Inside the Kingdom (71 page)

237
directorate practice:
Some informed Saudi accounts of the tragedy maintain that the fatalities stemmed simply from the school gates being kept locked.

237
guardians of their morality:
Arab News
, March 14, 2002, cited on BBC News website, March 15, 2002. 238
“hands to beat us”:
Ibid.

238
“Directorate of Girls’ Education”:
Qenan Al-Ghamdi, interview with author, Jeddah, September 12, 2006.

238
“get revenge”:
Said Al-Surehi, interview with author, Jeddah, October 31, 2006.

239
Norah Al-Fayez:
Arab News
, February 15, 2009.

239
dangerous “atheist”:
Mohammed Al-Rasheed, interview with author, Riyadh, September 20, 2006.

240
“no ethics”:
Ibid.

240
“girls educated”:
Abdullah Obaid, interview with author, Riyadh, February 26, 2006.

240
University of Oklahoma:
Mohammed Al-Rasheed had studied in Indiana to gain his Ph.D.

240
Al-Aghar:
Prince Faisal bin Abdullah’s think tank took its title from its first meeting in the Riyadh equestrian club of that name. It has produced a number of cultural and economic reports in addition to its work on the knowledge-based society. Author conversation with Fahd Abu-Alnasr, February 17, 2009.

241
poisonous text messages:
Mansour Al-Nogaidan, interview with author, Ajman, November 10, 2007.

241
“seventy-five lashes”:
Mansour Al-Nogaidan, e-mail to author, September 22, 2008.

242
“humiliating punishment”:
http://www.nytimes.com/2003/11/28/opinion/28MANS.html
.

242
“price of reforms”:
Ibid.

244
“come to kill you!”:
Gardner, p. 271.

244
death toll that night:
New York Times
, May 14, 2003. Also Saudi Press Agency, June 7, 2003.

245
battle to the Al-Saud:
Thomas Hegghammer, “Islamist Violence and Regime Stability in Saudi Arabia,”
International Affairs
84, no, 4 (July 2008), p. 709.

245
Riyadh black market:
Douglas Baldwin, interview with author, Riyadh, March 5, 2007.

245
by memorizing the Koran:
The concept of halving a prisoner’s sentence if he memorized the Koran was introduced in 1979 by General Yahya Al-Muallimi, director general of Saudi prisons, who felt that religious education was a good way to reform convicted criminals.

245
bloodthirsty exploits:
Frank Gardner, interview with author, London, March 3, 2008.

246
authorized the location:
Frank Gardner, e-mail to author, November 10, 2008.

246
drew out a gun:
These paragraphs are based on an interview with Frank Gardner in London on March 3, 2008, and on the account in his book
Blood and Sand
.

246
bullet in his leg:
Gardner, p. 26.

246
“pure hatred and fanaticism”:
Ibid., p. 27.

246
feeling the bullets:
Ibid., p. 28.

247
killed or captured:
Saudi embassy, Washington, D.C., Press Release of April 11, 2005.
www.saudiembassy.net
.

247
not sufficiently trained:
Gardner, pp. 269, 270.

248
“Bin Laden’s ‘own goal’ ”:
David Rundell, interview with author, March 6, 2007.

249
“people of the caves”:
Mohammed Al-Harbi, interview with author, Riyadh, February 13, 2007.

250
dream of a better place:
Hussein Shobokshi, “The Dream,”
Okaz
, May 30, 2003.

251
no less than 40 percent:
Arab News
, December 11, 2007.

252
could only be a Sufi:
The Maliki family of Mecca have a large following in the Hijaz and throughout the Muslim world, especially in Indonesia, where millions of people follow their teachings and practice Sufism in their tradition.

252
“Know your limits”:
“Shobokshi Article Provokes Vibrant Debate,”
Arab News
, July 16, 2003.

253
“simply vanished”:
Khaled Al-Hubayshi, interview with author, Jeddah, April 19, 2008.

254
“over the horizon to die”:
Khaled Al-Hubayshi, interview with author, Jeddah, May 12, 2008.

254
“They shackled us”:
Ibid.

254
“ ‘Cuba?’ ” I said:
Khaled Al-Hubayshi, interview with author, April 19, 2008.

254
137 Saudis detained:
“List of Individuals Detained by the Department of Defense at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba, from January 2002 through May 15, 2006,”
http://www.defenselink.mil/news/May2006/d20060515%20List.pdf
.

257
“a virus in the brain”:
Mohammed bin Nayef, interview with author, Riyadh, March 7, 2007.

257
“transform each detainee”:
Ibid.

257
“a sort of Saudi Guantánamo”:
Mohammed bin Nayef, interview with author, Riyadh, February 3, 2009.

258
went to Yemen:
“Saudi Suspects Seeking to Revive Al-Qaeda,”
Khaleej Times
, February 8, 2009.

258
eighty-five radical young Saudis:
“Eighty-five on Wanted List of Militants,”
Saudi Gazette
, February 3, 2009.

258
“Whoever wins society”:
Mohammed bin Nayef, interview with author, Riyadh, February 3, 2009.

259
the phone call:
Talal Al-Zahrani, interview with author, Taif, July 27, 2006.

259
“duty to God”:
Talal Al-Zahrani, interview with author, Jeddah, July 16, 2006.

259
captured alongside Yasser:
“Abu Fawwaz,” interview with author, Jeddah, January 22, 2007.

260
misled his interrogators:
Summary of Evidence for Combatant Status Review Tribunal—Al-Zahrani, Yasser, September 24, 2004, no. 000149, unclassified.

260
“committed suicide”:
See Wikipedia, “Guantánamo Suicide Attempts” for a comprehensive survey of the press coverage of the suicides. Also “U.S. Group Sues Pentagon over 2 Guantánamo Suicides—Claims Filed on Behalf of Relatives,” Associated Press in
International Herald Tribune
, June 11, 2008; Carol J. Williams, “Covering Gitmo,”
Los Angeles Times
, June 18, 2006; Michael Melia, “Saudi Arabian Guantánamo Detainee Dies in Apparent Suicide,”
San Diego Union Tribune
, May 31, 2007.

260
“entrance to hell”:
“Abu Fawwaz,” interview with author, Jeddah, January 22, 2007.

261
larynx had been removed:
Final Autopsy Report on Al Zahrani, Yasir T., 02 August 2006, Armed Forces Institute of Pathology, Naval Hospital, Guantánamo Bay, Cuba. This report describes the larynx as “lined by intact white mucosa.”

262
“three thousand lies”:
Talal Al-Zahrani, telephone conversation with Hala Al-Houti, November 26, 2008.

262
“a coordinated suicide pact”:
Andy Worthington, “Guantánamo Suicide Report: Truth or Travesty?” Web report on
Antiwar.com
, the Huffington Post, Counter-Punch, Znet, and AlterNet.

262
“my son’s handwriting”:
Talal Al-Zahrani, telephone conversation with Hala Al-Houti, November 26, 2008.

262
like a corpse:
Hala Al-Houti, interview with author, Taif, July 27, 2006.

264
“The Angel of Death”:
Off the record, August 2006.

265
new private jet:
Information from a senior pilot with Saudia, April 2, 2008. Confirmed by a senior member of the royal family.

265
required to pay:
Saudi journalist, Jeddah, July 2006.

265
“same schedule”:
Off-the-record interview, December 2008.

266
chlorinated water vapor:
From a member of Abdullah’s inner circle.

266
poolside ponderings:
From one of Abdullah’s advisers

266
intellectual dimension:
Dr. Majid Al-Moneef, interview with author, November 18, 2008.

266
Al-Jabri . . . Arkoun:
Ibid.

267
“Eid Al Adha . . . Eid Al Fitr”:
http://www.2eids.com/introduction_to_eid.php
.

268
“nonroyal Saudis”:
Defeated candidate, interview with author, Al-Khobar, April 2007.

268
Saudi voting craze:
Abdullah interview with
Le Monde,
reprinted in Saudi-U.S. Relations Information Service (SUSRIS),
www.saudi-us-relations.org.
, April 14, 2005, p. 2.

269
“Allegiance Council”:
Abdullah personally worked out the role and mechanisms of the council, according to a senior member of the royal family.

269
nomination for crown prince:
“Saudi Arabia Issues Rules for Succession Council,” Reuters, October 9, 2007.

269
“We should do it now”:
Information provided to the author by a senior member of the royal family.

270
news of the council’s creation:
Information from a local journalist who covered the story.

270
television viewers:
Mohammed Saeed Tayeb interview with author, Jeddah, November 27, 2008.

270
Allegiance Council met:
P. K. Abdul Ghafour, “Mishaal Named Allegiance Commission Chairman,”
Arab News
, December 11, 2007.

270
late father’s vote:
Description from a member of the Allegiance Commission.

271
“the principle of tolerance”:
Remarks by King Abdullah bin Abdul Aziz at the United Nations “Culture of Peace” Conference, New York, November 12, 2008.

271
“respect the opinions”:
Arab News
, June 23, 2003.

271
“institutions of civil society”:
Abdullah interview with
Le Monde,
reprinted in SUSRIS, April 14, 2005, p. 2.

272
rocketed in three years:
Weston, p. 483.

272
improvement was tangible:
See Country Tables in World Bank,
Doing Business 2009
(London: Palgrave Macmillan, 2008).

273
eighteen million natives:
The CIA’s
World Factbook
is one of several sources that estimates the Saudi population at around 28 million in July 2008, with 5.5 million legal nonnationals.

273
13 percent of GDP:
Henny Sender, “What the U.S. Can Learn from Saudi Arabia,”
Financial Times
, February 6, 2009.

273
$513 billion:
Saudi Arabian Monetary Authority figures in “GCC Sovereign Funds: Reversal of Fortune,” by Brad Setser and Rachel Ziemba, Working Paper, Center for Geoeconomic Studies, Council on Foreign Relations, January 2009, p. 2.

275
“do not exist”:
Suzanne Al-Mashhadi, “I am Black and You are White,”
Al-Hayat,
February 22, 2007.

275
“good at being ready to die”:
Khaled Bahaziq, interview with author, Jeddah, December 9, 2006.

277
“Unconditional love”:
Ibid.

277
“crazy about him”:
“Mashael,” telephone interview, January 29, 2008, and meeting, February 11, 2008.

278
Saudi female campuses:
Numerous Saudi women.

281
“Is She a Disgrace?”:
Arab News
, October 10, 2008.

281
“euphemisms”:
Ibid
.

282
“cherished his wives”:
Hadith 170, book 73, narrated by Anas bin Malik: “The Prophet came to some of his wives among whom there was Umm Sulaim, and said, ‘May Allah be merciful to you, O Anjasha! Drive the camels slowly, as they are carrying glass vessels!’ ”

282
pictures of Muhannad:
Faiza Saleh Ambah, “A Subversive Soap Roils Saudi Arabia,”
Washington Post
, August 3, 2008.

282
condemning the show:
http://www.ammaro.com/2008/07/divorces-tv-shows-fatwas.htm
.

282
“call for corruption”:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/1/hi/world/middle_east/7613575.stm
.

282
oldest Islamic scholar:
“Al-Laheedan Raps Distortion of Remarks,”
Arab News
, September 13, 2008.

284
“This is royalty”:
From a member of the Crawford Ranch gathering.

284
appealed to Bush:
Ibid.

284
“a man I can trust”:
Ibid.

285
“two men of faith”:
Ibid.

285
several thousand translations:
Arab News
, April 22, 2002.

285
peace proposal:
Thomas L. Friedman, “An Intriguing Signal from the Saudi Crown Prince,”
New York Times
, February 17, 2002.

285
“some authentic sampling”:
Adviser to Abdullah, interview with author, Riyadh, February 2007.

285
scrapbook of news photographs:
Glenn Kessler and Karen DeYoung, “Saudis Publicly Get Tough With U.S.,”
Washington Post
, March 30, 2007.

286
Kinko’s:
Recollection of a Saudi official who helped collate the photo album.

286
“empty-handed”:
And previous sentences. Recollection of an official present at the meeting.

286
“playing games?”:
Robert Jordan, Interview with the author, Washington, DC, May 1, 2007.

286
voices grew so loud:
DeYoung, p. 386.

286
“in peace and security”:
http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2002
/06/20020 624-3.html.

287
talking “past each other”:
Ottaway, p. 237.

287
“aligned with U.S. interests”:
Michael Schwartz, “When Success Is Failure in Iraq,” September 10, 2008,
http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Middle_East/JI10Ak01.html
.

287
“An American-led overthrow”:
Ibid.

287
“hit Saddam Hussein”:
National Commission on Terrorist Attacks,
(“9/11 Report”),
p. 335.

287
possible Iraqi links:
Clarke cited in National Commission on Terrorist Attacks
(“9/11 Report”),
p. 334.

288
“no legal basis for it”:
Bill Sammon, “Saudis Want Inspections, Not Iraq Attack,”
Washington Times
, August 28, 2002.

288
sent back to Riyadh:
Thomas E. Ricks, “Briefing Depicts Saudis as Enemies,”
Washington Post
, August 6, 2002. For details of the twenty-four slides, see Jack Shafer, “The PowerPoint That Rocked the Pentagon,”
Slate
, August 7, 2002,
http://www.slate.com/id/2069119/
.

289
“the kernel of evil”:
Ibid.

289
“Saudis cooperate fully”:
Thomas E. Ricks, “Briefing Depicts Saudis as Enemies,”
Washington Post
, August 6, 2002.

289
aggressive views:
Murawiec, book jacket quotations.

289
neoconservative strategy:
Thomas E. Ricks, “Briefing Depicts Saudis as Enemies,”
Washington Post
, August 6, 2002.

289
“allies for over sixty years”:
Ibid.

289
“The answer is no”:
Dana Milbank and Glenn Kessler, “Bush Moves to Ease Tensions with Saudis,”
Washington Post
, August 28, 2002.

290
Saddam crashing down:
Ottaway, p. 214. See also Elsa Walsh, “The Prince,”
New Yorker
, March 24, 2003.

290
have him assassinated:
Ottaway, p. 214.

290
“utter nonsense . . . Saudi policy”:
Information from a long-standing professional colleague of Prince Bandar’s, Jeddah, November 26, 2008.

290
“a de facto member”:
Ottaway, p. 214.

290
briefed Bandar:
Woodward, pp. 264-266.

291
Two . . . wives . . . Shammar:
Information from a member of the royal court, December 2008.

291
“cut and run”:
Personal opinion of a senior Saudi diplomat involved in the U.S.-Saudi communications in these years.

291
air base at al-Kharj:
Thomas E. Ricks, “American Way of War in Saudi Desert,”
Washington Post
, January 7, 2003.

291
undercover operations:
Rowan Scarborough, “U.S. to Pull Forces from Saudi Arabia,”
Washington Times
, April 30, 2003.