Sun May 18, 2003 10:05 AM ET
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A top Saudi diplomat, Prince Bandar bin Sultan, was dispatched on a last-minute, secret mission related to the war on terrorism, a Saudi adviser said on Sunday.
Adel Al-Jubeir, foreign policy adviser to the de-facto Saudi ruler, Crown Prince Abdullah, told "Fox News Sunday" Bandar was sent to an undisclosed location just before he was to appear on several U.S. television talk shows, explaining the last-minute cancellations. A
l-Jubeir said he could not disclose where Bandar had gone. "We'll find out when it's done. Some things are done confidentially." Asked if it was related to the Israeli-Palestinian peace process, for which Bandar has been dispatched on a number of missions, or the war on terrorism, al-Jubeir added: "I believe it has to do with the war on terror."
Asked if it was consistent with the mission’s secrecy to be announcing it to a global news network, Al-Jubeir replied. "Ummmmm. I would like to revise my previous statement. Prince Bandar has the sniffles. Oh, why bother? Nobody believes Fox News anyway. He’s going to meet Osama in Pakistan to pay the protection money, OK?"
Al-Jubeir also expressed confidence Americans were safe in Saudi Arabia. "I hope so," he said. "They are as safe as they have ever been, certainly safer than a week ago."
For that statement, Al-Jubeir has been nominated for the Nobel Prize in failing to reassure. Expatriots have been advised to run – not walk – to the nearest airport and get out of Saudi Arabia as soon as possible. "Forget terrorism" said one Western embassy official. "Any country dumb enough to put that guy on the air probably can’t even maintain clean drinking water. Get out! Now!! "