Inside the Kingdom (67 page)

62
“in cash”:
Ahmed Badeeb, interview with author, Jeddah, July 26, 2006.

63
“freedom fighters”:
Prince Turki Al-Faisal, interview with author, Washington, DC, May 10, 2006.

63
sum was in the millions:
U.S. Bureau of Engraving and Printing: 490 notes weigh 1 lb.
www.bep.treas.gov
.

64
crisp $100 bills:
Coll,
Ghost Wars
, p. 72.

64
support the mujahideen:
Khaled Batarfi, interview with author, Jeddah, September 23, 2006.

64
some historians:
See, for example, Thomas Hegghammer’s
Jihad in Saudi Arabia
.

64
protest could be permitted:
Alexei Vassiliev,
The History of Saudi Arabia,
p. 296.

65
“brave men in the mountains”:
Recollection to the author by a government minister, Jeddah, November 30, 2008.

65
Koran printing plant:
Ottaway, pp. x, xi.

65
handed a check:
MEES, vol. 23, no. 32 (May 26, 1980).

66
the Safari Club:
Prince Turki Al-Faisal, interview with author, Paris, September 1, 2006.

66
“Soviet atheism”:
Prince Turki Al-Faisal, interview with author, Riyadh, April 10, 2007.

67
“any means necessary”:
State of the Union address, January 23, 1980.

67
undercover guerrilla campaign:
Bronson, p. 149.

67
$3 billion each:
Rachel Bronson, “Understanding U.S.-Saudi Relations,” in Aarts and Nonneman, p. 383.

68
annual flow of pilgrims:
Monroe, p. 173.

68
entertain the chiefs:
Public Records Office, Kew, ibid.: E1119/266/25, Biscoe to SSC, February 5, 1932, para. 8.

68
oil in Arabia:
Philby, p. 78.

69
1933:
This tale is dated to 1933 by Madawi Rasheed in her
History of Saudi Arabia
, p. 91, and she has confirmed this date in e-mails with the author. Other Saudi historians maintain that the incident occurred as many as twenty years earlier, when Abdul Aziz was entertaining the British officer Captain Shakespear in Nejd. One grandson of the king says that Abdul Aziz actually lifted the preacher bodily off the podium, and that the British official whose presence offended the sheikh was Sir Percy Cox, who negotiated the first pension paid by the British government to Ibn Saud. It is possible that similar incidents occurred more than once.

69
“fire will seize you”:
Koran, sura 11, verse 113.

69
“To you be your way”:
Ibid., sura 109, verses 1-6.

69
three hundred thousand mainland patients:
Thomas Lippman, “The Pioneers,”
Aramco World
55, no. 3 (May-June 2004).

70
king’s aging father:
Ibid.

70
“you are very far away!”:
Hart, p. 38.

70
“after the money”:
Al-Mana, p. 223.

70
on board the USS
Murphy
:
This account of Abdul Aziz’s journey to Suez and his meeting with Roosevelt is based on William Eddy’s monograph
F.D.R. Meets Ibn Saud
.

71
“Arabs wage war”:
Ibid., p. 34.

71
“favor”:
Encyclopedia Britannica Online, retrieved July 3, 2007, “Balfour Declaration.”

71
“no move hostile”:
Eddy, p. 34.

72
America’s largest:
Vitalis, p. 9.

72
“trust the United States”:
Rachel Bronson, “Understanding U.S.-Saudi Relations,” in Aarts and Nonneman, p. 392.

72
caught him visiting:
Vitalis, p. 233.

73
Louisiana:
Simpson, p. 57.

74
“all the votes”:
Ibid., p. 58.

74
“factual inaccuracies”:
E-mail of October 1, 2008, to author from Peter J. Johnson in David Rockefeller’s office.

74
switched funds:
“As for the movement of $200 million in and out of Chase in 1978, the bank had two principal vehicles for work with Saudi Arabia, the Saudi Industrial Development Fund, which began operations in 1975, and the Saudi Investment Banking Corporation, which opened its doors in 1977. Both had been undertaken at the request of SAMA and involved Chase in direct economic development efforts in Saudi Arabia. SAMA’s principal correspondent bank in the United States was Citibank, which held huge deposits. Why SAMA would have moved money from Chase to Morgan and not Citibank is unclear, as is the fact that the Saudis even had $200 million on deposit for whatever reason at Chase to begin with.” E-mail of October 1, 2008, to author from Peter J. Johnson in David Rockefeller’s office.

74
met with Bandar:
E-mail of June 10, 2008, to author from Peter J. Johnson in David Rockefeller’s office.

75
result of a brief encounter:
Close female family sources say that Bandar’s mother was a servingwoman in the household of one of Sultan’s sisters.

75
“mother was a concubine”:
Simpson, p. 13.

75
“a different color”:
Ibid., p. 13.

75
getting the last pick:
Ibid., p. 15.

75
faking his date of birth:
Ibid., p. 15.

76
“son of the slave”:
Interview with one of Bandar’s circle of friends in his youth, January 2007. To this day there are those who detect dismissiveness in the attitude of his father, Prince Sultan, toward Bandar, by comparison with his more respectful stance toward his other sons.

76
call from the crown prince:
Walter Cutler, interview with author, Washington, DC, April 30, 2007.

76
personal request:
Author interview with a Saudi diplomat present at the breakfast meeting.

76
$1 million a month:
Bronson, p. 184.

76
secretly channeled:
Ibid., p. 184.

77
more material assistance:
For details of covert Saudi and U.S. funding of anti-Communist operations in the Reagan years, see chapter 9 of Bronson, pp. 168-90.

78
“Women used to hide”:
These paragraphs are based on interviews with Dr. Fawzia Al-Bakr, in person and on the telephone, in Riyadh on February 27, April 4, and July 30, 2006.

79
black-market whisky:
Author’s recollection, Jeddah, 1980 and 1981.

80
freethinkers and atheists:
Interview with a former member of the National Movement.

81
“sparing their family”:
Conversation with Mabahith officer.

82
“connection cut out”:
Peter Theroux, telephone interview, November 8, 2007.

83
“Syria is an Arab sister”:
Ibid.

83
number of the room:
Theroux, p. 107.

84
an official letter:
Maha Fitaihi, interview with author, Jeddah, March 7, 2006.

86
divine requirements:
“King Fahd Makes First Policy Statement—July 24, 1982,” translation in
Middle East Economic Survey
25, no. 2 (August 2, 1982).

86
corrupt pleasures:
Ibid.

86
“without even leaving his house”:
Author interview, off-the-record.

87
“respect to show”:
Ibid.

87
“gone to heaven”:
Ibid.

87
gift . . . from John Latsis:
information from a business associate of Latsis, April 2009.

87
was the longest:
Built by the Helsingor Vaerft shipyard in Denmark and fitted out in Southampton by the British designer David Hicks, the
Prince Abdul Aziz
was the largest motor yacht built in the twentieth century (
www.superyachttimes.com
).

87
hedonistic economy:
On news of the Saudis’ arrival, the supermarkets filled their cold cabinets with legs of lamb, while fleets of car transporters set off from Germany laden with luxury limousines. Jim Mackie, “Marbella’s Favorite Son—King Fahd of Saudi Arabia,”
Andalucia Travel Guide
, November 22, 2007.

87
Saudi monarch’s honor:
Giles Tremlett, “Marbella Feels the Loss of the Saudi King: Three Days of Mourning for Royal Who Spent Millions in Town,”
The Guardian
, August 6, 2005.

87
only one trip:
This information comes from Al-Fahd family members. The author has been unable to confirm it in Marbella, where people recall the Saudi king visiting more than once in the ten-year spell following his strokes in the late 1990s.

87
man-made island:
information from a business associate of John Latsis, April 2009.

87
“Going into Orbit”:
“On the Possibility of Going into Orbit,” Shaaban 1389. I am grateful to Dr. Sheikh Mohammed Al-Shuwayl for providing me with a copy of this fatwa, and to Hala Al-Houti for translating it for me.

88
“men may reach the moon”:
Ibid., p. 3.

88
“sufficient proof”:
Ibid., p. 1.

88
“seemed to be flat”:
Memory of someone who read Bin Baz’s writings.

89
“rules about traveling”:
Sultan bin Salman, interview with author, Riyadh, June 2, 2007.

89
“Ramadan finished in two days”:
Ibid.

89
“Keep your eyes open”:
Ibid.

90
“ ‘stars in the heavens’ ”:
Koran, sura 15 “Al-Hijer,” verse 16.

90
“not be the last time”:
Sultan bin Salman, interview with author, Riyadh, June 2, 2007.

90
felt beneath his feet:
These paragraphs are based on Bin Baz’s fatwa of Shaaban 1389 and on conversations with his son Ahmed Bin Baz; with Dr. Sheikh Mohammed Al-Shuwayl, the sheikh’s close friend and assistant; with Prince Turki Al-Faisal; with Prince Sultan bin Salman; with Dr. Abdullah Al-Muallimi; with Dr. Ghazi Algosaibi; and with Fouad Al-Ibrahim—whose differing perspectives I have sought to reconcile in this narrative.

90
world glut of energy:
“Oceans of Oil,”
Texas Monthly
, October 1984.

91
decline steadily:
Niblock and Malik, pp. 55, 56.

91
he would complain:
Off-the-record interview, Nicosia, October 19, 2006.

91
“
ustaz
—Mister Yamani”:
Explanation to the author by an adviser to the royal court, Jeddah, November 29, 2008.

91
after long discussions:
Recollection of a member of Fahd’s immediate family.

92
“I don’t know how”:
Recollection of a relative of the ministerial colleague.

92
Turn up the volume:
recollection of a family member, June 2009.

92
“low oil prices”:
Dr. Ibrahim Al-Muhanna, interview with author, Riyadh, December 5, 2006.

92
Saudi oil production would fall:
Niblock and Malik, pp. 55, 56.

93
“pay the salaries”:
Off-the-record recollection to the author, November 30, 2008.

94
beside Sigourney Weaver:
Elizabeth Kastor and Donnie Radcliffe, “Fahd’s Night: Fanfare Fit for a King,”
Washington Post
, February 12, 1985. “After Caballe sang, the Reagans escorted Fahd and his son to the door. Then the band struck up ‘Shall We Dance?’ The Reagans did.”

94
“to my brother Faisal”:
Recalled by a royal adviser.

95
“the propagation of Islam”:
Ottaway, p. 185.

95
$27 billion:
Ibid.

95
“closest to my heart”:
The recollection of one of Fahd’s ministers who later discussed the title with him.

96
“clean the place properly”:
Recalled to the author by two U.S. diplomats of the time. The cartoon was one of a series depicting “Captain Nejd,” a Saudi version of Superman, who came flying into crisis situations to apply Wahhabi solutions to the problem.

97
soapbox orator:
Sir David Gore Booth, interview with author, January 16, 2003.

98
“modern infrastructure”:
Clive Morgan, e-mail to author, December 8, 2008.

98
“people try to test you”:
Mohammed bin Fahd, interview with author, Damman, January 30, 2007.

98
“embraced each other”:
Ibid.

99
prisoners were released:
Ibrahim, p. 136.

99
“seek peace”:
Ali Al-Marzouq, interview with author, Al-Awjam, October 11, 2007.

100
“freedom that Islam can give”:
Ibid.

100
Iranian money:
Author interview with Saudi security official, London, December 8, 2008.

101
“should have confessed”:
Ali Al-Marzouq, interview with author, Al-Awjam, October 11, 2007.

101
princely “oppressors”:
Scott Cooper and Brock Taylor, “Power and Regionalism: Explaining Regional Cooperation in the Persian Gulf,” in Finn Laursen, ed.,
Comparative Regional Integration
(Aldershot: Ashgate Publishing, 2003), p. 115.

101
promote their cause in Mecca:
Theroux, p. 145.

102
plastic explosives:
Walter Cutler, interview with author, Washington, DC, April 30, 2007.

102
“a new life”:
Ali Al-Marzouq, interview with author, Al-Khobar, January 27, 2007.

102
violating Islamic tradition:
John Kifner, “Mecca Pilgrims Say Iranians Concealed Weapons,”
New York Times
, August 8, 1987. Dr. Martin Kramer’s long and thorough investigation of the 1987 Mecca tragedy concluded: “The available evidence indicates that a group of undisciplined Iranian pilgrims, acting under the influence of at least one provocative statement by a leading Iranian official, wished to enter the Great Mosque as demonstrators. Saudi security authorities, who had been alerted to this possibility but lacked self-confidence in the face of provocation, employed deadly force to thwart the Iranian crowd.” Martin Kramer,
Arab Awakening and Islamic Revival
(New Brunswick, NJ: Transaction, 1996), pp. 166-87.

103
“remain independent”:
Hassan Al-Saffar, interview with author, Qateef, June 7, 2007.

103
“their games”:
Jaffar Shayeb, interview with author, Qateef, January 30, 2007.

103
“They do not rule”:
Hassan Al-Saffar, interview with author, Qateef, June 7, 2007.

103
“one chicken per month”:
Ali Al-Marzouq, interview with author, Al-Khobar, January 27 2007.