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Tom Eldridge

From: Chris Kojm

Sent: Tuesday, June 22, 2004 6:15 PM
To: Tom Eldridge
Subject: RE: the 9/13 flight

Tom - I talked to Massoud. He doesn't have the manifest of the Deputy Defense Minsiter's flight. He says the
FBI most certainly DOES have the manifest because they held up the flight's departure for several hours because
the mechanic on the flight has the last name al-Ghamdi, and the FBI questioned him at length. AI-Ghamdi is a
common tribal name but obviously the FBI took this very seriously. SO Massoud says that for sure the FBI has
documents on this flight.

—Original Message
From: Tom Eldridge
Sent: Tuesday, June 22, 2004 11:03 AM
To: Chris Kojm
Subject: the 9/13 flight

Chris -

I just wanted to make sure that, in the press of other maters, you did not forget to call Mr. Massoud
regarding the 9/13 flight.

- Tom

6/24/2004
 Page 1 of 3

Tom Eldridge

From: Tom Eldridge

Sent: Thursday, May 06, 2004 10:45 AM
To: Chris Kojm
Subject: RE: Saudi Flights: Interview with Prince Bandar

Chris -

Thank you for seeking to include me. I know Karen will work on it. In the event the technical problems are
insurmountable, here are the questions I would ask Mr. Masood:

1. Did you speak with a U.S. government official about the interest in evacuating Saudis from the U.S. after 9-
11? [Bandar said he did]
2. With whom did you speak and what agency were they from? [Bandar said the FBI, but no info on who]
3. Why did you decide to call that person/agency?
4. When and how many times did you speak with them? [No info from Bandar on this; could have been before
air space reopened]
5. Did you speak with more than one person? If so, who?
6. Did you speak with them about one flight—the Ryan Air Bin Laden flight—or others as well? [There were
at least six flights of Saudis; Bandar mentioned only the Bin Laden flight]
7. How did the USG official(s) respond when you told them about the Saudi desire to fly out the Bin Laden
family members? [Bandar said FBI liked the idea]
8. What did the USG official ask you to do in connection with the flight(s)? [According to one FBI agent, Ryan
Air called the FBI. This may have been because the FBI told the Saudis to have them do this]
9. Beyond calling and speaking to the FBI, what if any role did you play in facilitating this or other flights?
10. Did you speak to anyone at the White House or State Department? [WH and State said no]
11. Did you seek permission for any flights to leave before the air space reopened? If yes, from whom?
When? What result? [No flights occurred, we believe, but permission may have been sought]

Thanks.

- Tom

Original Message
From: Chris Kojm
Sent: Thursday, May 06, 2004 10:18 AM
To: Philip Zelikow; Karen Heitkotter
Cc: Tom Eldridge
Subject: RE: Saudi Flights: Interview with Prince Bandar

Philip -- Good. Tom & I will talk to him.

Karen - Can you set up a call for Tom and me to talk to Minister Masood in the Saudi Embassy? You
can tell his secretary, as noted below, that it is a follow up to PZ's call to the Ambassador.

— C
Original Message
From: Philip Zelikow
Sent: Thursday, May 06, 2004 9:02 AM

5/6/2004
 Page 2 of 3

To: Tom Eldridge; Chris Kojm

Subject: RE: Saudi Flights: Interview with Prince Bandar

Chris -

Why don't you arrange a time to call Masood, perhaps with Tom with you when you do. I don't
think a formal interview is needed here. You would just be following up on my phone
conversation with HRH.

PZ

Original Message
From: Tom Eldridge
Sent: Thursday, May 06, 2004 8:55 AM
To: Philip Zelikow
Subject: RE: Saudi Flights: Interview with Prince Bandar

Please advise how you would like this to occur. Thanks.

- Tom

Original Message
From: Philip Zelikow
Sent: Thursday, May 06, 2004 12:55 AM
To: Tom Eldridge
Subject: RE: Saudi Flights: Interview with Prince Bandar

I don't see a problem in asking Mr. Masood.

PZ

Original Message
From: Tom Eldridge
Sent: Wednesday, May 05, 2004 6:14 PM
To: Philip Zelikow
Cc: Susan Ginsburg
Subject: RE: Saudi Flights: Interview with Prince Bandar

Philip -

Thank you. This account is consistent with what we see in FBI

documents. Is there any chance we can learn with whom Mr. Masood
spoke at the FBI or do you feel that would be asking them to violate
some confidence?

- Tom
Original Message
From: Philip Zelikow
Sent: Wednesday, May 05, 2004 6:35 PM
To: Tom Eldridge
Cc: Susan Ginsburg; Front Office; Dianna Campagna
Subject: Saudi Flights: Interview with Prince Bandar

Tom, et al -

I spoke on the telephone this afternoon, May 5, with Prince

Bandar, who is in Saudi Arabia, to request some Saudi

5/6/2004
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assistance with some of our work.

At the conclusion of the conversation, I asked him directly who

he or the Embassy had called for help on the Saudi flights issue.
He said that his deputy, Rifaat Masood, had phoned the FBI
about this. The FBI had apparently liked the idea of gathering all
the Bin Ladin family members in one place, in part for their own
reasons. Neither Bandar nor his deputy asked the State
Department or the White House for help. They thought it was all
being handled through the FBI.

Bandar said that he first learned of any White House involvement

in this matter during our televised hearing in March, when Dick
Clarke testified that the FBI had sought NSC permission to go
ahead with the plan. Before that he said he had not known that
the issue had gone to the White House at all.

Bandar has also offered to make himself available for a private

interview with the Commission, should commissioners wish to
question him on this or other matters.

Dianna: Please file this e-mail as an informal MFR.

Philip

5/6/2004
 MEMORANDUM FOR THE RECORD

Event: Telephone Conversation with the Deputy Chief of Mission, Rihab Massoud,
Embassy of Kingdom of Saudi Arabia

Date: 05/11/2004

Time: 11:45 AM

Special access issues: none

Prepared by: Chris Kojm

Team Number: Front Office

Location: K St.

Participants: Chris Kojm

Minister Massoud called from Saudi Arabia, in a follow-up to a call from Philip
Zelikow to the Saudi Ambassador, Prince Bandar. I ran through a series of questions
prepared by Tom Eldridge; Tom was unable to join the call.

Minister Massoud stated that he initiated an inquiry on behalf of the government

of Saudi Arabia to allow the early departure of members of the Bin Ladin family from the
United States. He called Dale Watson at the FBI "some days after" 9/11. He does not
remember the exact date; he is checking his records. He recalls he spoke twice to Dale
Watson, once to initiate the request, and once to tell Dale Watson that he was providing
names and basic biographical information, including date and place of birth and passport
information on these individuals. He spoke to others at the FBI, but does not recall their
names.

Minister Massoud thought the FBI was the appropriate agency for his phone call,
because the Embassy was working closely with the FBI on counterterrorism issues.

He made clear that the plan was to gather all members of the Bin Ladin family on
one flight. The flight made several stops in the United States where members of the
family were gathered before it departed the United States.

Massoud disputed that there were six Saudi flights. He claimed this represented
"confusion" between the number of stops by the so-called Bin Ladin flight internally
within the United States and its ultimate departure from the United States, which was
only one flight.

When asked whether the Embassy assisted with the departure of any other Saudi
nationals, Massoud said the Embassy helped with two additional flights. One was a
flight from California by the Governor of Mecca on an American-registered aircraft that
belonged to the President of Gabon. The second was a flight on Saudia Airlines by the
Saudi Deputy Defense Minister from New York City. When questioned again about six
Saudi flights, he specifically denied that the Saudi Embassy helped with any additional
flights or departure of Saudi nationals in the immediate aftermath of 9/11 other than the
Bin Ladin family flight and the two cases mentioned above.

Massoud stated that at each stop within the United States of the so-called Bin
Ladin flight, all passengers got off the plane. Both new passengers and continuing
passengers had their names and documents checked by law enforcement, including the
FBI, before they boarded the plane. Therefore, each passenger was checked at least once
and most were checked several times by law enforcement.

He mentioned that when he asked the FBI about the departure of the Bin Ladin
family, the FBI had one requirement: it wanted the names and personal information of all
departing passengers. The Embassy provided such information to the FBI, and has also
made such information available to the Commission. The Embassy further told the FBI:
"if you want to talk to any of them now, we will make that happen. If you want to talk to
any of them later, after they have returned to Saudi Arabia, we will make that happen,
too." The FBI set no other requirements before the departure of Bin Ladin family
members. Massoud said the FBI made its checks at the time, before the departure of Bin
Ladin family members, and did not ask subsequently to interview any members of the
family after their return to Saudi Arabia.

Massoud said he and the Embassy took no other steps to facilitate these flights
than to provide names, personal information, the names of pilots, pilot licenses, etc. to the
FBI. Neither he nor the Embassy spoke to any other agency of the U.S. government.
He specifically denied any contact with the White House or State Department on this
question.

Massoud specifically denied seeking any permission for the departure of the Bin
Ladin family or other Saudi nationals (the two flights referenced earlier) before the
reopening of U.S. airspace. He stated that these flights took place after U.S. airspace
reopened.