...but he's still fat
Yahoo! News - Documents show FBI helped Saudis depart after 9/11 attacks: New York Times
The FBI played an active role in arranging chartered flights for dozens of well-connected Saudi nationals -- including relatives of Osama bin Laden -- after the 9/11 terror attacks.
The New York Times reported that the documents show Federal Bureau of Investigation agents gave personal airport escorts to two prominent Saudi families who fled the United States, while several other Saudis were allowed to leave the country without first being interviewed, citing newly-released US government records.
...
FBI officials contacted by the daily reacted angrily to the allegation of preferential treatment for the Saudis.
One official, speaking on condition of anonymity, when queried by the Times about the airport escorts said "we'd do that for anybody if they felt they were threatened -- we wouldn't characterize that as special treatment."
The Saudis' chartered flights -- arranged in the days after the September 11, 2001 terror attacks when most aircraft were still grounded -- long have been a topic of allegations related to close family ties and associates of US President George W. Bush and the Saudi royal family.
Score one more for Michael Moore, who made this argument to a veritable shitstorm of a response.
And the anonymous FBI source is right -- we give "personal airport escorts" to a large number of middle eastern types on a regular basis. Only the generally accepted term for those flights is "extraordinary rendition."
The FBI played an active role in arranging chartered flights for dozens of well-connected Saudi nationals -- including relatives of Osama bin Laden -- after the 9/11 terror attacks.
The New York Times reported that the documents show Federal Bureau of Investigation agents gave personal airport escorts to two prominent Saudi families who fled the United States, while several other Saudis were allowed to leave the country without first being interviewed, citing newly-released US government records.
...
FBI officials contacted by the daily reacted angrily to the allegation of preferential treatment for the Saudis.
One official, speaking on condition of anonymity, when queried by the Times about the airport escorts said "we'd do that for anybody if they felt they were threatened -- we wouldn't characterize that as special treatment."
The Saudis' chartered flights -- arranged in the days after the September 11, 2001 terror attacks when most aircraft were still grounded -- long have been a topic of allegations related to close family ties and associates of US President George W. Bush and the Saudi royal family.
Score one more for Michael Moore, who made this argument to a veritable shitstorm of a response.
And the anonymous FBI source is right -- we give "personal airport escorts" to a large number of middle eastern types on a regular basis. Only the generally accepted term for those flights is "extraordinary rendition."
posted by bluememe at 3/28/2005
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