This comes only a few days after the Saudi King Abdullah leveled a similar charge against Britain. But the obvious question is: Why are they announcing this now? And for that matter, where is the evidence?
"Ex-Saudi ambassador: Kingdom could have helped U.S. prevent 9/11" (there's some truth to that headline, though not in a way Bandar would agree with), from CNN:
(CNN) -- Saudi Arabia could have helped the United States prevent al Qaeda's 2001 attacks on New York and Washington if American officials had consulted Saudi authorities in a "credible" way, the kingdom's former ambassador said in a documentary aired Thursday.
The comments by Prince Bandar bin Sultan are similar to the remarks this week by Saudi King Abdullah that suggested Britain could have prevented the July 2005 train bombings in London if it had heeded warnings from Riyadh.
Speaking to the Arabic satellite network Al-Arabiya on Thursday, Bandar -- now Abdullah's national security adviser -- said Saudi intelligence was "actively following" most of the September 11, 2001, plotters "with precision."
"If U.S. security authorities had engaged their Saudi counterparts in a serious and credible manner, in my opinion, we would have avoided what happened," he said.
Bandar was the Saudi ambassador to Washington for nearly 22 years before he was replaced in 2005. A knowledgeable U.S. official told CNN that Bandar's comments should be taken "with a grain of salt."
Done.
[...]
And Saudi officials say that since 9/11, they have taken steps to ensure charitable donations do not fall into the hands of al Qaeda.
Ensure? No. Not even close.
Oh please! Prior to 9/11 the US and Saudi Arabia most likely worked as closely together as lips are to teeth on such matters. Now all of a sudden the Saudis act as if they have the world's greatest intel operation and the West has been totally stupid. Next they'll be telling us they knew Pearl Harbor was coming, only FDR refused to take them seriously.
If the Saudis really want to cut down on terrorism they can do so by quitting the mosque building business. But the King will turn Jewish before that happens!
'The comments by Prince Bandar bin Sultan are similar to the remarks this week by Saudi King Abdullah that suggested Britain could have prevented the July 2005 train bombings in London if it had heeded warnings from Riyadh"
....would that have been in one of those "convert or die" speeches....
When Bandar said this were his lips moving?
Sounds like someone--in Britain, maybe--put a lot of pressure on the Saudis over this issue, and now they're bending over backwards trying to portray themselves in a positive light. Doesn't seem to be working.
Maybe the headlines should read "Prince Bandar admits spies in USA, they do nothing to prevent terror attack on 9-11".
Racist Bigot! Why aren't these people called what they really are, racist bigots!
"if American officials had consulted Saudi authorities in a "credible" way."
If the Americans had gone to the Ayrabs as vassals!
------------
All the 911 hijackers were Arabs- yes, they could have been stopped by their gov.
HOw do we know, it wasn't the Arab gov that sent them?
Taken with a "grain of salt"? A whole Wal-Mart's worth of Morton's.
So no one went groveling to the Saudis, so they let 9/11 happen? Some friend. Go figure.
I hear the Saudis have a lead on the Lindbergh kidnapping.
I just heard that the Saudis have arrested the "true" murderers of Nicole Brown Simpson on a golf course somewhere in the kingdom. If OJ had just used a "credible" approach with the Saudis...........
Remember all the money Congress wastes each year? Saudi Intelligence has an idea where it is........
I lost a sawbuck last week, I bet Prince Bandar knows where it is.
tanstaafl, you forgot the JFK assassination and the Moon Landing Hoax.
Wow.
"Hey, I saw some guy pouring gasoline on your back porch at 3:00 AM last night, right before your house went up in flames with your family asleep inside. If you had only called me, I would have told you all about it. Oh yeah, by the way, I'm raising my prices at all of my gas stations."
I wonder how many times Bush has kissed, and held hands with Bandar. Is the Queen kissing the King?
On what part of his body...? This entire movie, is disgusting and should get an xxx rating.
Maybe the Saudi's are good muslims, but they are 'bad' actors...
Why did it take him 6 years to come up with this?
Lies,lies and more taqquiya.
"But the King will turn Jewish before that happens!
Posted by: ISLAMSFORLOSERS "
Exactly!
We should invade Saudi Arabia and keep all of that oil for ourselves. Saudis = Satan.
We should invade Saudi Arabia and keep all of that oil for ourselves. Saudis = Satan.
Posted by: americanmadestrat at November 2, 2007 10:12 AM
Agreed-they'll hate us no matter what anyway. Besides, who found and developed those oil fields anyway? If we must maintain troops there we might as well do it for imperialistic reasons rather than for "bringing democracy" to those who simply don't want it.
Scooter is on the mark. This looks like getting ahead of the story. The US and UK intel services may have solid proof the highest levels of the Saudi government knew about 9-11 in advance and the London attacks.
Prince Bandar and the King are trying to blame this on the U.S. They wouldn't be saying they knew this much unless the U.S. and U.K. had rock solid evidence of it already.
After the 2008 U.S. elections a new president will have these files. That president can release information to show Saudi complicity from the 1990's to the 2000's. They want to get the Saudi story out during the 2008 elections while Bush is keeping a lid on the files.
Gordon Brown has been Tony Blair's key man, so he doesn't want to expose what the U.K. has. But there will still come a time when those U.K. files might be released by a new government.
Here we have what is obviously a well planned diplomatic initiative to encourage us to love and respect the toxic House of Saud and their irreproachable leadership.
When you;re this good, everyone wants to emulate you.
Could Foggy Bottom send emissaries to Riyadh to be trained and to gratefully receive lessons from some of the 7,000 members of Saudi 'royalty' on how to properly conduct co operative affairs ?
What a potential bonanza !
And could they throw a few more chump change petrodollar alms giving into presidential, past and present, coffers ?
This should be a huge wake-up call for bush, his Col. Nicholson moment from Bridge on the River Kwai, where, at the end, he utters, "What have I done?" But it won't be. bush has kept the saudis in his inner circle despite 9/11. Why, just last month, contrary to the overwhelming evidence compiled by his own government, he certified them as allies in the "war on terrorism." And this is how the saudis & bandar repay him: by stabbing him in the back with the accusation that the bush administration screwed up, essentially seconding what the democrats have been saying since 9/11. wake up, georgie boy!
The Saudis want to get this story out while Bush is president so that it is old news in 2009 when the new president takes charge. Thus when the new president takes office, we will just include this in the general bad actions of the Middle East and not have an agenda to do something about it.
Saudi Arabia Pakistan 9-11 site:truthout.org
The other element we should realize is that Bush has known of this for years.
I guess this confirms that the 9-11 murderers were really working with the Saudi government. Seems so to me.
I read Prince Bandar's biography this past summer. The British author who knew Bandar from the RAF training college, repeatedly points out that the Prince prides himself on his access to the POTUS, beginning with Jimmy Carter. Bandar Bush feels perfectly comfortable letting himself into the White House with his own key. Let's hope our next president is more particular about his/her friends.
Excellent question. I'd LOVE an answer for that one.
Greetings:
"A knowledgeable U.S. official told CNN that Bandar's comments should be taken "with a grain of salt."
Shouldn't that have been a grain of sand?
And Bandar the Bandit should be told to go pound some.
How pathetic! If the Saudis were tracking these guys all along, how come Prince Nayef was denying any Saudis were involved in the 9/11 hijackings a full year-and-a-half after the attacks?
On the other hand, perhaps they did know about the attacks ahead of time. Richard Posner's claims to this effect have now been substantially corroborated by Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist James Risen. For more details, see "Part 4" here:
www.asecondlookatthesaudis.com
Either way, this is a sick little game the Saudis are playing. Look closely at the past two decades of jihadist carnage around the globe, and you will find that they are behind everything.
Ok, then the Saudi's would not have any problem telling us who they communicated this information to during the Clinton Administration....would they?
Oh, wait they didn't tell us. They wanted us to 'have knowledge' of something we didn't know and to ask them about it in a 'credible' way. BS.
Now the fact that they knew about it, I am sure that is true. The Saudi's should have been tracking THEIR SUICIDE BOMBERS.
Of course they knew where their bombers were. They had to get money to them and make sure their expenses were covered.
We have no doubt the Saudis came kicking and screaming at our door with the info. Please! please! 17 of our Nationals are planning great harm upon you. Please! please! help us stop them.
Like BLT is served at Lunch time in Mecca.
Some other things "Prince Bandar claims..."
1. Islam is a religion of peace! (He even says it with a straight face...)
2. Saudi Arabia is America's ally.
3. The Saudi Regime is also under threat from al Qaida. (Then why, I'd like to ask, has not a single Saudi Royal been killed or beheaded or kidnapped by al Qaida???)
4. Terrorists have hijacked Islam.
Saudi Arabia: Kingdom of lies. Kingdom of hatred. Kingdom of darkness.
What a piece of crap!
Let them prove their great intelligence gathering ability. Dare them to tell us exactly who they are tracking in the US at this very moment. Let them know that if there is someone who attacks us and we learn later that "they knew all about it" then they can call themselves accessories before the fact and say their prayers and vacate Mecca, never to return. The Grand Mosque will be reduced to dust. (IF ONLY!)
Old Atlantic,
I wouldn't be too sure about what a new US administration would reveal about the Saudis if Hillary wins. Her personal assistant was raised in Saudi Arabia
http://www.nohillaryclinton.com/2007/07/26/hillary%e2%80%99s-mystery-woman-who-is-huma/
and what exactly did Sandy Berger stick in his socks/undies from the archives before shredding it?
The actual country that we should have invaded and taken over was Saudia Arabia!
Why the hell didn't we?
It was the U.S. that developed the oil industry there - and still maintain it.
Nothing stopped us from invading Iraq- that had no hijackers - it was Arabs that inflicted 9/11.
Why didn't we inved and take over? If we had done so, we wouldn't have the problems we have today.
I'm expressing the truth, here, and what has been in the minds of many Americans and Western people.
Once everyone realizes that the Saudis were tracking the "progress" of the 9/11 hijackers...the world will be a better and safer place to exist in.
Period.
Another two-syllables comes to mind when I think of Bandar.
The actual country that we should have invaded and taken over was Saudia Arabia!
Why the hell didn't we?
Posted by: awake at November 3, 2007 12:15 AM
You didn't know who you were electing to president's office, did you? If you did, you would no tbe wondering about the above. Next time you vote, research the background of the candidate, before you cast your vote.
Oh, I get it. All the terrorist attacks are actually OUR fault! How did I miss that?
I understand the Prince also knows exactly what happened to Jimmy Hoffa, and where his remains are.
There are rumors to the effect that the Bandar knows what was in Al Capone's vault, and who removed the contents. It was just a practical joke on Geraldo--If he calls Bandar and asks him in a credible way about the situation, maybe Bandar will tell him all about it.
Hey, I know what the word "credible" means, but what the heck does the phrase: "consulted Saudi authorities in a credible way" mean? How does one go about consulting someone in an incredible way?