Secrets of the Kingdom: The Inside Story of the Saudi-U.S. Connection

by Gerald Posner

Book Overview

In its final report, the 9/11 Commission famously called the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia "a problematic ally in combating Islamic extremism." To Gerald Posner, the bestselling author of Why America Slept:... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1400062918
• ISBN13: 9781400062911
• Release Date: May 2005
• Publisher: Random House (NY)
• Length: 254 Pages
• Weight: 1.14 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.0" x 6.4" x 9.8"

Customer Reviews

Excellent and Timely Insights!

Posner begins by relating the outcome of capturing Abu Zubeydah, the highest-ranking al-Qaeda operative captured so far by the United States. The U.S. arranged to mislead their captive into thinking that he had been turned over to Saudi's. Zubeydah's reaction was one of relief, and he quickly spit out the phone #s of two Saudi royals, stating that "they would take care of the situation." Unsure what to make of this, the U.S. then informed Zubeydah that the phone #s were no good. He then provided several other Saudi names and that of the Chief of Pakistan's Air Force, adding that the Pakistani and one of the Saudis knew of 9/11 in advance. Both Saudi Arabia and Pakistan denied Zubeydah's claims, as expected. However, three months later, all those named started dying under suspicious circumstances. Posner then briefly summarizes how the Sauds came to power after WWI, defeating the Ottomans (prior ruling tribe) and others. He then goes on to cover how Saudi Arabia is much more religiously conservative than other branches of Islam, though it has relaxed somewhat in recent years. Nonetheless, one is horrified to read how 15 girls recently died in a fire at their school because authorities would not let them out without "proper" headgear. Other sources have clearly identified hatred of Israel as a major motivator in the Islamic world. This is somewhat understandable in response to Israel's takeover of Palestinian land and subsequent mistreatment of those citizens. Posner, however, also points out that the Sauds had this hatred before WWI! Posner also details how Saudi Arabia threatened to nationalize its oil industry in the early 1970s unless businesses lobbied for it. Shortly thereafter, Egypt attacked Israel, Nixon decided to resupply Israel, and the U.S. oil embargo followed. Eventually the embargo was lifted, but prices increased ten-fold, and the Saudis used their new wealth for conspicuous consumption and to engender support among other nations for a resolution condemning Israel. At this point the "good news" is that eventually the Saudi's began to use their vast wealth to build public infrastructure; the "bad news" is that it was accompanied by lots of corruption. King Faisal was assassinated in '75 by the nephew of a prince he had ordered killed while protesting (religious reasons) opening a TV station. Posner points out that the nephew had spent years in the U.s. - thus, it was concluded that the West had corrupted him, and general dislike of the U.S. again increased. America's prolonged military presence on Saudi soil (considered a major affront to Islam) during the first Gulf War helped motivate Bin Laden. (President Clinton compounded the problem by allowing women to be stationed at the base.) At about this time, Saudis worried about others trying to take over their oil fields (President Carter had an official plan drawn up to do so) established a "scorched earth" policy - Semtex explosive was placed in key locations, and it i

Honest and clear reporting - strongly recommended

Gerald Posner is a fine reporter who takes on issues from which others flee. Because he reports without an agenda, those who have a vested interest in a certain point of view (whether emotional or monetary) attack him in all kinds of ways. When you examine the criticisms you will see that they all fail. For example, a New York Times review of this book tries the old canard that most of what is here has been reported before. Right. So, the average reader is supposed to look up thousands of news articles and hundreds of books to get a handle on what Mr. Posner provides for us here so concisely and clearly in about 225 pages (including end notes)? That review also admitted that Posner was breaking new ground in his reporting of the Saudi ruling powers' plan for destroying their oil wells if their power is ever challenged. When you read this book I am sure the chapter on the Petro SE (scorched earth) report will be fascinating and disturbing. While no one knows if the intelligence intercepted is real or false information the Saudi's wanted believed, it has crucial implications for the world economy if such a loss of oil production capacity were to occur. The bottom line is that unless you are an expert on Saudi politics you do not know what is in this book and it is in your interest to know this stuff. So, I believe you will want to get a hold of this book and read it. The title refers not to tabloid sensationalism but to the fact that the rulers of Saudi Arabia are extremely closed and operate in secrecy as opaque as their money, power, and influence can provide. Their public statements and the actions they take are for managing their image and have little to do with what they say and do behind the scenes. The author carefully explains the very recent and somewhat strange origins of the house of Saud with its ties to Wahhabi fundamentalist Islam from its very beginnings. With the rise of importance of oil in the twentieth century, Saudi Arabia has also had a deep internal conflict. How to be involved with the Western world - viewed by them as Crusaders, no less - and still remain true to their extreme vision of a pure Islam. On one hand, they want the power and wealth from the oil, but they want to keep the world out. They need the Western world to help them extract the oil, but they want to spread a primitive vision of Islam around the globe using the power and wealth the oil gives them. They insist on a program of education for their population that has a deeply racist view of the entire non-Muslim world, but many in the royal family live their lives outside the kingdom in deep hypocrisy (booze, women, gambling, and wasteful spending). They also depend on the wealth and power of their ties with the West to keep the family of Saud in power, yet their fostering of Islamist fundamentalism also brings unrest and challenge to the Royal Family. You can see the 6,000 Princes of Saud are a portrait self-opposition. Posner does a

Posner reminds us of how little we know of Saudi Arabia

One can only hope that the Saudi royal family has not booby trapped the oil reserves. But why wouldn't they exercise this option? It seems entirely reasonable to me. Saudi Arabia's military could never defeat a serious invasion. How else will they be able to dissuade others from violently overthrowing the present Saudi power structure? And yes, I wish that Gerald Posner could offer more than an anonymous source to back up the central revelation of Secrets of the Kingdom. He is, however, a highly respected historian and journalist who is careful not to jeopardize his credibility. As mater of fact, the very value of this book revolves around one's trust of the author's integrity and ability not to be conned by those he is interviewing. I'm betting that Posner is trustworthy. Would the Israelis attempt to deceive us about the intentions of the Saudis? This line of reasoning fails to make any sense. What does Israel gain by persuading the United States that Saudi Arabia's oil production could be rendered useless in virtually a few minutes? The House of Saud has manipulated both major political parties. Many of our former diplomatic professionals and academics obtain lucrative employment with Saudi funded groups. They do little to risk upsetting their employers. From a de facto perspective---these Americans are often more loyal to the Saudis then they are to their own country. This sad predicament has left us essentially ignorant concerning what is actually going in the Kingdom. Which of the Saudi princes are in charge? Is it the secular moderate faction or those inclined towards Whabbism? At best, we may only be able to take an educated guess. Gerald Posner adds a few more pieces to the puzzle. This alone makes Secrets of the Kingdom worth reading.

America's Saudi problem

Saudi Arabia is officially an ally of the United States. It very often is the OPEC member that adds on to the oil supply , and so keeps the price down. It has huge holdings of US financial instruments. It has especially good personal connections with many of American leaders, among whom are the Bush family. It has been considered an ally of the United States since the time of President Franklin Roosevelt. However Saudi Arabia is also the home of Wahabi Islam. This radical xenophobic form of Islam is the principal ideology of Islamic terrorism. Saudi Arabia 's school - system preaches violent anti- Americanism. Eleven of the fifteen terrorists of 9/11 were Saudis. The largest contingent of foreign terrorists operating against the Iraqi regime, and US forces in Iraq are Saudis. The Saudis through Islamic charitable organizations ( as Posner makes clear in this book) are major funders of terror in the world. Thus the US- Saudi connection is an important, problematic, and questionable one. Posner in this research adds evidence regarding the negative role Saudi Arabia plays in the whole struggle against Terror, and in the US effort to push toward Democracy in the Middle East. He provides evidence showing how Saudi influence has penetrated and corrupted law-enforcement and political agencies in the United States. This book even adds the somewhat unlikely and not fully proved story of the Saudis having in fear of a US invastion and takeover attempt completely mining their oil- fields. Aside from the questionable character of this story Posner does present a well- documented picture of Saudi double- dealing toward the United States. It too points out how the Saudi connection has prevented the US from going all out in the war on terror. For to do this the US would have to also confront and transform the Saudi regime itself. Whoever reads this book and studies the present US- Saudi connection will leave it having considerable worries about the present course of US foreign policy, and in fact the future of Western democracy in an energy hungry world. A vital work for understanding one of the great threats to American democracy today.

Over a barrel

This may be one of the most important books of the year as it points out not only the bargain with the devil we make when we ally ourselves morally bankrupt countries but the larger problem of our dependence on oil and the continuing missteps we make in trying to secure that resource. I see Posner's book as balanced and carefully researched. In my opinion as a journalist he does not seem betray any liberal or conservative bias. Saudi Arabia was somewhat of a backwater as well as a country whose survival was in question until oil was discovered there by Americans in the 1930s. Posner gives us background of life in Saudi Arabia before the days of oil. The picture is not a pretty one. It was a society both intolerant and brutal. But when oil was discovered the US, originally through Aramco, a dance began with this peculiar culture. The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia long has a history of being anti Jewish and later anti-Israel. The US has been trying to perform a balancing act for decades between its support for Israel and while trying to maintain a good relationship with Saudi Arabia. In the meantime the Saudis have been waging an ideological war in both funding the Wahabis in their own country and funding projects in our own universities. Posner points out how we have and continue to defer to the Saudis time and again. This brings us to 9-11-01 and these post 9-11 days. Posner exposes members of the House of Saud that had, and may still have, direct connections to al-Qaeda. He also account chilling plans the ruling family has to detonate their own oil fields with radiological devices in the event they are overthrown. The authors does a wonderful job showing how the interests of Saudi Arabia and the US have become complicatedly entangled despite the fact that the two countries have vastly different goals. Highly recommended.