Letter to Ambassador of Saudi Arabia Prince Bandar Bin Sultan Bin Abdul Aziz

July 31, 2003
Prince Bandar Bin Sultan Bin Abdul Aziz
Ambassador of Saudi Arabia
601 New Hampshire Avenue, NW
Washington, DC 20037

Dear Prince Bandar:

I am writing to request that Prince Nayef bin Abdel Aziz, the Interior Minister of Saudi Arabia, be relieved immediately of his responsibilities for overseeing Saudi Arabia's efforts to investigate and apprehend terrorists and people who support them.

According to numerous statements made by Saudi public officials, your nation is apparently one of the United States' strongest partners in the war on terror. Senior Saudi Foreign Policy Advisor Abdel al-Jubeir has said that when it comes to fighting terrorism, Saudi Arabia and the United States are "in this together." You have echoed his comments, saying that Saudi Arabia "has nothing to hide" about 9-11.

Unfortunately, the actions taken by your nation's government seem to undermine this strident public diplomacy. There is perhaps no better example of this than Prince Nayef, the top counterterror official in Saudi Arabia, who has a well documented history of suborning terrorist financing and ignoring the evidence when it comes to investigating terrorist attacks on Americans.

As you are aware, Prince Nayef oversees the Saudi Committee for the Support of the Al Quds Intifadah, which, like Saddam Hussein, has provided families of Palestinian suicide bombers with millions of dollars through specially designated bank accounts. According to the Saudi daily the Arab News, a single telethon held last year raised about $112 million for this purpose. Last November, Prince Nayef told Ain-Al-Yageen, another Saudi newspaper, that Zionists were responsible for the 9-11 attacks despite that fact that Saudi Arabia has admitted that 15 of the 19 hijackers were Saudis. In addition, Prince Nayef has single-handedly prevented the trial of 13 Saudis indicted for killing 19 Americans in the bombing of the Khobar Towers by refusing to turn the men over to the United States.

If we are to defeat the extremists that target our two nations, we must work together as equal partners. Prince Nayef's previous behavior and comments does not inspire American confidence and undermines any credibility he and Saudi Arabia have as allies in the war on terror. I request that he be removed from any involvement in this endeavor immediately.

Sincerely,

Charles Schumer
U.S. Senator