CIA reliability not up to par, Al Faisal says
SAUDI-US RELATIONSHIP IS ONE OF MUTUAL BENEFIT, SAYS FORMER INTELLIGENCE HEAD
In an interview on CNN’s Connect the World programme, Becky Anderson spoke to former Saudi Director of General Intelligence Turki Al Faisal about the reliability of the CIA’s assessment on the murder of Saudi Journalist Jamal Khashoggi, and the US-Saudi relationship.
During the interview, Prince Turki Al Faisal rejected claims made by the Central Intelligence Agency that Crown Prince Mohammad Bin Salman personally ordered Khashoggi’s murder and states that “since the Iraqi invasion … CIA assessments or information is not necessarily up to par.”
“I worked for many years with the CIA when I was the director of intelligence. We had good cooperation … But I would say that particularly since the American invasion of Iraq, the reliability, if you like, of CIA assessments or information is not necessarily up to par as far as truthfulness or veracity are concerned.”
‘Crown Prince is popular’
On recent claims made by US President Donald Trump that Saudi Arabia wouldn’t last two weeks without his nation’s support, Al Faisal responded by highlighting how the relationship between the two countries is one of “mutual benefit, mutual respect.”
“But you know, the Saudi ideal ... has survived for three centuries now. As far as survivability is concerned, I don’t think we relied on American goodwill throughout those centuries. We never forget that America stood with us when Saddam Hussain invaded Kuwait. But we also stood by America at the time when America was much reviled in the Middle East in the ‘50s, ‘60s and ‘70s. And yet we stuck to America and bore the burden of that friendship with America by attacks from antiAmerican forces in the Middle East. So, it’s been a history of mutual benefit, mutual respect,” he added.
There has been international scrutiny against the Saudi Crown Prince over his alleged role in Khashoggi’s murder, but Al Faisal says he remains popular and loved in Saudi Arabia.
“The Crown Prince is there because the King chose him to be the Crown Prince and because the Al Bay’ah Counsel, the succession counsel in Saudi Arabia, supported his selection as the Crown Prince and because the people like him. And if you took a measure of public opinion in Saudi Arabia today of where the Crown Prince stands, it’s probably much higher than it was six months ago. Not because of the killing of Jamal Khashoggi. But basically, they see him as someone who has been steadfastly steering the kingdom towards development and engagement with the rest of the world.”
Khashoggi was killed on October 2 in what Saudi Arabia said was a rogue operation. It has arrested 18 persons in connection with the crime, and has vehemently denied that Crown Prince Mohammad ordered the killing.
The Saudi ideal has survived for three centuries now. I don’t think during that time we relied on American goodwill. We stuck with America when it was reviled.”
Turki Al Faisal | Saudi official