Saudis Blast Moore For Twisting Truth In His Documentary

Saudi royal family lambasts Michael Moore for twisting the truth in his 9/11
film
(Filed: 01/08/2004)

In an exclusive interview, Prince Turki al-Faisal tells Con Coughlin why the
US film-maker is so wrong

The Saudi royal family has launched a bitter attack on the American
film-maker Michael Moore over his claims that the Bush administration
secretly smuggled a number of high-ranking Saudi nationals out of the US in
the immediate aftermath of the September 11 attacks.
 

Prince Turki al-Faisal: Saudi Arabian ambassador to the UK

In the first official comment by the Saudi royal family on Moore's
controversial film Fahrenheit 9/11, a leading member of the family said his
country has been fully exonerated of any complicity in the attacks by the
report of the 9/11 commission.

Prince Turki al-Faisal, the Saudi Arabian ambassador to London and a
half-brother of Crown Prince Abdullah, was in charge of Saudi intelligence
at the time of the 2001 terror attacks. He said that Moore had failed to
carry out adequate research into his controversial claims that the Saudis
were involved with Osama bin Laden, the al-Qa'eda leader, in the build-up to
the 9/11 atrocity.

'It would have been far better if Michael Moore had been able to read the
9/11 report before he made his film. It shows that all the protocols were
strictly observed.' Because Moore had not thoroughly researched the
allegations levelled against Saudi Arabia, Prince Turki said that Fahrenheit
9/11 is 'grossly unfair' to the Saudis.

In his film, Moore claims that the Bush administration helped a number of
Saudi princes and members of the bin Laden family to flee the United States
immediately after the attacks at a time when American air space had been
closed to all commercial air traffic. Moore implies that the Saudis were
smuggled out of the country to cover up their involvement in the terror
attacks.

Prince Turki said these claims have now been completely refuted in the
report compiled by the US commission of inquiry into the 9/11 attacks, which
was published at the end of last month.

In a section headed 'Flights of Saudi Nationals Leaving the United States',
the report found 'no evidence that any flights of Saudi nationals, domestic
or international, took place before the reopening of national airspace on
the morning of September 13, 2001'. The report also concludes that it found
no evidence of political interference by the White House, and states that
those Saudis who did leave the US on charter flights in the days following
the attacks had been thoroughly vetted by FBI agents.

Prince Turki said Moore could have found this out for himself before he made
the film, but he 'chose to speculate' rather than establish what really
happened.

'Michael Moore made a request to visit Saudi Arabia and we granted him a
visa, but he never came,' said Prince Turki in an interview with The
Telegraph. 'He missed an important opportunity to find out key facts. In my
opinion he should have made every effort to go to a country he has taken to
task so heavily in his film.'

Prince Turki said there was a perfectly reasonable explanation for the
decision to fly home a number of prominent Saudis in the days following the
attacks.

'They were allowed to leave because everyone recognised that anyone with the
name bin Laden might have a hard time with the American public after the
terror attacks,' he said.

Far from assisting al-Qa'eda, Prince Turki said that the Saudis thought they
were the most likely target of a devastating terrorist attack by bin Laden's
organisation, and the country had been placed on its highest state of alert
since the summer of 2001.

'We thought that bin Laden was planning to attack us, not America. Therefore
it was not exactly in our interests for us to support bin Laden's
organisation.'

Prince Turki insisted that Saudi Arabia has been a key ally in Washington's
long-running campaign against bin Laden's organisation.

In 1998 he travelled to Afghanistan to meet Mullah Omar, the Taliban leader,
to persuade him to evict bin Laden. At first Mullah Omar agreed, but later
reneged on his promise.

'The second time I saw him our meeting ended in something of a shouting
match,' said Prince Turki.

The Saudi security forces are currently involved in an intensive operation
to track down the last remnants of an al-Qa'eda cell that has been
responsible for a number of devastating terror attacks in the kingdom.

'We have made significant progress in fighting al-Qa'eda in Saudi Arabia,'
he said. 'Of the 26 known al-Qa'eda hardliners in the kingdom, we have
killed or captured more than half of them.'

Prince Turki said that the Saudis were also keen to help stabilise the
situation in Iraq. 'Much of the equipment we have seized during raids on
al-Qa'eda cells has come from Iraq,' he said.

'There is no doubt that as a result of the Iraq war it is easier for
al-Qa'eda to sell their point of view to potential recruits. Al-Qa'eda has
become stronger and more active since the Iraq conflict.'

To counter this the Saudi government last week proposed setting up a Muslim
peacekeeping force that would assist the interim Iraqi government to defeat
the insurgents.

'We are making every effort to assist the new Iraqi government to establish
itself. We want Iraq to be a positive influence on the region. We do not
want it to be disruptive and negative as it was under Saddam Hussein.'

23 July 2004: 9/11 report condemns 'failure of imagination'
9 July 2004[Arts]: Moore goes on the warpath
4 July 2004: Republicans fight back against Moore with 'conservative Cannes'
28 June 2004: Anti-Bush film sets record at box office
1 September 2003: Saudi princes 'linked' to bin Laden
3 August 2003: Saddam, Osama and me [interview with Prince Turki al-Faisal]
Related reports  
 
Saudi Arabia factfile
 
September 11 factfile
 

External links  
 
Factual back-up for Fahrenheit 9/11 - Michael Moore
 
Royal Embassy of Saudi Arabia in London
 
National Commission on Terrorist Attacks upon the United States
 
http://www.911Truth.org