Acknowledgments

This list is incomplete. Thirty-four of the people who were interviewed for this book did so on condition of anonymity. Others allowed me to mention their names but did not want specific facts or ideas attributed to them. Moreover; it should be stated that some of those interviewed disagreed with my approach and my conclusions. Indeed the opinions expressed in this book, like its shortcomings, are mine alone.

These provisions aside, I nevertheless owe a huge debt of thanks to the following: Jamil Mroeh, journalist; Abdel Barn Attwan, newspaper editor; Ghassan Zakkaria, magazine editor; Robert Fisk, news corre-spondent; Jean Diah, journalist and historian; Suleiman Firzli, journalist; Farid Al Khatib, journalist; Toby Odone, journalist; Murray Gart, journalist and editor; Kassem Ja'afar; journalist; David Boardman, television producer; Rosie Waterhouse, Jour-nalist; Pierre Salinger, journalist and former press spokesman for President Kennedy; Mohammad Kabardai, journalist; Maria Kelmas, journalist; Helga Graham, journalist; David Gardner; journalist; Steven Timewell, editor; Professor Mousa Mazzawi, authority on Sharia law; Dr Muhammad Faisal, editor; David Helier; television writer; Khaldoun Solh, publisher. Rosemary Hollis, Royal United Services Institute; William Quandt, Brookings Institution; James Akins, Harold Cutler and Hermann Eilts, former US Ambassadors to Saudi Arabia; Robert Komer; former member of the National Security Council; Eric Roulu, former French Ambassador to Syria and Iran. Tewfiq Al Sheikh, Abdel Ameer Mousa and Hamza Al Hassan, Saudi opposition members; Sa'ad Al Bazzaz, Iraqi Government official; Dr Gholamhussein Ra'ad, former Iranian Government official; Paul Parker; former banker; Bob McCarthy, banker; Ziad Beidoun, geologist; Sue Arnold, former employee of the Military Hospital, Riyadh.

Among the names missing for reasons of anonymity are one member of the House of Saud, two former British diplomats, three CIA agents, five bankers, including some with the World Bank and the International Monetary fund, seven journalists who still visit Saudi Arabia and three businessmen with interests there. The rest are academics, think-tank members and others who have worked in Saudi Arabia. Also, as in all book-writing endeavours, there were relatives and friends who provided much-needed companionship and comfort without involvement in my purpose as a writer.