( OT ) The Saudis' special U.S. flight privileges
 

The Saudis' special U.S. flight privileges

Though the Bush White House has previously asserted that
flights evacuating Saudi nationals from the United States
just after 9/11 never took place, it may want to have a look
at some documents made public today
(http://www.houseofbush.com./files.php) on the web site of
journalist and author Craig Unger. The documents obtained by
Unger and discussed in his new book "House of Bush, House of
Saud,"
(http://www.salon.com/books/feature/2...r_1/index.html)
contain four passenger lists drawn up by the Saudi embassy
for flights that were part of a White House-sanctioned
evacuation just days after the terrorist attacks, when U.S.
air space was still highly restricted.

The Bush family's deep ties with the Saudi royal family are
no secret. But while the evacuations may have been allowed
by the White House for fear of retribution against Saudis
inside the U.S. -- especially once the American public
learned that 15 of the 19 Sept. 11 hijackers were their
fellow countrymen -- some national security experts believe
that vital intelligence may have flown away with the group.
According to former counter-terrorism director Richard
Clarke's testimony before the 9/11 Commission last week, the
FBI, perhaps under pressure from somewhere inside the Bush
administration, declined to interrogate any of the Saudis
being evacuated -- apparently the Bureau didn't see a need
to question any of the people whose names appeared on the
passenger lists.

But on one flight list is Prince Ahmed bin Salman, best
known as a horse racing aficionado and owner of the Kentucky
Derby winner War Emblem -- but who also allegedly had ties
to al-Qaida, and, according to journalists Unger and Gerald
Posner, may even have had advance knowledge of the 9/11
attacks. In 2002, Prince Ahmed reportedly died of a sudden
heart attack at the age of 43, back inside Saudi Arabia.

For more on the controversy about whether some members of
the Saudi royal family may have known about 9/11 in advance,
click here.
http://www.salon.com/news/feature/20...dis/index.html

-- Mark Follman