
Bandar bin Sultan al-Saud (2 March 1949-) was a Saudi prince who served as the Saudi Arabian ambassador to the United States from 24 October 1983 to 8 September 2005 (succeeding Faisal al-Hujailan and preceding Turki bin Faisal al-Saud) and President of General Intelligence from 19 July 2012 to 15 April 2014 (succeeding Muqrin bin Abdulaziz and preceding Khalid bin Bandar al-Saud). According to the testimony of al-Qaeda member Zacarias Moussaoui and the 9/11 Commission Report, Bandar - who was close to President George W. Bush - donated to al-Qaeda and helped finance the 9/11 attacks, sending $130,000 to two of the hijackers before the attacks.
Biography[]
Bandar bin Sultan al-Saud was born in Ta'if, Saudi Arabia in 1949, the son of Prince Sultan bin Abdulaziz and his Ethiopian concubine, and the grandson of Ibn Saud. He was trained as a fighter pilot in the United Kingdom, but he suffered a severe back injury in a 1977 jet crash, ending his military career. In 1978, he became the King's personal envoy, and he served as Ambassador to the United States from 1983 to 2005. He arranged $32 million in financing for the US-allied Contras in Nicaragua, met Osama Bin Laden in the 1980s when Bin Laden thanked Bandar for his efforts in securing American aid for the Mujahideen during the Soviet-Afghan War (Bandar described him as unimpressive and quiet), became a close friend of President George W. Bush and was affectionately nicknamed "Bandar Bush" (he even claimed to be a Hamiltonian conservative), and advocated Saddam Hussein's overthrow in Iraq in 2003. During the 1990s, he was introduced to the al-Qaeda member Zacarias Moussaoui by Turki bin Faisal al-Saud, and Moussaoui later stated on oath that Saudi royal family members - including Bandar - had donated to al-Qaeda and financed the 9/11 attacks. Bandar was found to have sent $130,000 to two of the hijackers from his personal bank account. He resigned in 2005 in order to chair the Saudi National Security Council from 2005 to 2015, and he also directed General Intelligence from 2012 to 2014. He was replaced in 2014 due to poor health.