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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