The Bin Ladens

31. Bergen, The Osama Bin Laden I Know, p. 12.

32. “They were so elegantly…cellophane”: Quoted in the Melbourne Herald Sun, September 25, 2001.

10. YOUNG OSAMA

1. “would lie at her feet…about something”: Interview with Khaled Batarfi, February 19, 2005.

2. “a shy kid…neighbors and teachers”: Transcript of interview supplied by Khaled Batarfi to the author. Excerpts from this interview appeared in several publications under Batarfi’s byline. That his Syrian relatives recalled his shyness: Interviews published in the Kuwaiti newspaper Al-Qabas, November 14, 2001. Also, “Bin Laden, World’s Most Wanted Man, Was a Quiet, Shy Child,” Agence France-Presse, November 15, 2001.

3. “If there was no agricultural reform…anything”: In Al-Qabas, op. cit. “I used to love it…live there”: Ibid.

4. “He considered him…gives orders”: Bergen, The Osama Bin Laden I Know, p. 17.

5. Batarfi interview text, op. cit.

6. “He was quiet…worked hard”: Interview with Emile Sawaya, April 22, 2006 (RS).

7. All quotations: Ibid.

8. “He used to…karate movies”: Interview with David Ensor, CNN, broadcast March 19, 2002.

9. “affected…very solitary”: Agence France-Presse, op. cit. “She was all…to his father”: Interview with Batarfi, op. cit.

10. The author visited Al-Thaghr twice, including once in the company of Osama’s schoolmate, who described in detail the school’s layout during the late 1960s and early 1970s. The schoolmate’s descriptions of the school were corroborated by the accounts of Fyfield-Shayler and Seamus O’Brien, two teachers there during this period.

11. Saudi funding: DOS 59/906 Jeddah to Washington, November 17, 1966, reports on the Saudi national budget and cites a line item of 2.9 million riyals for “subsidy” to Al-Thaghr. Mohamed’s appearance at the school for fundraisers: Interview with Brian Fyfield-Shayler, February 23, 2007 (RS).

12. Kamal Adham’s discussions about the school with British authorities are described in DOS 59/2813 Jeddah to Washington, November 7, 1962. The school uniform is from photographs and the memories of several former students.

13. These details and many that follow are drawn from a series of interviews with the schoolmate of Osama, who joined his after-school Islamic study group, and who asked not to be identified. The author conducted many discussions and interviews with the schoolmate over the course of two years, and is very grateful for his contributions. The authenticity of the schoolmate’s recollections, in the author’s judgment, is beyond reasonable doubt.

14. “I was trying…making mistakes”: Fyfield-Shayler quoted in Meeting Osama Bin Laden, WGBH, 2004. “extraordinarily courteous…other students”: The Osama Bin Laden I Know, pp. 8–9. “a nice fellow…run deep”: Interview with Seamus O’Brien, November 28, 2005. “in the middle”: From an interview with Ahmed Badeeb by Orbit Television in early 2002; a tape of the interview was provided by Badeeb to the author, who had it translated by a private firm, The Language Doctors, in Washington, D.C. From his unlikely beginnings as a biology teacher at Al-Thaghr, Badeeb became chief of staff to the director of Saudi intelligence, Turki Al-Faisal, a position that brought him into regular contact with Osama during the war in Afghanistan.

15. The Brotherhood’s influence in Saudi Arabia: Interviews with several Saudi analysts who asked not to be identified, and Saudi government consultant Khalil A. Khalil, February 10, 2005. Faisal’s skepticism: DOS 59/4944 Jeddah to Washington, May 5, 1959, reports on a meeting of the Muslim Brotherhood in Mecca and notes, “King Saud looks with favor upon the Brotherhood, but Crown Prince Faisal does not.” A dispatch the following day on the same subject reported that Saud “possibly contributes to its coffers” and that “Members of the Brotherhood are permitted to travel freely in and out of Saudi Arabia.”

16. See note 13. All quotations here and following are from the same schoolmate.

17. “joined the religious committee”: Badeeb, Orbit, 2002, op. cit. “He was a prominent member…this philosophy”: Interview with Batarfi, op. cit. “started as a Muslim Brother”: Interview with Jamal Khashoggi, February 2, 2002.

18. “is a membership…the movement”: Interview with Khashoggi, op. cit. Classes of membership and preference for adults: A research report on Brotherhood recruiting provided to the author by an American government contractor who asked not to be identified.

19. “a more…agenda”: Interview with Batarfi, op. cit. “misused…underhandedly”: Quoted in “The House of Saud,” Frontline, 2005.

20. FCO 8/2122 June 30, 1973, Departmental Series, Middle East Department.

21. Interview with Batarfi, op. cit.; author’s visit to the house, in Batarfi’s company.

22. All quotations from interview with Batarfi, op. cit.

23. Ibid.

24. Ibid. Also, Batarfi as quoted in Sunday Mirror, April 21, 2002. Details about Fury and its characters from www.brokenwheelranch.com, examined and typed, March 2, 2007.

25. “visit his Mohamed Bin Laden brothers”: Interview with Batarfi, op. cit. “several”: Interview with Fyfield-Shayler, op. cit.

26. The trip to Afghanistan is from flight logs and an interview with pilot Gerald Auerbach, April 7, 2005.

11. REALM OF CONSPIRACY

1. “impudent gang” and “desecration”: DOS 59/2472 Jeddah to Washington, February 24, 1969. The cable reports: “Faisal said ‘Jerusalem cries out for salvation’…He called for jihad to liberate holy places.” That Osama identified with his campaign: Interview with Khaled Batarfi, February 19, 2005. Bin Laden’s mother also reported that Osama frequently spoke about the Palestinian cause as a young man.

2. Faisal’s routine: Algosaibi, “Arabian Essays”; Alireza, “The Late King Faisal…”; Sheean, Faisal; Gros, Feisal of Arabia; Holden and Johns, The House of Saud, pp. 202–3.

3. Iffat’s biography, travels, shopping: DOS 59/2643 Dhahran to Washington, August 17, 1966, “Biographic Information on Wife of King Faysal.” Also House of Saud, op. cit., p. 203.

4. “the basic causes…political expression”: DOS 59/2472 Research Memorandum, Director of Intelligence and Research, August 21, 1969.

5. Lippman, Inside the Mirage, p. 221.

6. FCO 8/2109 Memo prepared in 1973 for a visit to Saudi Arabia by the governor of the Bank of England.

7. “even put forward…Palestinian terrorists”: Quoted in House of Saud, op. cit., p. 359. “dual conspiracy”: Inside the Mirage, op. cit., p. 221.

8. Gross domestic product: House of Saud, op. cit., p. 390. $102 billion: Inside the Mirage, op. cit., p. 160. Safeway: Carmen Bin Laden, Inside the Kingdom, pp. 94–95. “I’ve never seen so many cranes”: “The House of Saud,” Algeria Productions, 2004. “you’d go away…a little bit crazy”: Quoted ibid.

9. Quoted in Bradley, Saudi Arabia Exposed, p. 215.