t5 b70 saudi diplomats fdr- entire contents- may-jun 04 emails re saudi flights and 5-11-04 mfr-...

8/14/2019 T5 B70 Saudi Diplomats Fdr- Entire Contents- May-Jun 04 Emails Re Saudi Flights and 5-11-04 MFR- Rihab Massou

1/6

Page 1 of 1

Tom EldridgeFrom: Chris KojmSent: Tuesday, June 22, 2004 6:15 PMTo : Tom EldridgeSubject: RE: the 9/13 flight

To m - I talked to Massoud. He doesn't have th e manifest of the Deputy Defense Minsiter's flight. He says theFBI most certainly DO ES have the manifest because they held up the flight's departure fo r several hours becausethe mechanic on the flight has the last name al-Ghamdi, and the FBI questioned him at length. AI-Gham di is acommon tr ibal name but obviously the FB I took this very seriously. SO Masso ud says that for sure the FB I hasdocuments on this flight.OriginalMessageFrom: To m EldridgeSent: Tuesday, June 22 , 2004 11:03 AMTo: Chris KojmSubject: the 9/13 flightChris -I just wanted to make sure that, in the press of other maters, you did not forget to call Mr. Massoudregarding the 9/13 flight.

-Tom

6/24/2004


2/6

Page 1 of 3

Tom EldridgeFrom: Tom EldridgeSent: Thursday, May 06, 2004 10:45 AMTo: Chris KojmSubject: RE: Saudi Flights: Interview with Prince Bandar

Chris -Thank you for seeking to include me. I know K aren wil l work on it. In the event the technical problems areinsurmountable, here are the questions I would ask Mr. Masood:

1. Did you speak with a U.S. government official about the interest in evacuating Saudis from the U.S. after 9-11? [Bandar said he did]2. With whom did you speak and what agency were they from? [Bandar said the FBI, but no info on wh o]3. Why did you decide to call that person/agency?4. When and how many times did you speak with them? [No info from Bandar on this; could have been beforeair space reopened]5. Did you speak with more than one person? If so, who?

6. Did you speak with them about one flightthe Ryan Air Bin Laden fl ightor others as well? [There wereat least six flights of Saudis; Bandar mentioned only the Bin Laden flight]7. How did the USG official(s) respon d whe n you told them about the Saudi desire to fly out the Bin Ladenfamily members? [Bandar said FBI liked the idea]8. Wh at did the U SG official ask you to do in connection with the flight(s)? [According to one FBI agent, RyanAir called the FBI. This ma y have been because the FB I told the Saud is to have them do this]9. Beyond calling an d speaking to the FBI, wha t if any role did you play in facilitating this or other flights?

10. Did you speak to anyone at the White House or State D epartment? [WH and State said no]11. Did you seek perm ission for any flights to leave before the air space reopened? If yes, from wh om ?

When? W hat result? [No flights occurred, we be lieve, but permission may have been sought]Thanks.-Tom

Original MessageFrom: Chris KojmSent: Thursday, May 06, 2004 10:18 AMTo: Philip Zelikow; Karen HeitkotterCc: Tom EldridgeSubject: RE: Saudi Flights: Interview with Prince BandarPhilip -- Good. Tom & I will talk to him.Karen - Can you set up a call for Tom and m e to talk to Minister Masood in the Saudi Embassy? Yo ucan tell his secretary, as noted below, that it is a follow up to PZ's call to the Ambassador. C Original Message

From: Philip ZelikowSent: Thursday, May 06, 2004 9:02 AM

5/6/2004


3/6

Page 2 of 3

To: Tom Eldridge; Chris KojmSubject: RE: Saudi Flights: Interview with Prince BandarChris -Why don't you arrange a time to call Masood, perhaps with Tom with yo u when you do. I don'tthink a formal interview is needed here. You would just be following up on my phoneconversation with HRH .P Z

Original MessageFrom: Tom EldridgeSent: Thursday, May 06, 2004 8:55 AMTo: Philip ZelikowSubject: RE: Saudi Flights: Interview with Prince BandarPlease advise how you would like this to occur. Than ks.-Tom

Original MessageFrom: Philip ZelikowSent: Thursday, May 06, 2004 12:55 AMTo: Tom EldridgeSubject: RE: Saudi Flights: Interview with Prince BandarI don't see a problem in asking Mr. Masood.P Z

Original MessageFrom: Tom EldridgeSent: Wednesday, May 05, 2004 6:14 PMTo: Philip ZelikowCc : Susan GinsburgSubject: RE: Saudi Flights: Interview with Prince BandarPhilip -Thank you. This account is consistent with what we see in FBIdocuments. Is there any chance we can learn with whom Mr. Masoodspoke at the FBI or do you feel that would be asking them to violatesome confidence?-Tom Original Message

From: Philip ZelikowSent: Wednesday, May 05, 2004 6:35 PMTo: Tom EldridgeCc: Susan Ginsburg; Front Office; Dianna CampagnaSubject: Saudi Flights: Interview with Prince BandarTom, etal -I spoke on the telephone this afternoon, May 5, with PrinceBandar, who is in Saudi Arabia, to request some Saudi

5/6/2004


4/6

Page 3 of 3

assistance with som e of our wo rk.At the conclusion of the conversation, I asked him directly whohe or the E mbassy had called for help on the S audi flights issue.He said that his deputy, Rifaat Masood, had phoned the FBIabout this. The FBI had apparently liked the idea of gathering allthe Bin Ladin family members in one place, in part for their ow nreasons. Neither Bandar nor his deputy asked the StateDep artment or the White H ouse for help. The y thought it was allbeing handled through the FBI.Bandar said that he first learned of any W hite House involvemen tin this matter during our televised hearing in March, when DickClarke testified that the FBI had sought NSC permission to goahead with the plan. Before that he said he had not known thatthe issue ha d gone to the White House at all.Bandar has also offered to make himself available for a privateinterview with the C omm ission, should comm issioners w ish toquestion him on this or other matters.Dianna: Please file this e-mail as an informal MFR.Philip

5/6/2004


5/6

MEMO R A N D U M FOR THE RECORDEvent: Telephone Conv ersation with the Deputy Chief of Mission, Rihab M assoud,Embassy of Kingdom of Saudi ArabiaDate: 05/11/2004Time: 11:45 AMSpecial access issues: nonePrepared by: Chris KojmTeam Number: Front OfficeLocation: K St.Participants: Chris Kojm

Minister Massoud c alled from Saudi Arabia, in a follow-u p to a call from PhilipZelikow to the Saudi Am bassado r, Prince Ba ndar. I ran through a series of questionsprepared by Tom Eldridge; Tom w as unable to join the call.Minister Massoud stated that he initiated an inquiry on behalf of the governmentof Saudi Arabia to allow the early departure of members of the Bin Ladin family from th eUnited States. He called Dale Wa tson at the FBI "some days after" 9/11. He does notremember the exact date; he is chec king his records. He recalls he spoke twice to DaleWatson, once to initiate the request, an d once to tell Dale Watson that he was providingnames and basic biographical information, including date and place of birth and passportinformation on these individuals. He spoke to others at the FBI, but does not recall theirnames.Minister M assoud thought the FBI was the appropriate agency for his phone call,because the Embassy w as w orking closely with the FBI on counterterrorism issues.He made clear that the plan was to gather all members of the Bin Ladin family onon e flight. The flight ma de several stops in the United S tates where me mb ers of thefamily were gathered before it departed the United States.Massoud disputed that there were six Saudi flights. He claimed this represented"confusion" between the number of stops by the so-called Bin Ladin flight internallywithin the United States and its ultima te departure from the United States, which wasonly one flight.When asked whether the Embassy assisted with the departure of any other Saudinationals, M assoud said the Em bassy helped with two additional flights. O ne was a


6/6

flight from California by the Go vernor of Mecca o n an Am erican-registered aircraft thatbelonged to the President o f Gabon. The second was a flight on Saudia Airlines by theSaudi Deputy Defense Minister from New Yo rk City. Wh en questioned again about sixSaudi flights, he specifically denied that th e Saudi Embassy helped with an y additionalflights or departure o f Saudi nationals in the immediate af termath o f 9/11 other than th eBin Ladin family flight and the two cases mentioned above.Massoud stated that at each stop within th e United States of the so-called BinLadin flight, all passengers got o ff the plane. Both new passengers an d continuingpassengers had their nam es an d docum ents checked by law enforcem ent, including th eFBI, before they boarded th e plane. Therefore, each passenger was checked at least onceand most were checked several times by law enforcement.He m entioned that when he asked the FBI about th e departure of the Bin Ladinfamily, the FBI had one requirement: it wanted the names and personal information of alldeparting passengers. The Embassy provided such information to the FBI, and has alsomade such inform ation available to the Com m ission. The Embassy further told the FBI:"if you want to talk to any of them now, we will make that happen. If you want to talk toan y of them later, after they have returned to Saudi Arabia, we will m ake that happen,too." The FBI set no other requirem ents before th e departure of Bin Ladin familymembers. Massoud said the FBI m a d e its checks at the t ime , before th e departure of BinLadin family m e m b e r s , and did not ask subsequently to interview an y m e m b e r s of thefamily after their return to Saudi Arabia.Massoud said he and the Embassy took no other steps to facilitate these flightsthan to provide names, personal inform ation, th e n a m e s o f pilots, pilot licenses, etc. to theFBI. Neither he nor the Embassy spoke to any other agency of the U.S. government.He specifically denied an y contact with th e White House o r State Depar tment o n this

question.Massoud specifically denied seeking any permission for the departure of the BinLadin family or o ther Saudi nationals (the two flights referenced earlier) before th ereop ening of U.S. airspace. He stated that these flights took place after U.S. airspacereopened.

t5 b70 saudi diplomats fdr- entire contents- may-jun 04 emails re saudi flights and 5-11-04 mfr-...

Documents