Factual Back-Up for Fahrenheit 9/11: Section Five
Chickenshit Chimp Boy
Section Five covers the facts in Fahrenheit 9/11 from Saudi Arabia's
involvement in 9/11 through the natural gas pipeline in Afghanistan.
FAHRENHEIT 9/11: Amnesty International condemns Saudi Arabia as a human
rights violator.
“Saudi Arabia systematically violates international human rights
standards even after agreeing to be bound by them. For example, in
September 1997 Saudi Arabia acceded to the Convention against Torture.
Yet, torture is widespread in Saudi Arabia's criminal justice system.
(Saudi Arabia acceded to the Convention against Torture and the
Convention against Discrimination on Sept 23, 1997).” Amnesty
International, "Saudi Arabia: Open for Business," February 8, 2000.
http://web.amnesty.org/library/Index/engMDE230822000?
OpenDocument&of=COUNTRIES% 5CSAUDI+ARABIA
“Sharon Burke, Amnesty International USA's advocacy director for the
Middle East and North Africa, said her organization confirmed with the
Saudi Ministry of the Interior that three men were beheaded for sodomy.”
Washington Blade, January 4, 2002,
http://www.sodomylaws.org/world/saudi_arabia/saudinews15.htm
FAHRENHEIT 9/11: “Bush tried to stop Congress from setting up its own
9/11 investigation.… When he couldn’t stop Congress, he then tried to
stop an independent 9/11 commission from being formed.”
The original effort by the White House was to limit the scope of the 9/11
investigation to only two congressional committees. “President Bush asked
House and Senate leaders yesterday to allow only two congressional
committees to investigate the government's response to the events of
Sept. 11, officials said.” Mike Allen, “Bush Seeks To Restrict Hill
Probes Of Sept. 11; Intelligence Panels' Secrecy Is Favored,” Washington
Post, January 30, 2002.
“I, of course, want the Congress to take a look at what took place prior
to Sept. 11. But since it deals with such sensitive information, in my
judgment, it’s best for the ongoing war against terror that the
investigation be done in the intelligence committees,” President Bush
said. David Rosenbaum, “Bush Bucks Tradition on Investigation,” The New
York Times, May 26, 2002.
“Angry lawmakers [McCain, Pelosi, Lieberman] accused White House Friday
of secretly trying to derail creation of an independent commission to
investigate the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks while professing to support
the idea.” Helen Dewar, “Lawmakers Accuse Bush of 9/11 Deceit,” Los
Angeles Times, October 13, 2002.
FAHRENHEIT 9/11: The White House censored 28 pages of the Congressional
9/11 report.
“Top U.S. officials believe the Saudi Arabian government not only
thwarted their efforts to prevent the rise of al-Qaida and stop terrorist
attacks, but also may have given the Saudi-born Sept. 11 hijackers
financial and logistical support, according to a congressional report
released Thursday. Those suspicions prompted several lawmakers to demand
that the Bush administration aggressively investigate Saudi Arabia 's
actions before and after Sept. 11, 2001 -- in part by making public large
sections of the report that pertain to Riyadh but remain classified. The
passages, including an entire 28-page section, discuss in detail whether
one of America's most reluctant allies in the war on terrorism was
somehow implicated in the attacks, according to U.S. officials familiar
with the full report.” Josh Meyer, “Saudi Ties to Sept. 11 Hinted at in
Report,” Houston Chronicle, July 25, 2003.
FAHRENHEIT 9/11: More than 500 relatives of 9/11 victims filed suit Saudi
Royals and others. The lawyers the Saudi Defense Minister hired to fight
these 9/11 families was the law firm of Bush family confidant James A.
Baker.
“James Baker, whom Bush recently sent abroad seeking help to reduce
Iraq's debt, is still a senior counselor for the Carlyle Group, and
Baker's Houston-based law firm, Baker Botts, is representing the Saudi
defense minister in Motley’s [plaintiff’s council in class-action suit in
connection with September 11th attacks] case.” New York Times, “A Nation
Unto Itself,” March 14, 2004
FAHRENHEIT 9/11: Saudi’s have $860 billion dollars invested in America.
“Over the next twenty-five years, roughly eighty-five thousand ‘high-net-
worth’ Saudis invested a staggering $860 billion in American companies –
an average of more than $10 million a person and a sum that is roughly
equivalent to the gross domestic product of Spain.” Craig Unger, House
of Bush, House of Saud, (Scribner: New York, 2004).
“Allan Gerson, an attorney who represents about 3,600 family members of
victims of the September 11 terrorist attacks … said he is not suing the
Saudi government, but he is pursuing ‘Saudi interests’ in the United
States he estimated totaled about $860 billion.” “ $113 Million in
Terrorism Funds Frozen,” CNN, November 20, 2002.
FAHRENHEIT 9/11: In terms of investments on Wall Street, $860 billion is
“roughly six or seven percent of America.”
“With a total market capitalization exceeding $12 trillion, the NYSE
Composite represents approximately 82 percent of the total U.S. market
cap.” New York Stock Exchange News Release, “NYSE to Reintroduce
Composite Index,” January 2, 2003. ($860 billion is about 7 percent of
$12 trillion.)
FAHRENHEIT 9/11: Citigroup, AOL TimeWarner have big Saudi investors.
“His name is Alwaleed bin Talal. His grandfather was Saudi Arabia's
founding monarch. With huge stakes in companies ranging from Citigroup
Inc. to the Four Seasons luxury hotel chain, he is one of the richest men
on the planet....Last year, Forbes magazine ranked Alwaleed the fifth-
richest man in the world, with a net worth of nearly $18 billion. His
Kingdom Holding Co. spans four continents. Over the years, he has
acquired major stakes in companies such as Apple Computer Inc., AOL Time
Warner Inc., News Corp. and Saks Inc., parent of retailer Saks Fifth
Avenue .” Richard Verrier, “Disney's Animated Investor; An Ostentatious
Saudi Billionaire Prince Who Helped Bail Out the Company's Paris Resort
in the Mid-'90s is Being Courted to Do So Again,” Los Angeles Times,
January 26, 2004.
“Carlyle’s first major transaction with the Saudis took place in 1991
when Fred Malek steered Prince Al-Waleed bin Talal, a flamboyant 35-year-
old Saudi multibillionaire, to the firm for a deal that would enable him
to become the largest individual shareholder in Citicorp.” Craig Unger,
House of Bush, House of Saud, (Scribner: New York, 2004).
FAHRENHEIT 9/11: “I read where the Saudis have a trillion dollars in our
banks, their money.”
“Others have said the investment is even more, as much as a trillion
dollars on deposit in U.S. banks – an agreement worked out in the early
1980s by the Reagan administration, in yet another effort to get the
Saudis to off-set the US budget deficit. The Saudis hold another trillion
dollars or so in the US stock market.” Robert Baer, Sleeping with the
Devil, p. 60, (Crown Publishers: New York, 2003).
FAHRENHEIT 9/11: “Bandar is one of the best protected ambassadors in the
world with a six-man security detail provided by the State Department.”
“The dean of the diplomatic corps by virtue of his long assignment in
Washington, Bandar is the only ambassador who has his own State
Department security detail -- granted to him because of ‘threats’ and his
status as a prince, according to a State Department spokesman.” Robert G.
Kaiser, et al., "Saudi Leader's Anger Revealed Shaky Ties," Washington
Post, February 10, 2002.
“Prince Bandar is often considered the most politically savvy of all the
foreign ambassadors living in Washington. That may or may not be true --
but he certainly is the best-protected. According to a Diplomatic
Security official, Prince Bandar has a security detail that includes
full-time participation of six highly trained and skilled DS officers.
(DS officers are federal government employees charged with securing
American diplomatic missions.)” Joel Mowbray, Dangerous Diplomacy: How
the State Department Threatens American Security, (Regnery, 2003).
FAHRENHEIT 9/11: “Bandar is so close to the Bushes they considered him a
member of the family. They even have a nickname for him, Bandar Bush.”
“When President [George H.W.] Bush arrived in Riyadh, he took Bandar
aside and embraced him. ‘You are good people,’ the president said. Bandar
claims that Bush had tears in his eyes. Visiting the Bush summer home in
Kennebunkport, Maine, the Saudi ambassador was affectionately dubbed
‘Bandar Bush.’ Bandar returned the favor, inviting Bush to go pheasant
hunting at his English estate. (Since leaving the White House, Bush has
also profited by acting as a kind of glorified door-opener for the
Carlyle Group, an investment company that handles considerable Saudi
wealth.)” Evan Thomas, et al., “The Saudi Game,” Newsweek, November 19,
2001 .
“The Saudi ambassador attended the unveiling of former President George
H.W. Bush's official portrait when he returned to the White House in
1995. He was among the guests at a surprise 75th birthday party in 2000
for former first lady Barbara Bush, and the former president has
vacationed at Bandar's home in Aspen, Colo. Bandar has been a guest at
the Bush ranch in Crawford, Texas. Just last year he presented the first
family with a C.M. Russell painting, a gift worth $1 million that will be
stored in the National Archives, along with other presents from well-
wishers destined for a [George W.] Bush presidential library.” Mike
Glover, “Kerry Criticizes Bush on Saudi Meeting”, Associated Press, April
23, 2004.
FAHRENHEIT 9/11: “Two nights after September 11th, George Bush invited
Bandar Bush over to the White House for a private dinner and a talk.”
Two days after the attacks, the President asked Bandar to come to the
White House. Bush embraced him and escorted him to the Truman balcony.
Bandar had a drink and the two men smoked cigars. Elsa Walsh, “The
Prince,” The New Yorker, March 24, 2003.
FAHRENHEIT 9/11: Bandar’s government blocked American investigators from
talking to the relatives of the 15 hijackers.
“The report strongly criticized top Saudi officials for their ‘lack of
cooperation’ before and after the Sept. 11 attacks, even when it became
known that 15 of the 19 hijackers were Saudis.…One top U.S. official told
the joint inquiry staff that the Saudis since 1996 would not cooperate on
matters relating to Osama bin Laden. Robert Baer, a former CIA officer,
said the Saudis blocked FBI agents from talking to relatives of the 15
hijackers and following other leads in the kingdom.” Frank Davies, et
al., “Bush rejects call to give more 9/11 data,” Philadelphia Inquirer,
July 30, 2003.
FAHRENHEIT 9/11: Saudi Arabia was reluctant to freeze the hijackers
assets.
Riyadh has not yet fully joined the international effort to block bank
accounts thought to be financing terrorist operations, U.S. officials
say. But the Bush administration, fearful of offending the Saudis, has
not yet raised a public complaint. Elaine Sciolino, et al., “U.S. is
Reluctant to Upset Flawed, Fragile Saudi Ties,” New York Times, October
25, 2001.
FAHRENHEIT 9/11: “In 1997, while George W. Bush was governor of Texas, a
delegation of Taliban leaders from Afghanistan flew to Houston to meet
with Unocal executives to discuss the building of a pipeline through
Afghanistan.”
“A senior delegation from the Taleban movement in Afghanistan is in the
United States for talks with an international energy company that wants
to construct a gas pipeline from Turkmenistan across Afghanistan to
Pakistan. A spokesman for the company, Unocal, said the Taleban were
expected to spend several days at the company's headquarters in
Sugarland, Texas.” “Taleban in Texas for Talks on Gas Pipeline,” BBC
News, December 4, 1997 (Sugarland is 22 miles outside Houston.)
“The Taliban ministers and their advisers stayed in a five-star hotel and
were chauffeured in a company minibus. Their only requests were to visit
Houston's zoo, the NASA space centre and Omaha's Super Target discount
store to buy stockings, toothpaste, combs and soap. The Taliban, which
controls two-thirds of Afghanistan and is still fighting for the last
third, was also given an insight into how the other half lives. The men,
who are accustomed to life without heating, electricity or running water,
were amazed by the luxurious homes of Texan oil barons. Invited to dinner
at the palatial home of Martin Miller, a vice-president of Unocal, they
marvelled at his swimming pool, views of the golf course and six
bathrooms. After a meal of specially prepared halal meat, rice and Coca-
Cola, the hardline fundamentalists - who have banned women from working
and girls from going to school - asked Mr. Miller about his Christmas
tree.” Caroline Lees, “Oil Barons Court Taliban in Texas,” The Telegraph
(London), December 14, 1997.
FAHRENHEIT 9/11: “And who got a Caspian Sea drilling contract the same
day Unocal signed the pipeline deal? A company headed by a man named
Dick Cheney, Halliburton.”
On October 27, 1997, both Unocal and Halliburton issued press releases
about their energy work in Turkmenistan. “Halliburton Energy Services
has been providing a variety of services in Turkmenistan for the past
five years.” Press Release, “Halliburton Alliance Awarded Integrated
Service Contract Offshore Caspian Sea In Turkmenistan,” October 27, 1997.
http://www.halliburton.com/news/archive/1997/hesnws_102797.jsp;
“ASHGABAT, Turkmenistan, Oct. 27, 1997 - Six international companies and
the Government of Turkmenistan formed Central Asia Gas Pipeline, Ltd.
(CentGas) in formal signing ceremonies here Saturday.” Press Release,
“Consortium Formed to Build Central Asia Gas Pipeline,” October 27, 1997.
FAHRENHEIT 9/11: Enron stood to benefit from the pipeline.
Dr. Zaher Wahab of Afghanistan, a professor in the US speaking at
International Human Rights Day event, “explained that Delta, Unocal as
well as Russian, Pakistani and Japanese oil and gas companies have signed
agreements with the Turkmenistan government, immediately north of
Afghanistan, which has the fourth largest gas reserve in the world.
Agreements also have been signed with the Taliban, allowing these oil and
gas giants to pump Turkmenistan gas and oil through western Afghanistan
to Pakistan, from which it then will be shipped all over the world. The
energy consortium Enron plans to be one of the builders of the pipeline.”
Elaine Kelly, “Northwest Groups Discuss Afghan, Iranian and Turkish
Rights Violations,” Washington Report on Middle East Affairs, March 31,
1997.
FAHRENHEIT 9/11: Kenneth Lay of Enron was Bush’s number one campaign
contributor.
Mr. Lay, also a friend to former President George Bush, was the top
campaign contributor to Mr. Bush’s 2000 presidential election.” Jerry
Seper, “Colossal Collapse: Enron Bankruptcy Scandal Carves a Wide Swath,”
The Washington Times, January 13, 2002; “Although Enron is George W.
Bush’s No. 1 career donor, the president also is heavily indebted to the
professional firms that aided and abetted the greatest bankruptcy and
shareholder meltdown in U.S. history.” Texans for Public Justice, “Bush
Is Indebted To Enron’s Professional Abettors, Too,” January 17, 2002
http://www.tpj.org/page_view.jsp?pageid=255
FAHRENHEIT 9/11: “Then in 2001, just five and a half months before 9/11,
the Bush administration welcomed a special Taliban envoy to tour the
United States to help improve the image of the Taliban government.”
“A Taliban envoy appealed to the Bush administration Monday to overlook
his group's support of extremist Osama bin Laden and the destruction of
priceless centuries-old Buddhist sculptures and lift sanctions on
Afghanistan to help alleviate a humanitarian crisis threatening the lives
of a million people. Sayed Rahmatullah Hashemi delivered a letter from
the Taliban for President Bush that called for better U.S.-Afghan
relations and negotiations to solve the dispute over the Saudi-born Bin
Laden. Robin Wright, “Taliban Asks US to Lift its Economic Sanctions,”
Los Angeles Times, March 20, 2001.
“The Town Hall forum was Hashemi's final meeting in a weeklong visit to
California, where he spoke at several universities, including USC, UCLA
and UC Berkeley. Later Thursday, he left for New York for another stop on
his public relations tour before going to Washington, where he is
scheduled to deliver a letter from his party to the Bush administration.”
Teresa Watanabe, “Overture By Taliban Hits Resistance," Los Angeles
Times, March 16, 2001.
FAHRENHEIT 9/11: The Taliban were harboring the man who bombed the USS
Cole and our African embassies.
“Osama bin Laden has claimed credit for the attack on U.S. soldiers in
Somalia in October 1993, which killed 18; for the attack on the U.S.
Embassies in Kenya and Tanzania in August 1998, which killed 224 and
injured nearly 5,000; and were linked to the attack on the U.S.S. Cole on
12 October 2000, in which 17 crew members were killed and 40 others
injured. They have sought to acquire nuclear and chemical materials for
use as terrorist weapons.” “Britain's Bill of Particulars” New York
Times, October 5, 2001.
“Osama bin Laden, in recent years, has been America's most wanted
terrorism suspect, with a $5 million reward on his head for his alleged
role in the August 1998 truck bombings of two American embassies in East
Africa that killed more than 200 people, as well as a string of other
terrorist attacks… Most recently, the F.B.I. has named Mr. bin Laden as a
prime suspect in the suicide bombing of the American destroyer Cole,
which was attacked in Aden harbor, 350 miles by road southwest of here,
on Oct. 12, with the loss of 17 sailors' lives." John F. Burns, “Where
bin Laden Has Roots, His Mystique Grows,” New York Times, December 31,
2000.
FAHRENHEIT 9/11: Hamid Karzai was a former Unocal advisor.
“Cool and worldly, Karzai is a former employee of US oil company Unocal
-- one of two main oil companies that was bidding for the lucrative
contract to build an oil pipeline from Uzbekistan through Afghanistan to
seaports in Pakistan -- and the son of a former Afghan parliament
speaker.” Ilene R. Prusher, Scott Baldauf, and Edward Girardet, “Afghan
power brokers,” Christian Science Monitor, June 10, 2002.
http://www.csmonitor.com/2002/0610/p01s03e-wosc.html.
Afghan President Hamid Karzai, a former Unocal adviser, signed a treaty
with Pakistani leader Pervez Musharraf and the Turkmen dictator
Saparmurat Niyazov to authorize construction of a $3.2 billion gas
pipeline through the Heart-Kandahar corridor in Afghanistan.” Lutz
Kleveman, “Oil and the New ‘Great Game," The Nation, February 16, 2004.
TRANSLATED FROM FRENCH: “He was a consultant for the American oil company
Unocal, while they studied the construction of a pipeline in
Afghanistan." Chipaux Francoise, “Hamid Karzaļ, Une Large Connaissance Du
Monde Occidental,” Le Monde, December 6, 2001.en minutes
http://www.michaelmoore.com/warroom/f911notes/index.php?id=20
--
Impeachment was created for people like G.W Bush
http://www.votetoimpeach.org/
"The big elephant sitting in the corner is that George W. Bush is
simply unqualified for the job... What's his accomplishment? That he's no
longer an obnoxious drunk?"
-Ronald Reagan Jr.