrong impression, as candidates criticize Bush's handling of the war on Iraq and other issues.
"Nine thousand miles away, people don't really understand domestic issues," he said. "All they know is this larger fight, this war on terrorism, is the goal of the United States."
Prince Bandar said he developed an affinity for Texas, a love for the Cowboys and a respect for the Bush family in 20 years as the Saudi ambassador to the United States.
He said his loyalty to the Cowboys began in 1970 when he was a first lieutenant in the Saudi Arabian air force stationed at Perrin Air Force Base near Sherman, before it was closed. He has attended the Cowboy's last three Super Bowls, and frequently watches the game in the private suite of Jones.
Prince Bandar is the son of the Saudi defense minister, Prince Sultan bin Abdul Aziz, second in line to the crown.
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