# Another al-Qaida/Saudi Connection **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [November 23, 2002, 8:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-al-qaida-saudi-connection/138386 "2002-11-23T20:52:30Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 12\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![minty\_green](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f6c823/32.png) [@minty\_green](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/minty_green)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2002, 4:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-al-qaida-saudi-connection/138386/41 "2002-11-25T16:14:18Z")
Sure. Pyongyang, Tehran, and Baghdad make for a vacation to remember! ---
**Author:** ![Jojo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ecd19e/32.png) [@Jojo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jojo)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2002, 4:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-al-qaida-saudi-connection/138386/42 "2002-11-25T16:23:48Z")
Um minty, isn’t that what DDG said? That binny hates America not that he wants to overthrow the Royal Family? Everyone seems to think that OBL hates the Saudi royal family but there’s not actually much real evidence for it. Of all the bombing campaigns al-Q has carried out around the world, none of them have actually targeted the Saudi government. Those bombing campaigns that have occured in Saudi itself have targeted westerners. Even if the royal family did fall, there is no way that OBL is gonna march back to Riyadh and declare himself the new President of the Islamic Republic of Arabia. Don’t you think America might have something to say about this? The new government would have to go out of their way to show that they have no links whatsoever to al-Q. As for the WTC bombers being Saudi, hmm. I seem to recall that most Saudis involved in al Q actually come from one very small region in Saudi (the same region OBL comes from). So there isn’t necessarily widespread support in Saudi for al-Q. I don’t buy the argument that the WTC attack was intended to harm the saudi royals. The reason for this attack was, as DDG says, because they hate America. I’m no fan of my own Royal family (UK) but if I wanted to instigate a terrorist campaign against them I wouldn’t blow up a building in Hicksville, Alabama and hope for some chain reaction effect to destroy the UK royal family. I think I’d be a bit more direct than that. So if OBL _does_ want to destroy the House of Saud, I don’t think it’s very high on his list of priorities since he doesn’t seem to have done anything much to further that plan. Hmm, where’s Collounsbury when you need him? ---
**Author:** ![CyberPundit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/76d3ee/32.png) [@CyberPundit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CyberPundit)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2002, 4:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-al-qaida-saudi-connection/138386/43 "2002-11-25T16:29:05Z")
In addition to what minty green says it’s relevant that Saudi Arabia has revoked Bin Laden’s Saudi citizenship. > **[MSNBC News - Breaking News and News Today | Latest News](https://www.msnbc.com/)** > > MSNBC breaking news and the latest news for today. Get daily news from local news reporters and world news updates with live audio & video from our team. “As a result of his opposition to the ruling Al Saud family, Saudi Arabia revoked his citizenship in 1994 and his family disavowed him, though some of his brothers have reportedly maintained contact” “But, can I still have Conde Nast in on the conspiracy?” Saudi Arabia does ban some Western products, of course, but far less than you seem to imagine. Mc Donald’s for instance. > **[Website Maintenance: Be Back Soon | McDonald’s](https://www.mcdonalds.com/us/en-us/errors/404.html)** > > Website Maintenance: Be Back Soon | McDonald’s ---
**Author:** ![minty\_green](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f6c823/32.png) [@minty\_green](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/minty_green)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2002, 4:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-al-qaida-saudi-connection/138386/44 "2002-11-25T16:35:27Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Jojo \* > Um minty, isn’t that what DDG said? That binny hates America not that he wants to overthrow the Royal Family? 'Fraid not, **Jojo**. From the FBI link above (emphasis added): > [@](#): > > Al-Qaeda opposed the United States for several reasons. First, the United States was regarded as an “infidel” because it was not governed in a manner consistent with the group’s extremist interpretation of Islam. Second, the United States was viewed as providing essential support for other “infidel” governments and institutions, **particularly the governments of Saudi Arabia and Egypt** , the nation of Israel and the United Nations organization, which were regarded as enemies of the group. Third, Al-Qaeda opposed the involvement of the United States armed forces in the Gulf War in 1991 and in Operation Restore Hope in Somalia in 1992 and 1993, which were viewed by Al-Qaeda as pretextual preparations for an American occupation of Islamic countries. In particular, Al-Qaeda opposed the continued presence of American military forces in Saudi Arabia (and elsewhere on the Saudi Arabian peninsula) following the Gulf War. Fourth, Al-Qaeda opposed the United States Government because of the arrest, conviction and imprisonment of persons belonging to Al-Qaeda or its affiliated terrorist groups or with whom it worked, including Sheik Omar Abdel Rahman, who was convicted in the first World Trade Center bombing. ---
**Author:** ![CyberPundit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/76d3ee/32.png) [@CyberPundit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CyberPundit)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2002, 4:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-al-qaida-saudi-connection/138386/45 "2002-11-25T16:36:01Z")
I don’t think that anyone is saying that 9-11 was done solely to damage the Saudi Royal family. But I think it’s reasonable to believe that specific tactical decisions like deciding to do it largely with Saudis were designed to damage the Saudi-American relationship which clearly is a major issue for Bin Laden. From the same article: “Particularly infuriating to him is America’s coziness with the Saudi Royal family since the Gulf War. But bin Laden’s first public “fatwah” came only after the Gulf War. Specifically, he railed against the presence of American and European troops on the soil of the Arabian peninsula, site of Islam’s holiest cities, Mecca and Medina.” ---
**Author:** ![minty\_green](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f6c823/32.png) [@minty\_green](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/minty_green)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2002, 4:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-al-qaida-saudi-connection/138386/46 "2002-11-25T16:43:30Z")
For the record, I think we’re back in the realm of speculation when you claim that so many of the hijackers were Saudis because al Qaeda wanted to damage U.S.-Saudi relations. There are all kinds of possible reasons why the hijackers ended up being Saudis, including the very basic reason that they already knew each other. The planning for 9/11 was rather decentralized, after all–it’s not like bin Laden or the other top-level al Qaeda guys were micromanaging the operation. ---
**Author:** ![CyberPundit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/76d3ee/32.png) [@CyberPundit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CyberPundit)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2002, 4:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-al-qaida-saudi-connection/138386/47 "2002-11-25T16:59:12Z")
True. I did say it was speculation in my first post (perhaps I made it sound a little more definite in my last post) though IMO it’s quite a believable bit of speculation especially as regards motive. “it’s not like bin Laden or the other top-level al Qaeda guys were micromanaging the operation” True but he could have given instructions to pick as many Saudis as possible and then left the details to his sub-ordinates. Anyway my main point is that the 15/17 figure isn’t much by way of evidence that the Saudis support terrorism against the US. That might have been true if the hijackers had been picked by something like a random sample but of course that wasn’t true. ---
**Author:** ![Jojo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ecd19e/32.png) [@Jojo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jojo)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2002, 11:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-al-qaida-saudi-connection/138386/48 "2002-11-25T23:49:16Z")
Minty, I think I was unclear in my previous post. I agree that OBL does hate the Saudi royals but I don’t think that had anything to do with 9/11 (except maybe in an extremely oblique way). ---
**Author:** ![minty\_green](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f6c823/32.png) [@minty\_green](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/minty_green)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2002, 1:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-al-qaida-saudi-connection/138386/49 "2002-11-26T01:11:55Z")
What’s so oblique about it? He wants to kick the infidels out of the Arabian Peninsula, so he attacks the infidels and tells 'em to get the hell out of the Arabian Peninsula. Makes sense to me, as long as you’re okay with mass slaughter of civilians. ---
**Author:** ![Jojo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ecd19e/32.png) [@Jojo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jojo)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2002, 1:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-al-qaida-saudi-connection/138386/50 "2002-11-26T01:17:08Z")
Yes but what does kicking America out of Saudi have to do with deposing the Saudi royal family? ---
**Author:** ![CyberPundit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/76d3ee/32.png) [@CyberPundit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CyberPundit)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2002, 1:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-al-qaida-saudi-connection/138386/51 "2002-11-26T01:22:56Z")
Well obviously since it was the Saudi royal family which asked for the US troops in the first place and wants to keep them there, deposing the Royal family makes sense as a means of removing the troops. ---
**Author:** ![minty\_green](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f6c823/32.png) [@minty\_green](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/minty_green)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2002, 1:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-al-qaida-saudi-connection/138386/52 "2002-11-26T01:27:01Z")
Right, CP. Overthrowing the royals would be the fastest way of getting rid of the foreign infidels. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-al-qaida-saudi-connection/138386.md?page=2)