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

by Gerald Posner

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: The Failure to Prevent 9/11, this is a gross understatement. In his new book, Secrets of the Kingdom, Posner exposes the undeniable truth about U.S.-Saudi relations–and how the Saudis’ influence on American business and politics poses a grave threat to our security.

The result of an intensive two-year investigation, Secrets of the Kingdom penetrates the innermost layers of the shielded House of Saud and presents indisputable evidence of complicity and deceit at the highest levels–evidence that the 9/11 Commission, either deliberately or negligently, failed to consider. Using bank records and other previously undisclosed information, Posner unearths many disturbing truths and shattering revelations about the ties that bind the Saudi and U.S. governments, including

• how countless failures in U.S. intelligence and law enforcement gave extraordinary preferential treatment to prominent Saudis living in the United States, including members of the bin Laden family, in the days after 9/11

• a likely close connection between a powerful member of the House of Saud and Abu Zubeydah, the highest-ranking al-Qaeda operative captured so far by the United States


• how the Saudi government has turned a blind eye to the role Saudi charities–including many controlled or supported by Kingdom officials– have played in bankrolling al-Qaeda and Islamic terror groups

• the never-before-revealed Saudi and U.S. emergency plans in the event of a national crisis in the Kingdom, plans that could affect the security of the United States and the entire Middle East

Secrets of the Kingdom is an explosive study that will have a profound impact on both U.S. policy and Americans’ perception of their government and its extensive ties to a foreign power. Posner uncovers a disturbing picture of how two nations, despite their differing agendas, have become inextricably entwined.


From the Hardcover edition.

Genres: Nonfiction, Middle East, Politics, History, Islam, The United States Of America, American

272 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2005

About the author

Gerald Posner is an award winning journalist, bestselling author and attorney. The Los Angeles Times dubs him "a classic-style investigative journalist." "His work is painstakingly honest journalism" concluded The Washington Post. The New York Times lauded his "exhaustive research techniques" and The Boston Globe talked of Posner's "thorough and hard-edge investigation." "A meticulous and serious researcher," said the New York Daily News.

Posner's first book, Mengele, a 1986 biography of the Nazi "Angel of Death” Josef Mengele, was the result of a pro-bono lawsuit Posner brought on behalf of surviving twins from Auschwitz. Since then he has written ten other books from the Pulitzer Prize-finalist Case Closed, to bestsellers on political assassinations, organized crime, national politics, and 9/11 and terrorism. His upcoming God’s Bankers has spanned nine years of research and received early critical praise.

ohn Martin of ABC News says "Gerald Posner is one of the most resourceful investigators I have encountered in thirty years of journalism." Garry Wills calls Posner "a superb investigative reporter. "Posner, a former Wall Street lawyer, demolishes myths through a meticulous re-examination of the facts," reported the Chicago Tribune. "Meticulous research," Newsday.

Anthony Lewis in The New York Times: "With 'Killing the Dream, he has written a superb book: a model of investigation, meticulous in its discovery and presentation of evidence, unbiased in its exploration of every claim. And it is a wonderfully readable book, as gripping as a first-class detective story."

"What we need is a work of painstakingly honest journalism, a la Case Closed, Gerald Posner's landmark re-examination of the assassination of John F. Kennedy," concluded Joe Sharkey in The New York Times.

Gene Lyons, in Entertainment Weekly: "As thorough and incisive a job of reporting and critical thinking as you will ever read, Case Closed does more than buttress the much beleaguered Warren Commission's conclusion ….More than that, Posner's book is written in a penetrating, lucid style that makes it a joy to read. Even the footnotes, often briskly debunking one or another fanciful or imaginary scenario put forth by the conspiracy theorists, rarely fail to enthrall...Case Closed is a work of genuine patriotism and a monument to the astringent power of reason. 'A'"

Jeffrey Toobin in the Chicago Tribune: "Unlike many of the 2,000 other books that have been written about the Kennedy assassination, Posner's Case Closed is a resolutely sane piece of work. More importantly, 'Case Closed' is utterly convincing in its thesis, which seems, in light of all that has transpired over the past 30 years, almost revolutionary....I started Case Closed as a skeptic - and slightly put off by the presumptuous title. To my mind historical truth is always a slippery thing. The chances of knowing for sure what happened in any event - much less one as murky as the Kennedy assassination - seem remote. But this fascinating and important book won me over. Case closed, indeed."

Based in the mixed realms of politics, history, and true crime, his articles - from The New York Times to The New Yorker to Newsweek, Time and The Daily Beast - have prompted Argentina to open its hidden Nazi files to researchers; raised disturbing questions about clues the FBI missed in the 1995 Oklahoma City bombing; sparked a reinvestigation of the Boston Strangler; and exposed Pete Rose's gambling addiction, which led to his ban from baseball.

Posner was one of the youngest attorneys (23) ever hired by Cravath, Swaine & Moore. A Political Science major, Posner was a Phi Beta Kappa and Summa Cum Laude graduate of the University of California at Berkeley (1975), where he was also a national debating champion, winner of the Meiklejohn Award. At Hastings Law School (1978), he was an Honors Graduate and served as the Associate Executive Editor for the Law Review. Of Counsel to Posner & Ferrar

Reviews

[Tom Oman · Rating 4 out of 5]

Gerald Posner writes in the style of an investigative journalist, and a lot of his finger pointing comes off as a bit petty and futile. As much as he tries to smear the Saudis for their unethical behaviour, he measures them by western morales which are totally irrelevant to the Saudis. The reality is that the Saudis don’t have to answer to anyone or play nice with anyone, they have the oil and they fully understand the power that they wield. Far beyond the monetary wealth, they have the stability of the world economy by the proverbial balls and they behave exactly as that would imply. Unlike almost any nation on earth, they hoard the lifeblood of the world economy and they can very passively dole it out or revoke access as they see fit and that has all the power of whatever military might you can muster up. On top of this, their actual military is the 6th largest in the world and by far and away the largest in terms of per capita spending. For all of these reasons, they don’t need to play by the same rules as other nations who are generally playing a complex game of quid pro quo diplomacy. The Saudis simply leverage their huge advantage to ensure that they get whatever they want, without having to reciprocate in the same way as other nations.

What’s important to note is that Saudi Arabia is not so much a nation as it is a Kingdom, it’s all in the name (the KSA) and the royal family is the embodiment of all this power.

Most astonishing fact of the day is that the Saudi royal family has installed a particular type of nuclear weapon (caesium warheads) across all their oil fields and associated infrastructure. This type of nuclear weapon is designed to not just destroy, but more specifically to radioactively contaminate the site of detonation to the point where anything for 50-100 miles would need to be left uninhabited for many decades. In any scenario where the oil of the Kingdom falls into the hands of anyone but the royal family, foreign or domestic, those nukes will be detonated to render the oil fields and the oil itself unusable for generations. Given the importance and size of these oil reserves, the entire world is essentially held hostage by this family. The message is clear, if anyone tries to mess with them, they will ruin everyone’s fun and bring the lifeblood of humanity to a screeching halt, they’ve got the best insurance policy you can imagine.

[Fahad Alrashed · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book is full of stories. The ones I know (being from saudi arabia) are spun in a way that is agains Saudis Arabia. Most of the book is essentially says "look how those stupid Saudis are different than us in the West". Every country had their growing up period (e.g. USA took 200 years to mature), yet the author will not grant a few years to Saudi Arabia to go from a dessert beduin society to a civilized one.

I also distinctly sense a demeaning tone in every sentence he writes. Every society has good and bad in them. Yet the author never mentions the good or tries to understand why the bad was there in the first place. Apparently, writing exaggerations and tantalizing stories sells books.

I would label this book as "fiction" based on true events.

[Tom Schulte · Rating 4 out of 5]

In its final report, the 9/11 Commission famously called the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia "a problematic ally in combating Islamic extremism." Ostensibly, Posner "exposes the undeniable truth about U.S.-Saudi relations-and how the Saudis' influence on American business and politics poses a grave threat to our security." That is certainly a main thread here, but there is more just about the inherent racism, sexism and anti-Semitism of thee kingdom.

For this 2005 book, bin Laden and King Fahd are still alive. Not so much the named royal family contacts of the 9/11 terrorists that died mysteriously such as Prince Ahmed bin Salman, dead at 43. Also detailed is the likely close connection between a powerful member of the House of Saud and Abu Zubeydah, the highest-ranking al-Qaeda operative captured up to then by the United States

The role Saudi charities-including many controlled or supported by Kingdom officials-have played in bankrolling al-Qaeda and Islamic terror groups along with official government support to spreading Wahhabism through madrasas implies Saudi-sold oil means US consumers paying for their own threats. Even this is a bit of old hat yet it is instructive how the Nixon-initiated years of attempted self-sufficiency saw The Kingdom succeed in becoming a larger part of US oil imports.

The most interesting thing to me may be the "never-before-revealed" Saudi scorched earth plans in the event of a national crisis in the Kingdom: undetectable ("umarked") Semtex and radiological bombs integrated into critical infrastructure. By today the plastic explosives would be largely degraded. However, if they did in the 80s and 90s they may very well have maintained or improved it.

[Dan Rheingans · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fascinating look at the history of Saudi Arabia, its formation as a country, the ideological underpinning of both the House of Saud and the population writ large, an examination of the development of Saudi Arabia into a modern nation, the connection between the US and the Saudis, and many other related issues. I learned a TON reading this book and really felt like it contained a lot of valuable information about a wide variety of issues connected to Saudi Arabia, the Saudi-US connection, the Oil Industry, Terrorism, and the Middle Eastern religious and political climate. Would definitely suggest to folks interested in Middle East or Muslim history.

[Alyssa · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fascinating look at the relationship between Saudi Arabia and the United States and how each country influences the other's politics. Even being fairly well informed about US/Middle Eastern history there was a lot I didn't know in this book. The US does not want to emphasize its relationship to Saudi Arabia, so much of this information is not part of the general public discourse even when Saudi interests are directly influencing US policy at home and abroad.

[Brian Mikołajczyk · Rating 5 out of 5]

Starting in the 1970s the Saudis have dump billions into the US while also simultaneously funding terrorism via their Wahhabi fundamentalism culminating in the attacks on New York in September 11, 2001. Many Saudi princes have deep business and banking connections inside the United States and the US has turned a blind eye to all their nefarious activities...
An excellent investigative book!

[Mandi Scott · Rating 5 out of 5]

Dirty Big Secrets
Written by Mandi Scott Chestler on October 27th, 2008
Book Rating: 5/5
This thoroughly researched book reveals disturbing facts about our relationship with Saudi Arabia. These are the dirty big secrets you won't learn from the main stream media. It provides a detailed history of the Saudi oil industry, petro-politics and America's relationship with the Royal Family. If you want the real scoop on Aramco, OPEC, the 70's Oil Embargo, Saudi involvement in 911, and wide spread Saudi investments in a whole range of important American corporations, then this is the book for you. There is very scary information on the Saudi Petrol Scorched Earth policy. This is a plan where all Saudi oil fields, petroleum refineries, pipelines, docking and storage facilities, and pumping stations can be destroyed from a single button self-destruct system using radiation dispersal devices (dirty bombs) and detonated with 60 tons of illegal unmarked Symtex (undectectible plastic explosive) purchased from former Soviet block countries.

[Davy Bennett · Rating 1 out of 5]

I will give Posner a 1 rating because without reading this one (I do have it on my shelf) he has proven to be an establishment hack with his Case Closed fairy tale of the JFK coup.
I have a couple of other books on the Saudis/Middle East that I'll probably read first.

I think 95% of the 9/11 murderers were Saudi's.
Why then did we attack Iraq?

[V · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wack

[Mike Wigal · Rating 4 out of 5]

Remember the Beverly Hillbillies? Saudi is sort of like that. They happened to sit on a massive oilfield, struck it rich, but weren't completely able to shed their roots. The West was represented by the banker Mr. Drysdale, salivating over the new-found wealth. Whether it's diamond encrusted Rolexes or fishing in the cement pond, the effect is similar. The question, never answered in the TV series and yet to be determined in the Desert Kingdom, is what happens when the Black Gold runs out?

[Anna · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very good. Before we developed their infrastructure goats were eating the garbage. The mullahs thought refridgerators were evil. Oil embargo gave oil co the biggest profits they had ever had. Is that the reason we don't get our own oil out of the ground? They don't want to see the price go down.

Too bad we are funding the war against ourselves.

[Moira · Rating 5 out of 5]

Once I read "Case Closed", I had to read other books by the excellent writer Gerald Posner. I picked this one up, because at the time, I was disgusted with the evidence coming out that the Bush administration was heavily involved with the Saudi government. This is a good book to read to learn more about the background of the Saudi royal family.

[nathaniel · Rating 4 out of 5]

Favorite chapter was "Petrol SE." Apparently, the Sauds have wired their oil fields and refineries with explosives and dirty bombs with a push-button self destruct system. Sounds crazy, but truth is stranger.

[Lara Eakins · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very interesting all around. I thought there would be more about the ties to the Bush family, but it was a good background to the history of the royal family. It will be interesting to see what happens in the country over the next 50 or so years.

[Ralph Roe]

Very unique topic. How the Saudi's have greatly influenced US policy, and demonstrates some of their very wealthy citizens are surreptitiously funding terrorist groups. Not a bunch of nice people at all. Good reasons to increase US oil production so we can get away from their corruption.

[CAMERON · Rating 3 out of 5]

For political non fiction, this is actually quite an easy read. Even if you're not a hardcore political junkie like me.

[Nikolas Larum · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was published in 2005. Its primary benefit is in the background information it provides to what was then the status quo in the region. Worth the read.

[Shaun Kremin · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Saudi Royal Family makes $400 million dollars a week in oil profits.

[Peter Bergh · Rating 4 out of 5]

Exemplifies the moral hazard of our age.