Prince Bandar bin Sultan
From AICbackground
Prince Bandar bin Sultan bin Abdul-Aziz al-Saud
Secretary-General of the Saudi National Security Council
Quotes:
“If there's a Palestinian state and an Israeli Jewish state, that's fine. That is not the question, though. The question is -- Israel exists today as a state, what we are dealing with is making -- creating the Palestinian state where the Palestinians will have their own home.”
“If you're going to make the judgment on Saudi Arabia as a culture, as a country, based on [9/11 Hijackers], can you imagine what we would think about your culture if we judged everybody who is blond and blue eyes...we have to watch out because he's going to blow up another Oklahoma like McVeigh did?”
Background:
You are the son of Prince Sultan ibn Abdul-Aziz al-Sudairi, one of the most powerful members of the Saudi dynasty and the longtime Saudi Defense Minister. You were born in 1949 to an obscure servant girl, and ignored for most of your young life, though you were raised with the other royal children in Riyadh. In an attempt to gain your father’s favor you enrolled in a British military academy, and became an accomplished fighter pilot. Back home in Saudi Arabia you became the kingdom’s most famous pilot, and would have continued your air force career had you not suffered a serious crash in the 1970s. You began working your way up the career military ranks and became a Lieutenant Colonel in the Saudi air force before being appointed to Washington D.C. as a special military liaison in 1978.
Time in Washington:
You came to Washington as a special envoy of King Khaled, charged with securing the sale of F-15 fighter planes to the Saudi military, a deal that was held up in the Congress at the time. You quickly succeeded in making the sale happen, and went on to become a well-respected unofficial agent of the Saudi king: you did not hold an official diplomatic post, but Washington insiders knew you could be trusted to relay secret messages back and forth from Riyadh. In 1982 you were appointed Defense Attaché at the Saudi embassy, and in 1983 the newly crowned King Fahd promoted you to full ambassador. You got along well with the Reagan administration, and throughout the 1980s you developed a reputation as one of Washington’s most valuable (and cunning) political fixers: you were indirectly involved in the Iran-Contra Affair, secret diplomacy with Libyan dictator Mu’ommar Ghaddafi, and funding Mujahadin in the Afghan Jihad. During this period you became especially close to then Vice-President George H.W. Bush, and became an honorary member of the Bush family.
Under the first Bush presidency (1989-1993) your close relationship with the Bush family paid off handsomely. You successfully convinced the Bush administration to repel Iraqi troops from Kuwait in 1992, and as a result convinced the Saudi government to build 2 massive permanent military bases for American troops in the northern Arabian Desert. After this military intervention you declared your undying support for the Bush family, and were personally very distraught when Bush lost the 1992 election to Bill Clinton. During this administration you also developed strong ties with individuals who would later form the second Bush administration, Colin Powell and Richard Cheney.
Clinton and the Israeli-Palestinian Issue:
By Clinton’s inauguration in 1993 you had become one of Washington’s most powerful ambassadors, and had access to government at the highest levels. You personally disliked Bill Clinton’s presidential cabinet, because you felt they lacked the strength of will found in the Reagan and Bush years. All the same, when Bill Clinton became seriously involved in the Israeli-Palestinian peace process (largely to atone for personal scandals he committed while in office) you threw your full support behind him. You were uninvolved in the Oslo accords, beyond moral support, but you were a key actor in the ultimately futile Camp David Accords of 2000. You were primarily charged with acting as Washington’s goodwill envoy to actors the US government couldn’t easily engage: Yasser Arafat and Syria’s Hafez al-Asad. Regarding Arafat, you tried to convince the aging freedom fighter that he was reaching the end of the road politically: at the time his exasperating personal manners were exhausting the international goodwill he had gained from the Oslo Accords, and his Israeli opposite, Ehud Barak, was facing an election in late 2000. If Barak could not deliver a peace agreement to the Israeli people, you reminded Arafat, he would almost certainly be replaced by the implacable Ariel Sharon, one of the staunchest advocates of Greater Israel. You told Arafat the Arab World had grown tired of seeing the Palestinians throw away deal after deal in search of an impossibly advantageous peace, and bluntly stated that if Arafat threw away peace one last time, he would have to fight the Israelis alone. Regarding Assad, you were sent several times to Damascus to assure the dictator that Clinton was serious about returning the entirety of the Golan Heights to Syria. With this offer on the table, you received assurance from al-Asad that Syria would use its influence to curb the violence in Lebanon and tamp down its support of Hezbollah, which would have been a worthy achievement by itself. As a result of miscommunication between Clinton’s advisors, however, this deal was not properly presented to al-Asad, and he rejected the entire process, feeling lied to by you and the US government. Arafat scuttled what remained of this process by refusing at the last minute to sign a deal which would have placed 97% of the West Bank under Palestinian authority. You blamed Clinton for not forcing Arafat to sign the agreement, and the complete unraveling of these talks left you utterly exhausted, not to mention completely disgusted with Washington’s approach to the Palestinian Issue.
Bush, 9/11 and Afterwards:
When George W. Bush was appointed president in 2001 and appointed several of your old Washington friends (Cheney, Powell, Rumsfeld) to important positions, you became the most powerful diplomat in Washington, with unprecedented access to the White House and all members of the Executive. This authority was sorely tested by September 11th, when 15 of 19 hijackers were revealed to be Saudi nationals. You spent the majority of the first GW Bush administration (2001-2005) waging an energetic media campaign against anti-Muslim sentiment in the US, complicated by the fact that you represent one of the world’s most conservative Islamic states. Insiders have alleged that you were one of the first people to know about Bush’s invasion plans for Iraq, and all through the ‘War on Terror’ you skillfully kept your government, now led by Crown Prince Abdullah, informed of events at the highest levels of American power.
Your unprecedented access to elites made many other Washington operatives jealous of you, and gossip has it that you were actually tremendously unpopular with everyone but the president and his immediate colleagues. This jealousy probably wasn’t helped by your lavish lifestyle, which includes a 135 million dollar chateau in Aspen Colorado and a country estate in rural England. You also came under scrutiny when it was revealed in 2003 that your wife inadvertently gave money to an Islamic charity that was a front for al-Qaida. This was a minor incident in the larger diplomatic scheme of things, but did little to enhance your reputation in Washington or abroad. Saudi detractors began to complain that you had lost your edge, and in late 2005 you were recalled to Saudi Arabia without any official explanation to be replaced by you brother-in-law, Turki al-Faisal. Rumor has it your recall was the result of your long-standing battle with depression, as well as a larger cabinet shakeup brought about by the long overdue crowning of Abdullah as the Saudi king.
National Security Chief:
After several months in limbo you were named Director of the Saudi National Security Council, essentially becoming the Saudi National Security Advisor. It is rumored that you sought higher positions but were rebuffed. All the same, your current position can hardly be seen as a demotion, because your father is now Crown Prince Sultan, making you the favorite son of the second most powerful man in the kingdom.
Middle East Priorities:
Your two top issues are Iran and Iraq, with Israel ranking somewhere lower on the list. Regarding Iraq, you have personally lobbied very hard to keep western troops in the country, fearing that all-out civil war will result should the Coalition withdraw. This is fueled by the assumption that a lawless Iraq would see Shiites armed by Iran begin settling scores with Sunni communities, which would result in nothing less than genocide. Your government has publicly sworn that it will not abandon Iraq’s Sunnis, and will arm the Sunni militias if they are forced to stand on their own.
The Iraq conflict has also ratcheted up the long-simmering rivalry between Saudi Arabia and Iran, as both countries fund different sides of the Iraq war. Iran has tried to improve relations with your government over the last decade, but the staunch Salafist (Wahhabi) creed of Saudi Arabia still brands all Shiites as nothing more than heretics, so Saudis by and large do not trust the Shiite clerics who rule Iran. This bad blood has been worsened considerably as a result of the perceived Iranian nuclear threat. Experts disagree on the scale of Iran’s semi-secret nuclear program (and whether or not it is even military in nature), but you have not hesitated to take a hard line on the issue: you believe the Gulf oil states should encourage the US to take a hard line against Iran, even if that means military strikes against Iranian nuclear sites. This position has set you against several important members of the Saudi royal family, most notably your ambassadorial successor Turki al-Faisal, who resigned his post in December 2006, probably due to pressure you exerted on him from the National Security Council.
The one bright spot in Saudi Middle East policy at the moment might actually be Israel, because with your help the Saudi government has conducted several important private meetings with Israeli officials since 2006. Crown Prince Abdullah became famous in 2002 for floating a new peace plan, and though it was not received well at the time Abdullah has continued to improve on it via quiet diplomatic missions and judicious “donations” to various regional actors. As of early 2007, it looks like Israeli officials might soon publicly meet with Saudi leaders to discuss the renewal of this plan; given your long diplomatic experience, you will surely be part of this process.
Roleplaying Hints:
You are said to exude an aura of authority, drawing all eyes towards you in the room. This charisma, combined with your excellent conversational skills and loud laugh have made you very skilled at earning the favor of those in power. There is a dark side to you, however, which those who know you have been quick to point out: you are cunning, ruthless and vengeful. Your responsibilities as a secret envoy for King Fahd gave you a naturally scheming mind, and Washington insiders say you prefer to achieve your objectives by getting your enemies to fight one another. You are seen as a boisterous, direct individual who is prone to emotional outbursts. This has alienated many members of the Saudi dynasty, who favor traditional Wahhabi values of modesty and circumspection. Owing to this lack of self-control you are not actually seen by most as being of very good ambassador—your personality makes up for this, and thanks to your overwhelming charm and quick mind you can count on the support of the most powerful people in the world, regardless of what your peers might think of you.
References:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bandar_bin_Sultan
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/8366298/
http://www.saudiembassy.net/Country/Government/BandarBio.asp
http://www.saudi-us-relations.org/international-relations/prince-bandar.html
http://www.keralanext.com/news/?id=947890
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/middle_east/6266341.stm
http://www.nysun.com/article/46045?page_no=1
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,2089-2483893,00.html
http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?pagename=JPost/JPArticle/ShowFull&cid=1164881805486
