20 years of simultaneous terrorist attacks Keyman, who knows Bin Laden, said on September 21, 16:50
Saudi Arabia, the country of origin of Osama bin Laden, the mastermind of the terrorist attacks on the United States.
Fifteen of the 19 perpetrators were also Saudi nationals, and immediately after the incident, suspicions were raised as to whether the Saudi government had somehow been involved in the incident.
How have the regional powers of the Middle East, which have close ties with the United States, perceived the unprecedented terrorist attack?
A key man from Saudi Arabia, who has met with bin Laden and is said to be the most familiar with the terrorist attacks, responded to an interview with NHK.
(Kazuhiro Yamao, Director of Dubai Bureau)
Impact on the nation 15 perpetrators
Prince Turki (76), the son of Faisal, the third king of Saudi Arabia (reigned from 1964 to 1975).
In 1977, he became the top intelligence agency in Saudi Arabia and served for more than 20 years until just before the 9/11 terrorist attacks.
Since then, he has held important positions such as the Ambassador to the United States, and has been active in the political and diplomatic stages.
Q What kind of information did you come into contact with as the head of an intelligence agency before the incident?
Prince Turki
In the summer of 2001, intelligence agencies around the world were informed that something was about to happen.
A difficult situation was expected, but the information was not specific.
We shared with countries such as the United States and Europe about possible acts of terrorism, but the information was not sufficient.
Q How was the incident perceived in Saudi Arabia?
Prince Turki The
first thing I would like to mention is that the incident is a stigma that Saudi Arabia must carry for a long time in the future.
When people remember the incident, they inevitably think of Saudi Arabia.
The whole country was shocked to learn that as many as 15 Saudis were involved in the incident.
Following the incident, it was verified that there were no problems we overlooked in all areas of education, culture, religion, and that no one had spread radical ideas to young people.
As a result, many people in the religious community, for example, were dismissed and re-educated.
Q How do you perceive that the perpetrators included 15 of their own citizens and were suspicious of the involvement of the Saudi Arabian government?
Members of
Prince Turki
's perpetrator have received testimony from bin Laden's solicitation from other suspects detained in the United States.
It was Bin Laden himself who chose as many as 15 Saudis in addition to those with Egyptian and UAE nationalities.
Prince Turki
This is probably because Bin Laden wanted to stigmatize Saudi Arabia.
His attempt was successful.
Saudi Arabia was not behind Bin Laden, but a victim.
Q In the United States, the bereaved family has been investigated on suspicion that Saudi Arabian government officials were involved in the case.
An investigation report investigating the allegations is also being published.
What do you think about this?
Prince Turki
There is nothing we are hiding.
A foreign minister at the time, who visited former US President Bush after the incident, said, "If there is any information that the US wants to publish, please do so."
During the Obama administration, page 28 of the (Parliamentary Report) was published, but you can remember that nothing came out.
If you have something you want to publish, please publish it now.
Q As an intelligence agency, couldn't you prevent the incident?
Prince Turki
It's not just our problem.
The same is true for intelligence agencies around the world.
Even US and European intelligence agencies, which are far superior to Saudi Arabia, could not be prevented.
It's no wonder we couldn't prevent it.
Saudi Arabia and Bin Laden From Friendship to Hostility
Bin Laden was born in the 1950s into a wealthy family with deep ties to the Saudi royal family.
It was the 1979 invasion of Afghanistan by the former Soviet Union that triggered the radical activity.
Bin Laden traveled to the site to support his fellow Muslim compatriots and led an armed struggle with volunteers.
It later led to the formation of the international terrorist organization Al Qaeda.
However, at that time it was the Cold War era.
The US government was supporting volunteers to fight the former Soviet Union.
In addition, Saudi Arabia, which is the self-employed leader of the Islamic nation, also provided financial support to support the activities of volunteers.
However, when the Cold War was nearing its end and the former Soviet Union withdrew from Afghanistan, the cause of the volunteers' activities was lost and a gap was created between Saudi Arabia and bin Laden.
Q What happened to bin Laden's relationship with Saudi Arabia after the volunteers' activities in Afghanistan came to an end?
Prince Turki
Bin Laden visited me at an intelligence agency in 1989, after the former Soviet Union withdrew from Afghanistan.
He said he wanted to send Afghan volunteers to overthrow the government, next to the neighboring country of South Yemen (then), where the Communists ruled the country.
Prince Turki
I replied that Saudi Arabia is trying to achieve that goal through diplomacy, and sending volunteers is rather confusing.
Q Why did you decline the proposal?
Prince Turki
International issues should be resolved by diplomacy.
I couldn't accept the proposal and say, "Attack our neighbors."
In the Middle East, there will be events that will make the conflict between the two decisive.
The Gulf War, which began with the invasion of Kuwait by Iraq in 1990.
To deal with this, Saudi Arabia accepted the presence of US troops, but bin Laden strongly opposed the presence of pagans in his homeland, where the Islamic sanctuary is located.
Since then, bin Laden has turned his head to the United States, which has an alliance with Saudi Arabia.
In 1994, Saudi Arabia stripped Bin Laden of his nationality as radical activity became unmanageable.
Q How was Saudi Arabia and Bin Laden's response to the Gulf War?
Iraq's invasion of Kuwait under
Prince
Hussein's administration was opposed not only by Saudi Arabia but by the rest of the world.
At this time, bin Laden visited the then defense minister of Saudi Arabia and said that he would send volunteers to Kuwait to withdraw President Hussein's army.
In response, the Ministry of Defense replied, "Thank you for your suggestion. I will call you when you need it, so please stop visiting from you."
In my opinion, the refusal of the proposal to send volunteers to South Yemen and Kuwait prompted Bin Laden to overthrow the Saudi Arabian regime.
For him, Saudi Arabia would have become an enemy to defeat rather than his homeland.
Q Did you ever have the opportunity to stop bin Laden, whose relationship has deteriorated and he has begun to act radically?
I went to Afghanistan twice to meet with Taliban Supreme Leader Omar to bring
Prince Turki
Bin Laden to justice for acts of terrorism.
However, Omar refused to hand it over.
This was in 1998.
Around this time, al-Qaeda became active in foreign countries, and terrorist attacks targeting the US embassy also occurred in Africa.
Q Twenty years have passed since the 9/11 terrorist attacks. How do you analyze al-Qaeda today?
Prince Turki
Al Qaeda is smaller than it used to be, but it is still alive.
He continues to work in Syria and Afghanistan.
We have also succeeded in creating a branch organization such as the extremist organization IS = Islamic State.
There is still a long way to go before we can say that al-Qaeda has come to an end.
Expert "Violence Accepted Under the Cause of Religion"
From an interview with Prince Turki, we can see that bin Laden, who was once used by Saudi Arabia and the United States, went out of control and became unmanageable.
Shuji Hosaka, director of the Institute of Energy Economics, Japan, who is familiar with the situation in Saudi Arabia, points out that bin Laden's activities, which advocated the cause of religion, were initially convenient for the government for social stability.
Shuji Hosaka, Director, The Institute of Energy Economics, Japan
"For the Saudi Arabian government, volunteers in Afghanistan were convenient as a receiver for young people who were dissatisfied with society, and violence was tolerated under the cause of Islam."
"But gradually it became difficult to handle, it became untouchable, and eventually I had to peel my fangs. The easy use of the cause of religion resulted in the creation of a radical organization."
The fight against radical ideas, which are hotbeds of terrorism, continues all over the world, regardless of the Middle East.
On the other hand, there is no end to the movement to conveniently use religion as a tool for politics and governance.
I feel that the history of the 9/11 terrorist attacks poses a serious challenge for the world to cooperate and suppress radical ideas.
Dubai bureau bureau chief
Kazuhiro Yamao
through 2011. He joined Asahikawahosokyoku to society part Metropolitan Police Department, the foreign affair coverage as the Immigration Bureau in charge of the time
covered the Gulf situation and the Yemen civil war in Dubai bureau from Ryowa 2 years