(TIME) Johanna McGeary - Zubaidah, writes Posner, said the Saudi connection ran through Prince Turki al-Faisal bin Abdul Aziz, the kingdom's longtime intelligence chief. Zubaidah said bin Laden "personally" told him of a 1991 meeting at which Turki agreed to let bin Laden leave Saudi Arabia and to provide him with secret funds as long as al-Qaeda refrained from promoting jihad in the kingdom. The Pakistani contact, high-ranking air force officer Mushaf Ali Mir, entered the equation, Zubaidah said, at a 1996 meeting in Pakistan also attended by Zubaidah. Bin Laden struck a deal with Mir, then in the military but tied closely to Islamists in Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence, to get protection, arms, and supplies for al-Qaeda. Zubaidah told interrogators bin Laden said the arrangement was "blessed by the Saudis."
2003-09-01 00:00:00Full ArticleBACK Visit the Daily Alert Archive