(RightWing.org) – Saudi Arabia’s de facto ruler, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, aka MbS and Abu Rasasa (father of the bullet), remains a controversial figure in the United States. For instance, a 2021 assessment issued by the Office of the Director of National Intelligence concluded that MbS approved a 2017 operation in Turkey to kill or capture Wall Street Journalist Jamal Khashoggi and likely ordered his assassination at the Saudi consulate building in Istanbul the following year.
The Crown Prince recently answered some tough questions during a Fox News interview.
Saudi Arabian Crown Prince Goes Toe-To-Toe With Fox News Host
On September 20, Fox News aired an in-depth interview with MbS. Host Bret Baier addressed several controversial topics during the no-holds-barred half-hour discussion. It’s the first time the crown prince sat down with a major American news network in four years.
NOT PULLING PUNCHES: Fox News host @BretBaier comes face-to-face with the crown prince. During this historic talk, they discuss controversial laws and incidents that have plagued Saudi Arabia. Watch the interview. https://t.co/BTNYl6hlDZ pic.twitter.com/MNM2WqukcT
— Fox News (@FoxNews) September 21, 2023
Baier, the network’s chief political anchor, spent a week in Saudia Arabia talking to various business owners and government workers, preparing for his historic sit-down discussion with MbS. The interview began with a casual conversation about the current state of affairs in the kingdom and the crown prince’s short and long-term goals for the country.
The September 11 Attacks
Baier quickly pivoted to controversial topics like Saudi Arabia’s role in the tragic September 11 attacks on the World Trade Center and Pentagon. The Fox News host began that line of questioning by reminding MbS that “15 of the 19 hijackers were Saudi.”
On the 22nd anniversary of those attacks, “What do you say to… 9/11 families?” Baier asked.
The crown prince expresses his sorrow for the loss of life. “No one wants to lose his family, especially… like that,” he said. MbS readily conceded that 15 Saudis were on the airplanes that struck the US but maintained that both the United States and Saudi Arabia were victims of Osama bin Laden’s attack.
MbS explained that bin Laden had been organizing terrorist strikes in Saudi Arabia since the 1990s and was planning future assaults on the kingdom at the time of the 9/11 attacks. “It doesn’t make sense for [the Saudi government to] work with a guy who’s doing terrorist attack[s]” on their own soil. He emphasized that point by stating that bin Laden was Saudi Arabia’s enemy and “the American enemy.”
Khashoggi’s Assassination
Baier also asked MbS about Khashoggi’s assassination. The crown prince told him that Saudi officials took “all the legal measurements [sic] that any [other] country took” to get to the bottom of that horrible crime and close the case. He confirmed that “anyone involved” in the murder had to “face the law” and was currently spending time behind bars.
MbS said that Saudi Arabian officials worked to “reform” the nation’s “security system” after that incident to ensure “these kinds of mistakes doesn’t [sic] happen again.” He also pointed out that there hadn’t been a similar incident since Khashoggi’s death.
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