Turki to Replace Bandar as Ambassador in Washington

[ElsewheresDaughter]

http://www.arabnews.com/?page=1§ion=0&article=67285&d=21&m=7&y=2005



RIYADH, 21 July 2005 — The Saudi ambassador to Washington, Prince Bandar ibn Sultan, has resigned from office after serving his country for two decades, a statement from the Foreign Ministry carried by the Saudi Press Agency said yesterday.

“After the long years served by Prince Bandar ibn Sultan as the ambassador for the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to the United States — which has exceeded 20 years and during which he served his religion, country, and the king — he has asked Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Fahd to be relieved from his post due to personal reasons,” the statement said.

The statement added that the king had accepted his resignation.

“Confirming the king’s trust in Prince Turki Al-Faisal, ambassador of Saudi Arabia to the United Kingdom and Northern Ireland, the king has nominated him as the new ambassador of the Kingdom to the United States,” it added.

Prince Turki thanked King Fahd and Crown Prince Abdullah for the new appointment. “I am proud of this confidence of the Saudi leadership in me,” he said and hoped that he would be able to represent the Kingdom and its interests in the US in the best manner.

“I am aware of the great responsibility given the importance of Saudi-US relations,” he said and commended Prince Bandar’s efforts in strengthening these strategic ties.

On his part, Prince Bandar thanked the Saudi leadership for their continued support throughout his long career in Washington. He also thanked the diplomats and other staff who worked with him.

He said Prince Turki was the right person to take up the post left by him. “He is the right person, in the right place and at the right time,” he said. During his 39 years of government service, Prince Bandar had also worked for the armed force

<snip>
Al-Kurdi said that Prince Bandar was gifted by having the knowledge of Washington and was known for his ability not just to follow events but to analyze them.

“He provided services not only to Saudi Arabia, but to the Arab cause and to the Palestinian cause,” he said, adding that “he was well-informed and well-connected”.

[Greeby]

1. Hmm

Think Bandar Bush knows something we don't? :hide:

[wli]

2. of course he does

[Wetzelbill]

3. hmmm..... bringing in the former head of Saudi Intelligence

Interesting. He may be a fundie too. I've heard in mentioned anyway. :tinfoilhat:

[54anickel]

4. Turki Al-Faisal?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Turki_al_Faisal

A member of the Saudi Royal Family, Turki held the position of Chief of the Foreign Intelligence Service for 25 years, until shortly before the Sept 11th Attacks. He was replaced due to his inability to capture bin Laden, or deliver him into a trap set by the US. He had met with bin Laden several times during the 1980s hoping to convince him to lead an army in Afghanistan against the Soviets

After Saudi Arabia backed the first Gulf War, bin Laden became a vocal opponent and enemy of the Royal Family, who revoked his Saudi citizenship in 1994. From this point on it became unclear of Turki's relationship with bin Laden. Some sources say that he helped finance bin Laden's followers who in turn agreed not to attack or destabilise Saudi Arabia; other theories state that he was secretly negotiating with Mullah Mohammad Omar, leader of the Afghani Taliban, to have bin Laden turned over. Yet another theory holds that Turki was simply a victim of a complex power struggle that pitted Prince Nayef against the Crown Prince Abdullah.

In 2002, Turki was named ambassador to the United Kingdom and Ireland. Since becoming ambassador he has kept a relatively low profile while remaining seemingly open with the media.


Quote: "No matter how exalted the aims of the U.S. in the war, in the final analysis it was a colonial war very similar to the wars conducted by the ex-colonial powers when they went out to conquer the rest of the world."

Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Turki_al_Faisal"

[eridani]

5. Other fun factoids about Prince Turki

http://www.newyorker.com/fact/content/?011112fa_FACT3

Cannistraro believes that Prince Turki made two trips to meet with bin Laden, although he said that he was unaware of any role played by Osama's mother. He also said that he had been able to verify independently that on one of the trips the Saudis made "a large monetary offer" to bin Laden, consisting of tens of millions of dollars, if he would agree to end his murderous political rebellion.


http://www.madcowprod.com/GnG/Shaikh.html

United Press International September 5, 2001:
The disastrous head of Saudi intelligence, Prince Turki al-Faisal... has a dangerous soft spot for the Taliban and is seen by American and British intelligence as too close to the notorious Osama bin-Laden for comfort, let his anti-Western biases show in the way he ran the investigations into the bombing campaign against Westerners in the kingdom. The prince sought to present the bombings as a Mafia-style war between corrupt British and other Western merchants of illicit alcohol, despite considerable evidence that fundamentalists were involved, some of them with alleged connections to Prince Turki's own organization. Wiser councils have now prevailed, thanks to discreet American pressure. Prince Turki has been sacked by King Fahd, and replaced Prince Nawaf bin-Abdul Aziz.


http://www.propagandamatrix.com/saudis_paid_bin_laden_200m.htm

SENIOR members of the Saudi royal family paid at least £200m to Osama Bin Laden’s terror group and the Taliban in exchange for an agreement that his forces would not attack targets in Saudi Arabia, according to court documents.

A further meeting in Kandahar, Afghanistan, in July 1998 led to the deal between Saudi Arabia and the Taliban. Those present included Prince Turki al-Faisal al-Saud, then chief of the Istakhbarat, Taliban leaders, senior officers from Pakistan’s ISI secret service and Bin Laden.

Turki knew Bin Laden well, not just through family connections but because in the early 1980s he had hand-picked the young Saudi to organise Arab volunteers fighting the Russians in Afghanistan.

[iconoclastic cat]

6. Turki Bush? Is he made of plastic? n/t

[daleo]

7. Bush will have a big hug and smooch ready for this Turki

Saudi princes are some of his favorite people, when they walk hand in hand and whisper sweet oily nothings...