Souad Al-Damouk
I listened to the question you directed to His Royal Highness Prince Mohammed bin Salman during his recent visit to the United States, in which you linked the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to the events of September 11—as if this single incident were the only standard by which the Kingdom’s history in combating terrorism should be judged.
With full respect for your journalistic work, your question overlooked a significant part of the truth.
Long before the events of 9/11—specifically since the mid-1990s—Saudi Arabia had been at the forefront of confronting terrorism alone. Riyadh, Dammam, and other cities witnessed bombings and armed attacks targeting innocent civilians, some of which were directly linked to Osama bin Laden’s networks.
Saudis at that time lived under daily threats while the world had not yet realized the scale of the danger approaching it.
The Kingdom did not differentiate between citizens and residents; everyone was targeted by terrorism, and everyone was under protection. In those years, Saudi Arabia paid a heavy price in the lives of its people and the stability of its cities, while neither the United States nor others had yet faced any similar attack.
Reducing this long history to a single incident—no matter how tragic or significant—creates an inaccurate reading of the past. The Kingdom was never part of the problem; it was on the front line of the solution, sacrificing the lives of its security forces and its own safety long before the world united against extremism.
Today, after decades of confrontation, Saudi Arabia has become an international model in combating terrorism, dismantling its networks, and countering its ideologies.
This achievement did not come by chance; it was shaped by experience paid for over many years.
In the interest of fairness, we attach a collection of images and reports published in American newspapers at the time, documenting the scale of the attacks that targeted the Kingdom before 2001. Perhaps they will contribute to providing a clearer picture.
In conclusion, it is your right to ask questions—and it is the right of nations to receive the full truth.
And the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia remains firm in its stance: against terrorism… before the world knew it, and after the world faced it.