Anthony Summers - The Eleventh Day

15 75 royals/Caesars Palace:Las Vegas to Counterterrorism, 9/25/01, FBI documents obtained under FOIA by Judicial Watch;

16 One of OBL’s brothers:Unger, 7;

17 more than 20:e.g., re International Flight 441 from Boston, 9/17/03, “Ryan Air folder,” B70, T5, CF;

18 Prince Ahmed/yearling:Jason Levin, From the Desert to the Derby , NY: Daily Racing Form Press, 2002, 1, 15, Unger, 7, 255–;

19 unable to charter/flight on 13th:MFR of Dan Grossi, “Dan Grossi, Tampa-Lexington Flight,” B70, T5, CF, “his father or his uncle”:ibid., Unger, 9;

20 Bandar statement:press release, 9/12/01, www.saudiembassy.net;

21 Bush appointment/​welcomed/​cigars:Unger, 7, William Simpson, 315, New Yorker , 3/24/03;

22 assistant rang/Watson/Clarke:int. of Bandar, Meet the Press , 4/24/04, Staff Report, 9/11 & Terrorist Travel, 171–, MFR 04019823, 6/3/04, CR, 557, Shenon, 287;

23 photo published:Woodward, State of Denial , facing p. 274;

24 “not inclined”:corr. Jodie Steck, George W. Bush Presidential Library, 2011.

25 Florida/Kentucky flight:e.g., Unger, 7–. The confusion about the Tampa charter persisted in part because the FBI accepted, even after having been challenged by journalists, a secondhand report that Prince Ahmed’s son and his friends had driven rather than flown to Lexington, and because the Bureau’s own reports reflected confusion as to when U.S. airspace reopened to charter flights (Final Draft of response to October 2003 Vanity Fair article, “Saudi Flights,” B68, T5, CF, The Saudi Flights—A Summary, “Saudi Flights,” B6, Dan Marcus Files, CF, CTD to Counterterrorism, 9/24/03, FBI 265A-NY-280350, serial 1234567890, Vanity Fair , 10/03).

26 after airspace open:FAA Notices to Airmen [NOTAM], 1/9817, 1/9832, 1/9853, www.aopa.org, corr. Laura Brown, FAA. The records show that U.S. airspace was open to almost all aircraft—including charter flights—as of 11:00 A.M.EDT on September 13. The exception was for “general aviation” flights—which, contrary to previous reporting, did not include charters such as the Tampa flight. In any event, the Tampa-to-Lexington flight took off at approximately 4:30 P.M.

27 on their way home:Staff Report, 9/11 & Terrorist Travel, 171–, 270n49/50;

28 charter:Judicial Watch press release, 6/20/07, Counterterrorism to Boston, 9/21/01, FBI 265A-NY-280350, serial 1652;

29 watchlist:CR, 558, n31;

30 most not interviewed:CR, 557n28. It has been reported that one of those interviewed was Prince Ahmed, but there is no evidence of such an interview in FBI files thus far released (The Saudi Flights—A Summary, “Saudi Flights,” B6, Dan Marcus Files, CF).

31 agents interviewed family/Omar:FBI 302s of ints. Bin Laden family members 9/13–24/01 (inc. Omar Awadh), all in “Ryan Air folder,” B70, T5, CF.

32 Omar shared/briefly investigated:Coll, The Bin Ladens , 483–, 526–, Brisard & Dasquie, 176–, WP , 10/2/03. The group, of which Abdullah bin Laden was listed as president, was the World Assembly of Muslim Youth, or WAMY. The U.S. branch was operated by Abdullah, according to The Washington Post , until 9/11. Though it has been reported that Abdullah was on a flight with Saudis on board that departed on September 20—Ryan International 441—his name is not on the passenger list supplied by the charter company (Coll, 483–, WP , 10/2/03, passenger list in “Saudi Flights, FBI Docs., 3 of 4,” B70, T5, CF, Staff Report, 9/11 & Terrorist Travel, 272n94).

33 “Although”: NYT , 3/27/05;

34 “there is the existence”:CNN, 9/4/03. The reference is to the brother of Adel al Jubeir, mentioned earlier in this chapter ( Washington Report on Middle East Affairs , 11/07).

35 public relations firms/Another firm:The firms initially hired were Burson Marsteller and Qorvis Communications. Patton Boggs was used for the contacts with Congress. On one infamous occasion, Saudi PR maneuvers misfired. New York mayor Giuliani handed back a $10 million donation made to the Twin Towers Fund by Prince Alwaleed bin Talal in light of the press release the prince’s staff distributed following the presentation. It read: “We must address some of the issues that led to such a criminal attack. I believe the government of the United States of America should re-examine its policies in the Middle East and adopt a more balanced stance toward the Palestinian cause.… Our Palestinian brethren continue to be slaughtered at the hands of the Israelis while the world turns the other cheek.” This caused outrage in the United States. Prince Alwaleed, however, has also said: “You have to ask the simple question. Why fifteen Saudis? You can’t just say it happened by coincidence. Clearly, there’s something wrong with the way of thinking here [in Saudi Arabia], with the way people are raised” (PR firms: New Internationalist , 3/1/02, “Terrorism to End Terrorism,” fall 2001, www.prwatch.org, WP , 3/21/02, Washington Times , 12/9/04, Gold, 193; Alwaleed: Arab News , 10/14/01; Irish Times , 8/3/09, Giuliani, 374–).

36 “We feel what”:transcript, Larry King , CNN, 10/1/01;

37 Abdullah to ranch/“Yes, I”:Lacey, Inside the Kingdom , 284–, Suskind, One Percent Doctrine , 104–, Remarks by the President After Meeting with Crown Prince Abdullah, 4/25/02, posted at www.globalsecurity.org, Fox News, 4/26/02.

38 “probably” stolen: BG , 9/15/01. The spokesman, Gaafar Allagany, was to say on September 19 that two men with the same names as those of two hijackers, a Salem al-Hazmi and an Abdulaziz al-Omari, had indeed had their passports stolen over the past few years. The two cases cited by Allagany turned out to be cases of mistaken identity—there is no evidence the passports of hijackers Hazmi or Omari had been stolen. On the issue of hijackers’ identity, see also Ch. 14 and its related Notes (WP, 9/20/01, 10/7/01, Telegraph [U.K.], 9/23/01).

39 “most people”:int. of Hatoon al Fassi for Frontline: “House of Saud,” www.pbs.org;

40 “There is no proof”:Gold, 185, citing Al Hayat , 10/23/01;

41 “another power”: NYT , 10/23/01;

42 Naif/“The names”: USA Today , 2/6/02;

43 “It is enough”:Lacey, Inside the Kingdom , 231;

44 “Zionists”/“we put big”:AP, 12/5/02 citing int. Naif by Al Siyasa (Kuwait), ’Ain al Yaqeen , 11/29/02 citing same int.;

45 “We’re getting”: LAT , 10/13/01;

46 “They knew”: New Yorker , 10/16/01;

47 not allowed access: Philadelphia Inquirer , 7/30/03;

48 “dribble out”: NYT , 12/27/01.

49 blocked attempts: U.S. News & World Report , 1/6/02, Suskind, One Percent Doctrine , 109. A State Department spokesman, Richard Boucher, had said in November that Saudi Arabia had been “prominent among the countries acting against the accounts of terrorist organizations … in compliance with UN Security Council Resolution 1333.” The following month, however, following a visit to Saudi Arabia by Treasury Department assets control chief Richard Newcombe, it was reported that the Saudis “had balked at freezing bank accounts Washington said were linked to terrorists.” Working with the Saudis had apparently been “like pulling teeth” (Boucher: State Department briefing, 11/27/01, http://usinfo.org; Newcombe: U.S. News & World Report , 1/6/02).