Secrets of the Kingdom: The Inside Story of the Secret Saudi-U.S. Connection by Gerald PosnerMy rating: 4 of 5 stars
In its final report, the 9/11 Commission famously called the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia "a problematic ally in combating Islamic extremism." Ostensibly, Posner "exposes the undeniable truth about U.S.-Saudi relations-and how the Saudis' influence on American business and politics poses a grave threat to our security." That is certainly a main thread here, but there is more just about the inherent racism, sexism and anti-Semitism of thee kingdom.
For this 2005 book, bin Laden and King Fahd are still alive. Not so much the named royal family contacts of the 9/11 terrorists that died mysteriously such as Prince Ahmed bin Salman, dead at 43. Also detailed is the likely close connection between a powerful member of the House of Saud and Abu Zubeydah, the highest-ranking al-Qaeda operative captured up to then by the United States
The role Saudi charities-including many controlled or supported by Kingdom officials-have played in bankrolling al-Qaeda and Islamic terror groups along with official government support to spreading Wahhabism through madrasas implies Saudi-sold oil means US consumers paying for their own threats. Even this is a bit of old hat yet it is instructive how the Nixon-initiated years of attempted self-sufficiency saw The Kingdom succeed in becoming a larger part of US oil imports.
The most interesting thing to me may be the "never-before-revealed" Saudi scorched earth plans in the event of a national crisis in the Kingdom: undetectable ("umarked") Semtex and radiological bombs integrated into critical infrastructure. By today the plastic explosives would be largely degraded. However, if they did in the 80s and 90s they may very well have maintained or improved it.
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