Turki bin Faisal Al Saud, known also as Turki Al Faisal, is a member of the House of Saud,
the Saudi Arabia royal family.
He is one of the founders of the King Faisal Foundation and serves as chairman of the King
Faisal Center for Research and Islamic Studies.
From 1977 to 2001, Prince Turki was the director general of Al Mukhabarat Al A'amah, Saudi
Arabia's intelligence agency, resigning the position abruptly on 1 September 2001, just
10 days before the 9/11 attacks in which 14 Saudi nationals hijacked commercial US airliners.
Prince Turki subsequently served as ambassador to the Court of St. James's and the United
States.
Early life and education Prince Turki was born on 15 February 1945
in Mecca.
He is the eighth and youngest son of the late King Faisal and Iffat Al-Thunayyan who died
on 17 February 2000.
He is full-brother of Mohammed bin Faisal, Saud bin Faisal, Luluwah bint Faisal and Haifa
bint Faisal.
Turki bin Faisal received his primary and some secondary education at a school in Taif
built by his parents.
When he was fourteen, his father sent him to Princeton, New Jersey to complete his secondary
education at the Lawrenceville School, from which he graduated from in 1963.
He then attended the Edmund A. Walsh School of Foreign Service at Georgetown University,
graduating in the class of 1968.
Turki also did post-graduate work at Princeton, Cambridge, and the University of London, where
he took courses in Islamic law and jurisprudence.
Career After returning to the Kingdom, Turki was
appointed an adviser in the Royal Court in 1973.
Director of Saudi Arabia General Intelligence Directorate
Prince Turki began his political career as deputy to his uncle, Kamal Adham, and then,
his successor as the head of Saudi Arabia's Al Mukhabarat Al A'amah, a position he held
for 23 years—from 1979 until just 10 days before the September 11 attacks in 2001.
. He took part in organizing a military operation to remove the hostage-taking terrorists from
Masjid al-Haram in Mecca during the Grand Mosque Seizure in November–December 1979.
Prince Turki's resignation was unexpected since his term had been extended on 24 May
2001 for another four years.
He was replaced just ten days before 9/11, on 1 September 2001, by Nawaf bin Abdul Aziz
his uncle and the king’s brother, who has “no background in intelligence whatsoever.”
The Wall Street Journal later reports: “The timing of Turki’s removal—August 31—and
his Taliban connection raise the question: Did the Saudi regime know that bin Laden was
planning his attack against the US?"
After King Fahd's stroke in 1995, Prince Turki had a minor disagreement with Prince Abdullah,
who did not want to be briefed by him.
Osama bin Laden and Al Qaeda Saudi intelligence joined Pakistan's intelligence
service and the CIA in funding the mujahideen.
Turki last met with bin Laden in early 1990, when bin Laden was interested in aiding against
the South Yemen communists.
His intelligence agency kept careful track of bin Laden from the beginning of his rise.
In 1993, Turki helped mediate between warring factions in Afghanistan.
In early 1996, Sudan offered to extradite bin Laden to Saudi Arabia.
Clinton called on Turki to bring bin Laden back to Saudi Arabia for a quick execution.
Saudi Arabia denied the request and Osama left Sudan for Afghanistan.
A continued connection to bin Laden was falsely claimed by Paris Match magazine.
In December 2004, Turki accepted substantial libel damages and an apology from the magazine
Paris Match over claims he himself was linked to the 11 September attacks.
In 2002, Prince Turki was named in a multi-billion dollar lawsuit by the families of 11 September
victims, alleging that he and other Saudi princes, banks, and charities may have funded
the terrorists involved in the attack.
His involvement was also strongly implied in the Michael Moore documentary Fahrenheit
911.
A reporter for the Baltimore Chronicle claimed he was flown out of the United States shortly
after the terrorist attacks, but the claim disappeared from later versions of the article.
Prince Turki described Fahrenheit 911 as "grossly unfair" to Saudis.
Prince Turki maintains that he had no contact with bin Laden since Iraq's invasion of Kuwait
in August 1990.
He claims to have secretly negotiated with Taliban leader Mullah Mohammad Omar in 1998
in an attempt to have bin Laden extradited to Saudi Arabia, but the negotiations were
unsuccessful.
In a November 2001 interview, Turki expressed support for the US operation in Afghanistan
against the Taliban and al-Qaeda.
In December 2004, Turki was awarded libel damages from Paris Match for its claims that
he was connected to the attacks.
In 2005, a US federal judge ruled that Saudi officials including Turki were immune from
the lawsuit.
Turki has severely criticized al-Qaeda, calling it an "evil cult."
Ambassador to the Court of Saint James in London
Prince Turki bin Abdulaziz bin Faisal Al Saud was appointed ambassador to the Court of Saint
James in London.
He served as ambassador from January 2003 until the US invasion in Iraq and was well
respected by British diplomats.
Ambassador to the United States
In July 2005, it was announced that Prince Turki would succeed Bandar bin Sultan as Saudi
ambassador to the United States.
He served as ambassador to the United States from July 2005 until 11 December 2006.
Adel al-Jubeir succeeded him as ambassador to the United States.
Prince Turki spent much of his time as ambassador to the United States traveling around the
country, visiting 37 states.
Turki advocated that the United States engage in direct talks with Iran but other high-ranking
Saudi officials, including Turki's predecessor as ambassador, Prince Bandar bin Sultan, supported
military action to halt Iran's alleged nuclear weapons program.
He argued that the Palestinian-Israeli issue, not Iran, was more important for the United
States and called on the Bush Administration to revive the peace process.
He also argued that diplomacy with Iran was the best way to prevent problems.
The Administration disliked his stance and made it difficult for him to arrange visits
to the White House.
The White House preferred Bandar's more aggressive approach and welcomed Bandar instead.
Resignation Prince Bandar's visits to the White House
undermined Prince Turki and Prince Turki's goal of engaging in public diplomacy was weakened
because of a shortage of money to fund the embassy and his public relations program.
On the other hand, there were internal disputes over the Saudi Arabia’s Iraq policy, leading
to tensions between Prince Turki and senior members of the royal family.
Turki was angered by the fact that when his own king had asked then Vice President Dick
Cheney to meet at short notice in Riyadh, Turki was not invited to attend – an unusual
omission for Saudi summit meetings.
In addition, Turki's brother Foreign Minister Prince Saud Al Faisal did not write the post-summit
briefing for Turki; Bandar did.
King Abdullah is reported to have preferred Bandar bin Sultan as the King's intermediary
between Riyadh and Washington D.C.
Turki's resignation may have been in protest.
He abruptly resigned in early December 2006 after 15 months as an ambassador.
His predecessor, Prince Bandar bin Sultan, worked in the same post for 22 years.
Prince Turki returned in January 2007 after the Hajj Pilgrimage to formally announce his
departure.
Some analysts claim he intentionally attracted attention.
He said he wanted to spend time with family.
His resignation was initially reported by The Washington Post, not by the royal court
or official sources.
Turki retired from public office in February 2007.
King Faisal Foundation and King Faisal Center for Research and Islamic Studies
Shortly after the passing of King Faisal, Prince Turki and his siblings established
the King Faisal Foundation to invest in education in Saudi Arabia.
As chairman of King Faisal Center for Research and Islamic Studies, Prince Turki compared
energy independence in American politics to baby-kissing.
He stated that American politicians must be courageous against demagoguery.
He lauded his country's efforts in education and believes that Saudis can succeed only
through education.
He visited India in December 2011.
Views and opinions 9/11 attacks
Prince Turki directly challenged Sheikh Abdullah al Turki, secretary general of the World Muslim
League and a member of the Council of Senior Ulema after 9/11 attacks, arguing that "those
responsible for affairs of state are the rulers," whereas religious scholars "only act in an
advisory capacity."
On 15 October 2001, Turki, writing in Alsharq Alawsat, stated "God help us from Satan.
You [Osama bin Laden] are a rotten seed like the son of Noah, ... and the flood will engulf
you like it engulfed him."
In interview on Saudi TV on 5 November 2011, Turki argued "The religious edicts issued
by [bin Laden] are the main evidence [for his guilt] because they call for attacking
American soldiers and civilians.
Only those people devoid of feelings will still ask for evidence.
... Those who still call for evidence are closing their eyes to the facts and are searching
for justification of [bin Laden's] acts."
Afghanistan Prince Turki criticized equating jihad with
acts of terrorism by citing the resistance against Soviets in the 1980s.
He disapproved of the Obama Administration's shunning of Hamid Karzai and believed Abdullah
Abdullah was not an acceptable candidate to Afghanistan's diverse ethnic groups – namely,
the Pashtuns and Uzbeks.
He also called for a shift in U.S. strategy from the media theme against the Taliban to
a more focused propaganda campaign against Al Qaeda.
He voiced his urgency to the immediate resolution of the Durand Line between Pakistan and Afghanistan.
He wants Afghan people to handle their own problems.
He also expects the U.S. will continue to experience resistance as long as it stays
in Afghanistan.
Iran On Iran, Prince Turki warned of its growing
influence in Lebanon as "foreign hands manipulating strings."
Asked what he thought would be the consequences of an Israeli or U.S. attack on Iran's nuclear
facilities, Prince Turki responded, "Calamitous … cataclysmic, not just catastrophic."
On the Iranian nuclear program, he believes that there should be a zone free of weapons
of mass destruction.
He believes Iranian actions have provoked worldwide opposition but at the same time
suggests that Iran's nuclear program is being singled out.
He believes Iran is pursuing an "explosive" path in nuclear enrichment.
He stated if Iran was attacked Saudi Arabia would never grant Israeli flyover rights.
He called the Geneva interim agreement a serious concern and condemned the United States for
keeping the Government of Saudi Arabia away from the negotiations in Geneva.
Yemen Prince Turki stated that Yemen has become
a sanctuary for extremists as refugees flee the conflict and into the Kingdom's borders.
Israel and Palestinian Territories
Prince Turki was the Kingdom's leading critic of American foreign policy.
Prince Turki criticized Israel for not accepting the Arab Peace Initiative, which proposed
normalizing relations in exchange for Israel's withdrawal to 1967 borders.
He accused the Bush administration for undermining a Saudi-brokered power-sharing agreement between
Fatah and Hamas and the Obama administration of pro-Israel bias and protecting Israel's
nuclear program from international scrutiny.
He called on U.S. President Barack Obama to support the two state solution for Palestinians
and Israelis.
In a Financial Times editorial in January 2009, he was critical of American foreign
policy toward Palestinians and accused the U.S. of complicity in the deaths of Gazans.
He opined that "neocon advisers, American conservatives and Zionist extremists" promoted
policies that harmed the peace process," describing both Democrats and Republicans as strong supporters
of Israel.
At the Munich Security Conference in February 2010, he initially refused to sit next to
Israeli Deputy Foreign Minister Danny Ayalon because of Ayalon's "boorish" behavior toward
the Turkish ambassador on Israeli television.
In response to Ayalon's comment that Saudi Arabia had not "given a penny" to the Palestinian
Authority, Prince Turki claimed that it had given more than $500 million over the past
five years.
Ayalon apologized and shook hands with Prince Turki as a reconciliation measure.
The crowd applauded.
Turki clarified that this gesture did not signal any change in official policy towards
Israel.
In the World Economic Forum at Davos in January 2011, he called for a Middle East without
WMDs and stated "the elephant in the room is Israel.
Israel with a nuclear weapon is dangerous."
After attending the Munich Security Conference in January 2014, Faisal praised Israel's justice
minister, Tzipi Livni and said he understood why she was chosen as Israel's negotiator.
Wikileaks Prince Turki claimed the documents "are a
hodgepodge of selectivity, inaccuracy, agenda pursuit, and downright disinformation."
He claimed if diplomats and leaders were not able to discuss matters that affect them through
cables freely, the countries are "in trouble".
He added that WikiLeaks poses a serious danger to all governments and called for meting out
tough punishment for those responsible for the breach.
Domestic affairs Around 2003, Prince Turki said that "reforming
the Kingdom is not a choice, it is a necessity".
In late March 2011, Prince Turki argued that elections for membership to the Saudi Shoura
Council should be realized and warned of a "failure in the Kingdom's job market".
Various positions
Prince Turki bin Faisal is a commissioner in the International Commission on Nuclear
Non-Proliferation and Disarmament.
He is deputy chairman of Saudi General Authority for Civil Aviation.
He is also vice president of general authority of civil aviation for international organizations
and was elected as first vice president of the regional bureau of Asia-Pacific within
airports council international.
He taught at Georgetown University School of Foreign Service.
He is also a co-chair of the C100 Group, an affiliate of the World Economic Forum. C-100
Group encourages interfaith dialogue and cross-cultural understanding.
He visited many American universities and has lectured on the history of Saudi Arabia
to improve relations between the West and Saudi Arabia.
He also visited the University of South Florida, Syracuse University, Rice University, Cornell
University, and Harvard University.
In November 2010.
he spoke at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.
Prince Turki acts as one of the top speakers of the Kingdom.
Personal life Prince Turki is married to Nouf bint Fahd
bin Khalid Al Saud, with whom he has seven children: Faisal, Muneera, Noura, Abdulaziz,
Saud, Mishail, and Mudhi.
His son Prince Abdulaziz won the second round of Porsche Middle East Cup.
His daughter Princess Noura is assistant to vice chairman of the board of trustees and
general supervisor of Effat College and Dar Al Hanan School.
At a University of South Florida event, he mentioned he has grandchildren and they sometimes
ask him questions about Islam.
In person, Prince Turki has been described as the antithesis of Bandar bin Sultan.
Prince Turki has been described as cool-headed, soft-spoken, and avuncular.
He is one of the most educated Saudi princes.
Health Some who know him say Prince Turki has still
problems resulted from the carbon-monoxide poisoning he suffered when staying in a camper
van on a desert trip in the mid-1980s.
Awards Prince Turki is the recipient of the Crans
Montana Forum medal.
Prince Turki also received an honorary doctorate in law from the University of Ulster in Northern
Ireland in 2010.
References
External links Veto a State, Lose an Ally