Among the intelligence failures that came to light after the
attacks of September 11, there was one that did not result from the
failures of spying, decoding secret messages, or interagency
communication. Rather, it arose merely from not paying sufficient
attention to circumstances that were relatively out in the
open—the simmering anti-Western rage that had been swelling up in
Saudi Arabia in the 1990s. Mark Caudill was there, in the ancient
Hejazi port city of Jeddah, at a critical time. From September 1999
to July 2002 he served as an American diplomat at the U.S.
Consulate General. Engaged in cultural research, he wrote
dispatches to his superiors in the U.S. State Department about what
he learned of the Saudis from participating in the most important
rituals and activities of their lives. His unclassified essays
served as the inspiration for this enlightening book. Now everyone
can learn what the U.S. government knew about Saudi society, and
when they knew it. After the terrorist attacks of September 11,
2001, many intelligence failures have come to light. The United
States has become obsessed with who knew what when, and with why
the various warnings weren't pieced together, why agencies failed
to coordinate, and who is to blame. Asked less frequently, lost in
a sea of details, is the question of how and why we failed to pay
attention to the simmering anti-Western rage that had been swelling
up in Saudi Arabia in the 1990s, as their economy sputtered, their
youth sat idle, and their oil profits enriched the already wealthy
and did nothing for the vast majority. As the United States
government and the Saudi royal family cemented their ties and
became closer than ever, young extremists who felt betrayed by the
Saudi government concentrated their anger on the Americans, partly
because it was safer than criticizing their own authoritarian
government. Although many of the ranters engaged in anti-American
trash talking for sport, some meant what they said, and some acted,
with tragic consequences. Mark Caudill was there, in the ancient
Hejazi port city of Jeddah, the Kingdom's commercial capital, at a
critical time. From September 1999 to July 2002, he served as an
American diplomat at the U.S. Consulate General. He was engaged in
cultural research, one might say, writing dispatches to his
superiors in the U.S. State Department about what he learned of the
Saudis from participating in the most important rituals and
activities of their lives. A converted Muslim who could pass for
Syrian due to his appearance, he was often incognito, attending
weddings, funerals, and the pilgrimage to Mecca; visiting markets,
mosques, and holy cities; and learning all the while about this
all-too-little understood ally of ours. His unclassified essays
served as the inspiration for this enlightening book, and now we
can all learn what the U.S. government knew about Saudi society,
and when they knew it.
General
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